The early weeks of the Premier League season has seen some familiar faces emerge as potential title challengers. Defending champions Manchester City maintained their perfect record with a 5-1 thrashing of Fulham, but Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham remain just two points behind after securing impressive wins alongside West Ham United as well.
Arsenal with late thriller
Arsenal left it late to see off rivals Manchester United 3-1 at the Emirates. The Gunners fell behind early but equalized through captain Martin Odegaard. Declan Rice, Arsenal’s big money summer signing, popped up in the 96th minute to put them ahead before Gabriel Jesus sealed the points. It is the second time in two seasons Arsenal have scored crucial late goals to beat United.
Liverpool made it look easy
Liverpool swept aside Aston Villa 3-0 at Anfield. The Reds blitzed Villa early with two goals inside the opening 22 minutes from new signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. Mohamed Salah added a third to continue his stunning start amid speculation over his future. Liverpool have emerged as City’s most likely challengers after three straight wins.
Son inspires free-scoring Spurs
Son Heung-min was the star of the show as Tottenham romped to a 5-2 demolition of Burnley. The South Korean bagged a hat-trick with Romero and Maddison completing the scoring. Under new manager Ange Postecoglou, Spurs have started the season strongly. They have scored 11 goals in their opening 4 games, matching Manchester City and 1 goal behind the league-leading score tally of Brighton. With the goals flowing and the wins stacking up, Spurs have established themselves as top four contenders again after falling away last term.
Chelsea’s striking woes
Chelsea’s transfer spending has exceeded £1 billion since Todd Boehly’s takeover, but they are still struggling for goals. The Blues succumbed to a 1-0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest, drawing another blank.
Despite splashing out huge fees, Chelsea lack a reliable central striker and it’s a problem new manager Mauricio Pochettino must quickly resolve.
At the bottom
Sheffield United and Everton played out an exciting match which saw both clubs gain their first single points of the season. This leaves Burnley and Luton Town at the bottom with no points but with a game in hand as their meeting was postponed due to the construction of Luton’s stadium.
Photo: IMAGO / Colorsport
