Matchweek 2 of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign is yet to be complete, with Arsenal facing a trip to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on Monday evening. However, the weekend’s set of games so far have delivered its quota of thrills and spills.
Every single game that took place across the weekend lived up to its billing. A total of 26 goals were scored across eight games, with Brighton and Manchester City the only teams managing to maintain their 100 per cent record in the division.
Without further delay, let’s take a look at the 10 talking points from the Premier League matchweek 2.
#Richarlison yet to be blossom under Ange Postecoglou
There was a sense of optimism at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. After a slightly shaky start that saw Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United carve out some promising chances, Ange Postecoglou helped his team settle things down at half-time, and once Spurs quickly took a lead after the restart, they never really loosened their stranglehold on the visitors.
Spurs picked up a deserved 2-0 win over United thanks to a brilliant second-half performance. There were a lot of positives to take from the game for Postecoglou. However, one thing he’ll be concerned about is that there is still a big Harry Kane-shaped void in his squad which Richarlison has so far not shown signs of filling in.
Richarlison often cut a frustrated figure as he failed to get the better of United’s centre-backs Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez and lost possession eight times, before being substituted in the 69th minute. It was a performance that showed the player is still lacking confidence from his last season’s struggles and hasn’t quite managed to transform the form in the Premier League he showed in the pre season.
#New season, same old problems for Man United
Manchester United were lucky to scrape past Wolves 1-0 in their season opener despite being dominated for large parts at Old Trafford, in part thanks to the controversial non-award of a penalty in stoppage time to the visitors.
Erik ten Hag’s men did improve marginally in north London at the weekend, but were punished by a stronger opposition in Tottenham this time that further exposed their frailties at both ends of the pitch. Besides a few early chances in the first half, none of Man United’s attackers posed a genuine threat in the opposition box.
Marcus Rashford was barely involved in the game and his desire to start from the left rather than as a No.9 was again documented, while Antony and Alejandro Garnacho didn’t create much havoc against Spurs. Chances were created in the first half, and had they been converted, United could have walked away from Spurs with a positive result.
#Chelsea lack ruthless edge
For all the good play and chances they created at the London Stadium on Sunday, the Chelsea forwards lacked clinical edge in front of goal to punish West Ham. Instead, West Ham—despite going to 10 man—took their chances when they arrived and killed Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling threatened West Ham’s backline with their pace, power and movement but neither of them had the killing instincts. Mykhaylo Mudryk performed better as a substitute than the last fixture but lacked an end product, while Noni Madueke showed he’s yet to get fully up to speed after recovering from injury.
When you take into account Christopher Nkunku’s long-term injury, Mudryk and Madueke’s ineffectiveness and Pochettino’s preferred 3-5-2 formation, it is difficult to see how Chelsea will be prolific enough to achieve a top four finish this season.
#Aston Villa respond emphatically to Newcastle trouncing
Tipped to improve on last season’s strong finish, Aston Villa were hammered 5-1 by Newcastle United on the opening weekend at St James’ Park in a shockingly poor start to the new campaign.
Unai Emery was criticised for his tactics by fans and pundits alike, although there was a sense of acceptance from everyone that Newcastle were a country mile the better team on that day. As a result, he expected a response from his boys against Everton in Villa’s first home game, and the Spaniard exactly got that.
Goals from John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran brushed aside a woeful Everton side that set Villa Park up and bouncing. After the insipid 5-1 defeat to Newcastle, it was the best reaction Emery could have got from his team on Sunday.
#Everton’s defence needs some additions
Back-to-back defeats has seen Everton currently occupy the last spot in the table. They were humiliated 4-0 by Aston Villa at Villa Park, with Everton fans feeling the trepidation that it was a small spark of a forest fire.
At half-time the game was all but over the Toffees, leaving Sean Dyche in a spot of bother. The second half was all about disaster management, yet Villa managed to add a fourth thanks to a poor throw-in from Ashley Young.
Everton have conceded five goals in their opening two games—the worst defensive record in the division. They are lacking quality at the back, and it is high time the club invests in a couple of quality defenders before the transfer window slams shut to stop another painful slog.
#Mac Allister red card adds fresh problem to Liverpool’s midfield
10-man Liverpool came back from behind to secure a 3-1 win over Bournemouth in their first home game on Saturday. But it wasn’t the best of starts for Liverpool, as Antoine Semenyo stunned the Anfield crowd by giving Bournemouth a shock lead in the third minute.
While the Reds eventually won the game comfortably, the talking point was centred around Alexis Mac Allister’s dismissal. In the 58th minute, referee Thomas Bramall showed Mac Allister a straight red card following his studs-up challenge on Ryan Christie. Paul Tierney, the VAR, went along with Bramall’s decision to send off the Argentinean World Cup winner.
Mac Allister will not play in the Premier League again until 24 September unless the red card is withdrawn. Liverpool are reportedly planning to appeal against the Argentinean’s red card but risk increasing his three-match ban should an appeal be deemed ‘frivolous’. As things stand, however, Mac Allister’s sending-off presents a fresh problem to Liverpool’s midfield just when Jurgen Klopp thought that area has been repaired.
#Brighton school Wolves at Molineux
Just days after Brighton made headlines for the record sale of Moises Caicedo to Chelsea, they still ended the weekend top of the table.
The Seagulls backed up their 4-1 win over newly-promoted Luton Town on the opening weekend by smashing Wolves by the same scoreline at Molineux. Their smooth interplay, built on quick one-touch passing, movement and reading of the game, and ruthless finishing earned them the victory over Wolves.
Kaoru Mitoma was the star of the Brighton show. He opened the scoring in superb fashion by dancing past four Wolves players before lashing the ball past the goalkeeper. The Japanese international then set up the second goal for Pervis Estupinan before Solly March netted a brace in a near-complete demolition of Gary O’Neil’s side.
#No Ivan Toney, no problem for Brentford
Where will the goals come from? This was the concern of plenty of Brentford fans after Ivan Toney was banned from football for eight months in May after he accepted breaking Football Association betting rules. Toney was Brentford’s top goal scorer last season and the fans were right to be worried about how their team will cope without their star striker for at least eight months.
To their great surprise, Thomas Frank’s side have enjoyed a fine start to the new season, collecting four points from their opening two games. After a credible 2-2 draw with Tottenham on the opening weekend, they smashed Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage.
In Toney’s absence, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have shouldered the responsibility of scoring goals, with the pair having already bagged five league goals between them this season. Mbeumo and Wissa wreaked havoc against Fulham, scoring a brace and a goal respectively and demonstrating that Brentford’s attack can still be full of spice even without Toney.
#Newcastle given timely reminder of gulf in class by Man City
Newcastle United headed to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday full of confidence after trouncing Aston Villa 5-1 to get their season off to a rollicking start. But Eddie Howe’s men were given a timely reminder of the gulf in class they still have to make up if they are to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola’s City, fresh from beating Sevilla in penalty shootout to win the UEFA Super Cup, controlled the game throughout. And while they won 1-0—thanks to a fantastic first-half Julian Alvarez strike—they could have scored more and enjoyed a bigger victory if Erling Haaland had his shooting boots on.
#Nottingham Forest’s early signs of progress
Nottingham Forest left it at the death to secure their first win of the new season, at home to newly-promoted Sheffield United on Friday. While it was not a comfortable win as they had to dig deep and absorb spells of United’s pressure, especially in the second half, Steve Cooper should be happy with his team’s resilience in the end.
Benie Traore missed a golden opportunity to win the game for the Blades moments before substitute Chris Wood scored a fine header from a pin-point Serge Aurier cross to give Forest the points. While Cooper still wants some more additions to be made to his squad before the transfer window closed down, he should be delighted with his team’s positive start to the new season.
