Matchday 4 of the new Premier League campaign produced some high-quality action, astonishing results and individual performances over the weekend.
A total of 30 goals were scored across the 10 games, which featured two draws—Brentford vs Everton and Wolves vs Newcastle United. Without further delay, let’s take a look at the 5 talking points from Premier League Matchday 4.
- Liverpool’s emphatic response against Bournemouth
A lot was written about how Liverpool would react against Bournemouth after going 2-1 down to rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. And on Saturday, the response was emphatic, to say the least, giving signs of the old Reds that we hadn’t seen since the start of the season.
A Roberto Firmino-inspired Liverpool trounced Bournemouth in the afternoon sunshine at Anfield. It was a record-equalling win, one that saw all the stars align—bar Mohamed Salah—to destroy a sorry Bournemouth side who were just not up for the fight.
Jurgen Klopp will hope the big win on Saturday becomes a launching pad for his side to overcome the slow start they have endured.
- Arsenal in dreamland
With four straight wins, Arsenal have enjoyed the best start to a Premier League season since 2004-05.
A dreadful mistake from Gabriel Magalhaes handed Fulham the opening goal on Saturday, but there was belief around the Emirates Stadium that the hosts would turn around the tide and they helped Arsenal win 2-1 in the end.
There is a long way to go in the season but suddenly the feel-good factor—after years of toxicity and pessimism—is back at the Emirates Stadium.
- Man United grind out win over Southampton
Manchester United ended a run of seven straight away defeats with a gritty 1-0 win over Southampton, thanks to a second-half strike from Bruno Fernandes.
Erik ten Hag’s Red Army have now won back-to-back games after beating Liverpool at home on Monday to put their pathetic start to the campaign behind them. On a sunny day at the St Mary’s Stadium, it was the Man United backline along with David de Gea that stepped up a gear and kept the first shutout of their season.
Following Fernandes’ opener against Southampton in the second half, it was survival mode as Ten Hag stated in his post-match presser, but he would have liked the fight, spirit and energy with which his team defended that showed the win over Liverpool was not just a one-off.
- Tottenham on a roll; Kane equals Cole’s Premier League record
If Arsenal are top of the table, Tottenham continue breathing down their north London rival’s neck.
Spurs have been on the upward trajectory since Antonio Conte’s appointment during mid-last season, with one of their highlights being clinching Champions League qualification. Conte’s side continued their bright start to the season with a solid 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, thanks to a fine brace from Harry Kane.
In scoring the double against Forest, Kane became the joint-third highest goal-scorer in the Premier League history with 187 goals, equalling Andy Cole’s record.
- Steven Gerrard faces up to Aston Villa boos
At this moment in time, things are not working for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa.
Gerrard has had two transfer windows now to stamp his authority since his arrival last November, and while the owners have certainly backed him, his team is yet to live up to the expectations of the fans and critics alike.
Aston Villa had a chance to bounce back to winning ways against a point-less and goalless West Ham on Sunday, but they slipped to a 1-0 defeat. There was a chorus of boos echoing around Villa Park at full-time as Gerrard made his way down the tunnel.
Time is certainly running out for Gerrard, at least according to a significant amount of Villa fans that showed their displeasure after the limp defeat to West Ham.
