The premier league lit up on match week 4 with no shortage of action around the grounds. Surprise, intrigue, landmarks, milestones, returns, chaos, you name it. Here’s a round-up of all the action on Match week 4 as Cristiano Ronaldo marked his fairytale return in style and Romelu Lukaku netted his first Stamford Bridge goals.
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham 3-0; Odsonne Edouard steals the show for the Eagles.
Early Kickoff saw Crystal palace welcome Nuno Espirito Santo and Spurs to Selhurst Park. Patrick Viera was struggling to get his team going in the early days of his reign. Crystal palace had yet to record a win having lost one and drawn 2. Tottenham had yet to concede a goal and held a perfect start to the campaign. Nuno saw his team’s 100% start to the campaign fizzle away. Japhet Tanganga was given his marching orders after two bookable offenses in the space of 5 minutes on the 58th-minute mark.
Things went from bad to worse for Spurs. Ben Davies handled Conor Gallagher’s cross in the box. Wilfred Zaha picked his spot to give the Eagles the lead in the 76th minute. On what was a dream debut day, new Signing Odsonne Edouard would go on to net a brace after coming off the bench. Talk about salt to wounds. Spurs were left devastated. Patrick Viera had his first win of the season. One he would no doubt enjoy very much against his playing day rivals.
Arsenal vs Norwich 1-0; Auba scored to give the gunners a vital win
After three league defeats in a row, it was a must-win game for Mikel Arteta and his Gunners. Coming to the Emirates was a team in the same predicament. Although expected, Norwich was also yet to record a win in their first 3 games. The Gunners aimed to make it 4 in a row for the canaries. Despite having 30 attempts on goal, only 6 were on target.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was able to convert one of the chances. Nicolas Pepe would see two efforts come back off the post before one fell kindly for Auba. From a yard out, the Gabonese marksman could not miss. Even though they would have preferred to win by a bigger margin, Mikel Arteta would be relieved to get his first win of the campaign.
Brentford vs Brighton 0-1; Leandro Trossard steals the win for the Seagulls
In a more like-for-like matchup, Brentford welcomed Brighton to Griffin Park. The last time these two met was in the 2016/2017 season. The Bees took four points from the Seagulls in that season. Brentford had the best chances in the first half but it remained goalless. Brighton boss Graham Potter switched formations in the second half which helped his team get on the front foot a bit more. Brentford defended well to deny Brighton any clear-cut chances though. For the majority of the game, it looked like neither side would produce the quality needed to win the game. Until Leandro Trossard did brilliantly to shift the ball away from Pontus Jansson and curl an effort past David Raya in the 90th minute. The goal condemned Brentford to their first defeat of the season in all competitions. The goal also took Brighton into the top four temporarily.
Leicester City vs Manchester City 0-1; The Foxes were tamed at the King Power stadium
A repeat of the community shield match that saw Leicester lift the trophy for the first time in the club’s history. The Citizens would avenge that defeat and also record their third consecutive victory in the new campaign. The Citizens dominated the game from the get-go. They created chances at will but could not beat Kasper Schmeichel. Jamie Vardy thought he had given the foxes the lead against the run of play. The Vardy party was cut short by VAR as he was deemed marginally offside.
The Citizen’s first-half superiority would pay off in the second. In the 62nd minute, Bernardo Silva scored his first goal in nineteen games. He reacted quickest to Joao Cancelo’s deflected effort in the box to poke it past Schmeichel and into the net. Brendan Rodgers rolled the dice in the final quarter of an hour. He brought on former Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho. City held the fort and saw off the foxes. The win momentarily took City to second place. Behind cross-city rivals Manchester United. Leicester did not leave their mid-table placement.
Manchester United vs Newcastle United 4-1; Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace seals win on his return to Old Trafford
Today was undoubtedly about one man, Ronaldo. It would be easy to forget three points were still at stake in Old Trafford. The Portuguese marksman marked his fairytale return emphatically. On the stroke of halftime, the inevitable happened. Mason Greenwood’s shot proved too hot to handle for Freddie Woodman. It fumbled into the path of the grateful Ronaldo who fired home on his second coming. Newcastle fired back as Allan Saint-Maximin slid in Javier Manquillo to score his first Newcastle goal.
Luke Shaw took matters into his own hands as he burst through the middle and slid Ronaldo through. He fired past Woodman for his second of the day. Bruno Fernandes stuck an absolute peach into Woodman’s top right corner before Jesse Lingard rounded up the game with a deftly curled shot into the bottom right corner. Lingard’s goal was the cherry on a fantastic United performance. They secured the points and sit at the top of the premier league pile.
Southampton vs Westham 0-0; Hammers see late red in a goalless stalemate
A game bereft of chances, Southampton would take a few positives. This is only their second clean sheet in their last 25 premier league matches. After a high octane start, the game cooled and mistakes crept in. Mohammed Elyounoussi was the culprit on several occasions. Neither side had the cutting edge. Tension threatened to boil over in the 71st minute as Michael Antonio and Jack Stephen were yellow carded for their grappling match as they each attempted to win the ball.
With not long left, Chelsea loanee Armando Broja smashed the ball onto the left post. Declan Rice was called into a goal-line clearance in injury time as Broja headed a corner on target. Much to the woes of FPL coaches, Michael Antonio was sent off a minute from time for a reckless challenge. No winners in a “ more brawl more than soccer” match. Westham will face Manchester United next. Southampton would have to do better on their widely scrutinized attacking faults if they are to better their last season’s tally.
Watford vs Wolves 0-2; Wolves leave it late to dash The Hornets
Wolves picked up their first win of the season away to Watford. They have endured a tough start to life under new manager Bruno Lage. Wolves have suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats in the league including one to former manager Nuno Espírito Santo. They came out flying at Vicarage Road as they looked to impose themselves on the game. Wolves lacked a cutting edge at the early stages. Barcelona loanee Trincao and Ruben Neves spurned half chances. Moussa Sissoko, on his home debut for Watford, was the first to have a shot on target. He forced Jose Sa into a save midway into the first half.
Francisco Trincao and Nelson Semedo could have both opened the scoring but Daniel Bachmann refused to be beaten before halftime. New signing Hwang Hee-Chan came on at halftime for his debut. Wolves continued to apply pressure and it finally paid off. Sierralta was caught off guard as he headed Marcal’s cross past his keeper. A debut day goal came for Hee Chan as he poked home from close range to seal the win for Bruno Lage. The result sees both teams bring an end to their miserable runs. Wolves win after a run of three losses in a row. Watford’s longest home win streak also came to an end.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa 3-0; The blues get their revenge as Ruthless Lukaku scores a brace
Chelsea became only the second club ever to achieve 600 premier league wins as they brushed past Dean Smith’s side.
The blues were dominant but slack from the onset. They set the tone of the match and applied pressure. They had only a flurry of corners to show for it until Romelu Lukaku happened. Mateo Kovacic dribbled past two before curling an exquisite pass from inside his half. Lukaku removed Axel Tuanzebe from the picture before slotting past Jad Steer. His first goal at Stamford Bridge and what a goal it was. Edouard Mendy justified his price tag denying Villa on multiple occasions. Thiago Silva showed veteran experience with a goal-line clearance to deny Ollie Watkins. Chelsea successfully withstood Villa pressure.
Kovacic went from provider to scorer as he latched on to a horrible Tyrone Mings back pass to slot past Jad steer. Tyrone Mings is no stranger to an error leading to goals having topped that chart last season. Big Rom put the game to bed with a world-class finish into the top corner from the edge of the box. Three goals, three points, and a clean sheet for Thomas Tuchel’s tricky blues. A result that takes them to second on the table. Dean Smith’s men will have another shot at a victory at Stamford bridge. They return in the next round of the EFL Cup.
Leeds vs Liverpool 0-3; Sensational Salah nets his Century
Mohammed Salah became only the second Liverpool player to reach a 100 premier league goals landmark.
The Reds ran out 3-0 winners at Elland Road to keep the heat on fellow title chasers in the English Premier League. Although Leeds started with real determination and enthusiasm, it did not take long for Liverpool to settle. The odds were firmly stacked against Marcelo Bielsa’s men on paper. Liverpool did not take long to show their superiority on grass. Boy wonder, Trent Alexander Arnold lofted an enticing cross into the box, as is his trademark. A cross that evaded a static Leeds defense and found Salah at the back post. Under pressure, the little Egyptian wriggled his way through and slotted past Illan Meslier for his 100th.
Thiago Alcantara thought he had doubled the Red’s lead but was thwarted by the linesman’s flag for an offside in the build-up. Fabinho utilized the opportunity to play from FIFA by extending Liverpool’s lead on the 50th minute. He fired in a rebound after Virgil Van Djik’s initial attempt was blocked. It couldn’t have gone any worse for Leeds as they were reduced to 10 men on the hour mark. Pascal Struijk was shown red for a tackle that will leave youngster Harvey Elliott out for months.
Liverpool closed out the game with Sadio Mane firing in Thiago’s precise pass. His 79th premier league goal. Juergen Klopp’s men were deserving winners. For Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds, it’s back to the drawing board. They have now failed to record a win inside their first four games of the season. The first time since 1958.
Everton vs Burnley 3-1; The Toffees leave Burnley broken with a sensational comeback
Determined to address their winless status, the clarets started the game with intensity and vigor. Without the aerial presence of Dominic Calvert Lewin, Burnley made themselves at home on Merseyside for much of the opening hour. On his 200th appearance, Ben Mee gave the Clarets the lead after 54 minutes. He rose highest to head home Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s cross past a desperate Jordan Pickford. A night for center backs indeed as Michael Keane leveled scores on the hour mark against his old club. Abdoulaye Doucoure ran the show for Rafa Benitez’s men providing two assists.
Andros Townsend found the top corner from the edge of the area in sensational fashion. Andros Townsend with a sensational long-range strike as Everton looked to maintain their unbeaten start to the season. Early days but that strike just might be the goal of the season contender. A quickfire double from Everton as Demarai Gray scored in his third successive premier league game a mere 27 seconds after Townsend’s screamer. It was a lightning-fast counterattack that left Everton dazed. Everton have shown steel and resilience in the opening fixtures of the season. The Toffees will once again target a place in one of Europe’s competitions.
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