The action has been coming thick and fast of late and we’ve now also seen the introduction of Friday Night Football to the Premier League’s repertoire of matchdays. Great news for us gents, perhaps not so great for the ever suffering other halves.
We’re just two weeks into the season and the Premier League table is already starting to take a familiar shape with both Manchester clubs and Chelsea already in and around the top of the table thanks to their 100% records. While Hull have surprised everyone after two wins from two
Their victories were by no way the only stories of what was another pulsating weekend of Footballing action. So without any further ado let’s now have a look at the 6 key stories from last weekend’s action.
Return of The Pog
With so much hype surrounding the return of Paul Pogba to Old Trafford the question was always going to be whether or not he could live up to the hype on Friday night. I think it’s fair to say the answer was yes.
A performance that showed that the Summer long chase for his signature was most definitely worth it. He showed guile and determination against Southampton and added a sorely lacking dynacism to United’s midfield.
The only thing missing on Friday for Pogba was a goal, thankfully though United’s other Summer superstar signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic was on hand to bag a brace and already register take his goal tally up to four for the season.
Any lingering doubts that people may have had as to whether or not Zlatan could cut it in the Premier League would have surely now been put to rest. United with the perfect start to the campaign and the upcoming Manchester Derby in three weeks is already looking like it’s going to be something pretty special.
Pep can do it in Stoke
The ‘can he do it in Stoke’ is now a well used phrased in Football parlance and after Manchester City’s performance on Saturday Lunchtime it’s proved that Pep Guardiola certainly can.
His side were in scintillating form as Sergio Aguero bagged a first half brace to give City a commanding lead going into the break. Raheem Sterling once again impressed as the transformation from England also ran is almost complete.
After missing two penalties in midweek, Aguero exorcised his spot kick demons thanks to having the nerve to step up and give City the lead after Mike Dean spotted Ryan Shawcross getting more of a handful of Nicolas Otamendi’s shirt.
Shawcross would go on to win a spot kick for Stoke which halved the deficit, but City showed their quality in abundance as Nolito’s late brace put clear daylight between the two sides and wrapped up a 4-1 win. City put the whole of Europe on notice after their demolition job in Romania, Premier League opposition are now going to have to approach them with severe caution.
Klopp’s men turfed out
From the sublime on the first weekend of the season to the ridiculous in the one just passed. It may only be the second week of the season but results like this for Liverpool will show they are still someway off of a tilt at the title.
With all the confidence they would have had going into the game after their brilliant attacking performance at The Emirates, Burnley bought them crashing back down to earth after just two minutes when Sam Vokes found the net after sloppy defensive play by Liverpool.
Alberto Moreno was dropped to the bench but that didn’t seem to make Liverpool’s back four any better. James Milner was asked to fill in at left back and although he was solid as ever it hampered Liverpool’s width and any hopes of breaking down a very solid Burnley had evaporated.
Andre Gray who made the headlines for the wrong reasons got Burnley’s second to top off a fantastic afternoon for The Clarets. Sean Dyche’s men are off the mark but they still have a long season ahead of them.
Can Hull do a Leicester?
Hull have exceeded everyone’s expectations including their own as they recorded their second consecutive win in a row thanks to two late goals against Swansea.
Both teams have been tipped to struggle this season but none more so than Hull. They are struggling to put out a full match day squad as of late but the players that are fit are seemingly ready to run through brick walls for caretaker manager Mike Phelan.
With a maximum 6 points on the board, Phelan must have surely done enough to make the job his on a permanent basis. After so much upheavel this Summer then they could do with a bit of stability and what better way to provide it by making him the boss full time.
As for Swansea after their opening day win at Turf Moor it’s back to reality. They looked devoid of ideas against Hull and after being afforded so much of the ball on Saturday they struggled to break this resolute Hull side down. Borja Bastion may be the clubs record signing but the fact he’s still yet to make his debut doesn’t help Swansea all that much. Tough times at The Liberty await
Leicester and Arsenal get off the mark
Champions Leicester picked up their first point of the season on Saturday Evening but had it not been for Mark Clattenburg then it could very well have been three. The main talking point of the game was not because of a moment of brilliance or a well taken goal but Clattenburg’s failure to award a late penalty.
Ahmed Musa once again used his searing pace and seemingly had the beating of Hector Bellerin as he advanced into the area. The only way Bellerin could stop him was by means of a clumsy tackle and that’s exactly what he did, only luckily for him the referee’s whistle didn’t follow.
A lucky escape for Arsenal perhaps and they will be happy just to come away with a point for themselves. But once again their lack of forward presence was apparent. The Alexis Sanchez experiment again drew a blank and Arsenal only really displayed any spark once Mesut Ozil came off the bench.
On the balance of play it was probably the result that both sides deserved but neither wanted. For Leicester they are still getting use to life as champions while Arsenal are still lacking quality throughout the side, be that from both absent players and a lack of new faces. The pressure will continue to mount on Arsene Wenger until Arsenal find their winning groove, it’s far too early to be talking about a crisis at The Emirates but the atmosphere continues to be incredibly toxic.
West Ham’s party falls flat
West Ham christened what is now known as the London Stadium with Premier League action on Sunday but it’s fair to say that the housewarming party was somewhat flat. Yes Slaven Bilic’s side may have beaten Bournemouth but it was incredibly laborious not just for the players on the pitch but for everyone watching as well.
In a game devoid of quality it says a lot when Michail Antonio who had a pretty average game still came away with Sky’s Man of the Match award. Had the game ended goalless then it would have been probably fair to give the award to nobody.
Bournemouth looked like they were going to come away with a point but Harry Arter’s sending off for a second bookable offence gave West Ham a numerical superiority of which they took full advantage of. The result was perhaps harsh on Eddie Howe’s men but from the evidence of their first two games the warning signs of a difficult campaign are already on show.