Matchday 3 of the new Premier League campaign is done and dusted with last weekend’s set of games delivering its quota of thrills and spills.
Every single game in the recent round of Premier League fixtures lived up to its billing. A total of 32 goals were scored across the 10 games, which featured two draws—Everton vs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United vs Manchester City.
Without further delay, let’s take a look at the 5 talking points from Premier League Matchday 3.
- Fearless Newcastle United rise against Manchester City
Manchester City, seemingly unstoppable after their first two games of the new Premier League season, looked shell-shocked against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Eddie Howe is building a team in his image that in a few years’ time can perhaps challenge for the top 4, at least. His Newcastle side, though, weren’t off to a great start, as Man City got in front early through Ilkay Gundogan. It looked like City would dominate the afternoon from there on, but the Magpies had different plans altogether.
The hosts responded emphatically by making it 2-1 at half time before Kieran Trippier’s superb free-kick ten minutes after the break left the Geordies in dreamland. City showed character and grit by scoring twice in quick succession to earn a point in the end, but Howe and his coaching staff will take heart from his team’s performance.
- Arsenal march on
After years of uncertainty and gloom, Arsenal finally appear to be making giant strides under Mikel Arteta as they maintained a 100 per cent start to the new season by beating Bournemouth 3-0.
A first-half brace from Martin Odegaard followed by a stunning strike by William Saliba after the break sent the Gunners to the top of the table. This is a young, energetic and vibrant Arsenal team, led by Odegaard, showing signs of great progress, and Arteta deserves massive credit for it.
On the evidence of their performances in the first three games, including the control they enjoyed over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, the Gunners look primed for a big Premier League campaign.
- Fulham win the bragging rights; Mitrovic silences his critics
Fulham have enjoyed quite a return to the Premier League. After holding Liverpool to an impressive draw and sharing the spoils against Wolves, they won the first game of the season over the weekend, and deservedly so.
A 3-2 victory against rivals Brentford, who were on a high after a historic 4-0 win over Man United, has Marco Silva’s team up to seventh on the table. Aleksandar Mitrovic has carried his last term’s Championship form into the Premier League and silenced his early doubters with three strikes in as many games. The big Serb powered home a header in the 90th minute to help Fulham earn the bragging rights against Brentford.
- Leeds United stun Chelsea
Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United ran riot against Chelsea in Saturday’s afternoon sunshine at Elland Road.
The Whites were imperious from start to finish, producing a sizzling display of energy, imagination, power and heart. Jesse Marsch provided enough belief to his boys that they were good enough to beat the Pensioners, and his team executed his plans with ease and poise.
A season after narrowly escaping the drop to the Championship, Leeds United are flying at the moment and Elland Road is once again a happy place to be in. For Chelsea and Tuchel, though, these are worrying times.
- Man United spring back to life by beating Liverpool
Two defeats in two games, six goals conceded and just one scored, albeit an own goal, Erik ten Hag’s start to life as a Manchester United boss had been miserable, to say the least, ahead of Liverpool’s visit on Monday.
With the team’s confidence shot down to pieces, playing your arch rivals at home is the last thing the Man United team would have wanted, especially after they were mutilated 5-0 by Liverpool in the same fixture last season. But sometimes these kinds of fixtures exactly serve as a tonic to bounce back from the ignominy, and it did exactly for Ten Hag’s side.
From the blow of the first while, United simply wanted it more than Liverpool. They harried and hassled, broke plenty of play and gave the visitors no breathing space whatsoever. The Red Devils punished an injury-hit Liverpool team’s vulnerabilities at the back, constantly pressing from the front and stretching play.
After the hiding at Brentford, nothing less than a positive response would have been accepted by Ten Hag and the fans. And that’s what they got!