From 10-man Liverpool coming back from a goal down to win against Newcastle United to Manchester City scraping past newcomers Sheffield United, matchweek 3 of the Premier League was not short of entertainment, controversy and goals.
A total of 31 goals were scored across 10 games over the week, with two games ending in a draw—Arsenal vs Fulham and Brentford vs Crystal Palace. After the end of this weekend, Man City remain the only team with a 100 per cent record.
Without further delay, let’s take a look at the 5 talking points from the Premier League matchweek 3.
#Yves Bissouma looks reborn under Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham’s season looked to have suffered a fatal blow before it even began when Harry Kane departed for Bayern Munich on the eve of Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge. But Ange has moved on from the loss of the club’s all-time record goalscorer to quickly mould a new-look side on the lines of his philosophy.
The Spurs fans are now enjoying the brand of sleek, exciting and attacking brand of football Postecoglou wants to play—the polar opposite of the dour football played by Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho’s teams. And Yves Bissouma, who was a forgotten man at the club, is slowly becoming the beating heart of Postecoglou’s side.
Bissouma was Conte’s first signing at Spurs last summer, but a combination of injuries and poor adaptation saw him manage only 10 Premier League starts throughout the season. Under Postecoglou, he has started all three games and been excellent, including in Spurs’ 2-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Mali international is certainly starting to love life in north London again and looks to be among those revived by the summer reset at Spurs.
#West Ham United stun Brighton
West Ham spent Saturday night on top of the table after a stunning 3-1 victory over high-flying Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
The win at Brighton showcased all of David Moyes’ management qualities. He is used to working on a shoestring budget and though his West Ham boasts of some fantastic technical footballers, this win was firmly delivered by a herculean collective defensive effort and some sharp counter-attacking football.
Michail Antonio produced a tireless display as the lone man up front, sparkling in his role on Saturday as he created one goal and scored another to guide West Ham to their first win over Brighton. Add new signing Mohamed Kudus to the mix, and if the Hammers can keep their resilience and convert their chances like they did against Brighton, they could stun a lot of top teams in the division.
#Darwin Nunez has finally arrived
Having fallen behind to an Anthony Gordon strike after just 25 minutes, Liverpool looked doomed to fall to a defeat at Newcastle United when Virgil van Dijk was sent off shortly after. But they hung in there and showed great mental character despite Newcastle’s dominance in the final third.
With 13 minutes plus stoppage time left, Jurgen Klopp introduced Darwin Nunez to the fray. And it didn’t take Nunez much time to become the hero again at St James’ Park—like he did last season—smashing home two carbon copy finishes in quick succession after racing in behind to claim the victory for the Reds.
There were good vibes from him in the pre-season, but this cameo against Newcastle was clearly the day that saw the Uruguay international announce his arrival as a top-class striker in the Premier League.
#Raheem Sterling enjoying new lease of life
Raheem Sterling was the star of the show on Friday, as Chelsea put newcomers Luton Town to the sword to give Mauricio Pochettino his first win in charge of the club.
The England international was among many players to lose their confidence and form in a disastrous 2022/23 campaign for Chelsea. But we’ve seen in the opening three games of the new season signs that Sterling is edging closer to his best.
Despite Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium, the 27-year-old looked unplayable at times and was the visitors’ best player. On Friday, Sterling terrorised the Luton backline, with a brilliant solo run and finish to break his duck for the season. He added a second after the interval before teeing up Nicolas Jackson’s first Chelsea goal.
It was clear from the outside to see that Sterling wasn’t close to his best during his first year with the Blues last season, but this new management under head coach Mauricio Pochettino may be the perfect match.
#Moussa Diaby continues to shine
There are a few early contenders for signing of the season and Aston Villa forward Moussa Diaby has put his name in that hat.
With his speed, pressing, energy and unpredictability, Diaby has added another dimension to Aston Villa’s attack and he was incredible on Sunday as Unai Emery’s side thrashed promoted Burnley 3-1 at Turf Moor. The France international scored one and had a hand in Villa’s other two as their solid start to the new campaign continued.
The Villans were way too reliant on Ollie Watkins for goals last season, but in Diaby, Emery now has a potent partner for the English forward and another dynamic player to mould his attack around.