The third weekend of the Premier League season has come to an end, and there were plenty of talking points. Arsenal continued their perfect start with a comeback win against Chelsea, while Manchester City also remain unbeaten. At the other end, Tottenham are still without a league goal, and Manchester United once again dropped points from a winning position.
Winners
Arsenal
Arsenal were probably the biggest winners of the weekend after beating Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates. Chelsea took the lead just over a minute in through Morgan Rogers, but Arsenal responded well. Kai Havertz equalized before providing a brilliant dummy, allowing Martin Ødegaard to score the winner shortly after half-time.
It was another impressive result for Arsenal, who have now won all three of their opening games. They have already beaten Aston Villa and Chelsea, so it is difficult to argue against them being the early title favourites.
Liverpool
Liverpool finally got their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Ipswich. Alexander Isak was the star of the game, scoring both goals and finally showing exactly why Liverpool wanted to bring him to the club.
After two draws to start the season, this was an important result for Liverpool. Isak now has three Premier League goals and looks like he could be a huge player for the Reds this season. Cody Gakpo also impressed, providing the assists for both goals. Liverpool will be hoping this result can be the start of a good run of form.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace picked up their first win of the season after coming from behind twice to beat Fulham 3-2. Fulham led the game on two occasions, but Palace refused to give up. Tyrick Mitchell’s double helped them level before deadline-day signing Ben Chilwell scored the winner late in the game.
This was a huge result for Palace, especially considering they had to come from behind twice. They showed a lot of character and will be hoping this can kick-start their season.
For Fulham, it is another disappointing result. They have now lost all three of their opening games despite scoring in every match.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
The Everton man deserves a mention after scoring one of the goals of the weekend. Maitland-Niles came off the bench for his Toffees debut against Manchester United and scored a long-range strike in the sixth minute of added time to make it 2-2. United had taken the lead twice and looked like they were going to leave Goodison Park with all three points. Instead, Maitland-Niles rescued a point for Everton with almost the final kick of the game. It was a great moment for the new signing and could be an important goal for Everton early in the season.
Losers
Manchester United
Manchester United have to be one of the biggest losers of the weekend. They were winning 2-1 against Everton going into the final few seconds and looked set to claim back-to-back wins. However, Maitland-Niles’ last-minute equaliser meant United once again dropped points from a winning position.
This is becoming a worrying pattern for Michael Carrick’s side. United have now taken just four points from their opening three games, despite scoring seven goals. Their defensive side seems to be letting them down at the moment.
Tottenham
Tottenham’s attacking problems are becoming a serious concern. Spurs drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, meaning they have now failed to score in all three of their Premier League games this season. They have had chances, but there just isn’t enough of a goal threat going forward. New signing Sávio looked promising for the 60 minutes he was on the pitch, but did not have much in terms of end product.
The positive is that Tottenham finally kept a clean sheet and picked up their first point. However, Roberto De Zerbi will need to find a solution quickly because going four or five games without scoring could put Spurs in a difficult position very early in the season.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth threw away a winning position for the third consecutive game. They have taken the lead against Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle but have failed to win any of them. The Cherries were 2-0 up against Newcastle and looked set to claim their first win of the season. Instead, they conceded twice after being two-nil up in 37 minutes, with Jacob Ramsey scoring the equaliser in the 88th minute. Marco Rose will be frustrated because Bournemouth have shown enough quality to win these games, but they need to learn how to close them out.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa are another team who will be worried after the weekend. Villa drew 0-0 with Hull City and, just like Tottenham, are still without a goal after three Premier League games. They have also only picked up one point so far.
The defensive side of their game has been good, but the lack of cutting edge in the final third is a major concern. Buendia in particular missed two sitters from close range. A team with Villa’s ambitions cannot afford to be scoring so little. Unai Emery must find a way to get his attackers scoring soon; otherwise, Villa may find themselves trailing behind the teams around them.
