From Arsenal and Tottenham playing an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium to Newcastle United mauling Sheffield United 8-0 on their travels, matchweek 6 of the Premier League was not short of entertainment, drama and goals.
A total of 30 goals were scored across 10 games over the week, with three games ending in a draw—Luton Town vs Wolves, Crystal Palace vs Fulham and Arsenal vs Spurs. 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 10 talking points from the Premier League matchweek 6.
#Tottenham losing ‘Spursy’ tag
“Fans and neutrals talk about Tottenham, they often say ‘soft, weak, bottle it, Spursy, all that rubbish’,” James Maddison said after an enterprising Tottenham left Arsenal with a point. The strength of Tottenham’s approach under Ange Postecoglou so far is that these players are not afraid of making mistakes.
Maddison, in particular, was caught in possession blatantly for a chance Gabriel Jesus bizarrely skied, but kept showing up for the ball in difficult areas and finished with two assists. A difficult first half for Destiny Udogie was summed up by an undercooked pass which forced Guglielmo Vicario into a save from Eddie Nketiah at his near post. Spurs looked raw, overzealous at others, and under the cosh for spells, but never drifted from Postecoglou’s fluid, attacking principles of playing style.
The way Spurs are playing as a unit and their overall performance at the home of their bitterest rivals is evidence of their changing mentality.
#For Everton, the season starts now!
After a difficult introductory stage for Everton, they had to start somewhere – a dodgy Brentford away may not have seemed a perfect opportunity to get a result but they did that.
What Sean Dyche will never change is the way his side has been playing their football. No matter what the consequences, his side will never employ an offensive approach. However, at the Gtech Community Stadium, Everton started strongly and were on the front foot from the onset. James Tarkowski bagged a goal and an assist against his former employers, while Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also registered their names on the scoresheet.
It could have been more on another day but this was the Toffees’ best performance in whatever we’ve seen so far. Dyche will hope the win at Brentford kickstarts Everton’s campaign.
#Fulham lack cutting edge without Mitrovic
Fulham remain stuck in mid-table after a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday and the chief cause of their problems is a lack of goals, with striker Aleksandar Mitrovic no longer around.
Mitrovic was Fulham’s top scorer last season, scoring 14 goals. Overall, he netted 55 goals for the Cottagers before sealing a summer switch to Saudi side Al-Hilal, where the Serbian striker has enjoyed a great start to life with five goals and an assist in five appearances.
Raul Jimenez, Mitrovic’s replacement, is yet to score and was unconvincing at Palace, while Willian and Andreas Pereira also spurned great opportunities as Fulham failed to turn their dominance into three points.
#More misery for Pochettino
Chelsea look set for another season to forget despite a summer of huge investment. They backed new manager Mauricio Pochettino strongly in the transfer market to revive the club’s fortunes after last season’s horror show.
So far, Pochettino has won just one of his first six league games in charge and it was a familiar story for the Argentinean tactician on Sunday as his Chelsea side failed to score for the third successive game in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa. Down to 10 men after Malo Gusto’s red card in the 58th minute, the Blues failed to match Villa and looked vulnerable.
And in the 73rd minute, Ollie Watkins punished the Blues on the counter attack with a rasping shot between the legs of Robert Sanchez from a tight angle, thereby, piling more misery on Pochettino.
#Newcastle rewrite history books at Bramall Lane
Sheffield United suffered their worst-ever league defeat as Newcastle United ran riot at Bramall Lane, winning 8-0.
Eddie Howe’s men rewrote history books, registering their biggest away win and also becoming the first Premier League side to have eight different players score in a game. They were excellent on Sunday and did not take their foot off the gas in the second half, cutting Sheffield United apart several times and scoring goals at a brisk rate.
Newcastle, who endured a difficult start to the season, now look like they are clicking and performing as a unit.
#Luton get their first point
When you have spent the opening weeks of a Premier League debut season having your weaknesses exposed, it must be greatly satisfying to win the first point.
The Hatters have been the bookies’ favourite to go down right away but manager Rob Edwards has high standards and will deny absolute thoughts pertaining to relegation. He has tried his best to build a competitive squad—and it is days like on Saturday—coming from behind against 10-man Wolves—that prove it.
Carlton Morris secured Luton’s first Premier League point from the penalty spot—a point the fans will cherish for a long time.
#Hannibal shines as Man United edge past Burnley
After three losses in a row in all competitions, Manchester United needed a win against newcomers Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday. And Erik ten Hag got exactly what he wanted as Man United picked up a 1-0 victory, thanks to a sublime Bruno Fernandes volley in the first half.
Having scored in United’s 3-1 loss to Brighton last weekend, Hannibal Mejbri was handed his first Premier League start at Turf Moor by Ten Hag. The 20-year-old brought bite, energy and creativity to United’s midfield and earned praise from the manager after the final whistle. The Tunisian international mostly played centrally but did shift to the right on certain occasions with Fernandes naturally drifting infield.
The Red Devils had to put a difficult week behind them at Burnley and Hannibal can certainly feel pleased with the role he played in this result.
#Some relief for Gary O’Neil
Wolves snapped their two-game losing run in the league with a 1-1 away draw against newcomers Luton Town. They played more than half of the match a man light after Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s dismissal following an off-the-ball incident with Tom Lockyer, but still took the lead through a fantastic solo goal from Pedro Neto.
However, Joao Gomes was harshly penalised for handball and Carlton Morris scored from the resultant penalty, and from there, Wolves enjoyed little possession, but managed to pinch a point with resolute defending. Gary O’Neil was distraught on the touchline after Luton were awarded the penalty but he should have been proud of his team’s defending at Kenilworth Road.
#Man City show character as Rodri sees red
A red card for Rodri turned Manchester City’s encounter against Nottingham Forest into the cliched game of two halves, but the defending champions showed great character and organisation to hang on for a 2-0 win.
Forest quickly went 2-0 down but Rodri’s sending off early in the second half turned the match upside down. For a change, Man City were forced onto the back foot as the players couldn’t play their sleek, passing football due to a man disadvantage.
Steve Cooper made attacking substitutions later on and Forest threw the kitchen sink, but City held tight with 10 men to continue their flawless start to the new season.
#Burnley’s build-up play counts for nothing
After being promising and controlled in their build-up play from the back, even the Burnley midfield enjoyed fair periods of dominance in the centre of the park against Manchester United. However, there was nothing to show for it on the scoresheet.
When the games are as close as these, and the margins are dependent on the chances you take, Burnley forwards have to be clinical in front of goal. For all the possession the Clarets enjoyed, they failed to turn into a goal against Erik ten Hag’s men.
