Weekend Football Review

Not a great weekend for Manchester.

Premier League

Wolverhampton 1 vs. 1 Man City

The weekend started with Wolves holding on to draw against City at home in what was a surprising result. Teams outside the top 6 and some teams inside the top 6 usually set up to play against City on the counter but Wolves decided that they would not change their ways and they took the game to City. The game was evenly matched during the first half although City came close to opening the scoreline on a couple of occasions only for Patricio to make some stunning saves. Boly gave Wolves the lead in the 57th minute from what looked like a header but close inspection showed it was handball but since there is no VAR the goal remained. Laporte rocketed in a header of his own in the 69th minute to level the scoreline. Aguero hit the crossbar once more but Wolves held on and became the first team to take points off City this season. Wolves are 14th while City are now 5th. 

Arsenal 3 vs. 1 West Ham

A cagey first half saw Arnautovic give West Ham the lead in the 25th minute as he hammered in a shot from outside the box. Monreal equalised in the 30th to restore parity. Arsenal came out the better team in the second half as Lacazette and Torreira were brought on. A Diop own goal in the 70th minute and a Welbeck strike in the 92nd minute sealed a first win and first points for Unai Emery. West Ham now remain the only team without points this season. Arsenal move up to 9th with the win and West Ham remain bottom of the table. 

Bournemouth 2 vs. 2 Everton

A stunning game that saw red cards and comebacks as Bournemouth drew at home to Everton. The first half remained level as Richarlison was sent off at the 41st minute for what looked like an attempted head butt. The game blew up in the second half as Walcott gave Everton the lead in the 56th minute and Keane doubled that lead 10 minutes later. Everton seemed to be flying high as Adam Smith was also sent off for Bournemouth in the 61st minute. Bournemouth had other plans in mind as King converted a penalty in the 75th minute and Ake scored via a corner in the 79th minute to earn Bournemouth a point. Bournemouth are now 6th while Everton are 8th. 

Huddersfield 0 vs. 0 Cardiff

Huddersfield achieved their first point of the season in what was a cagey affair against Cardiff. Chances were hard to come by in the first half but Huddersfield forced Ethridge to make some good saves in the second. Matters became harder when Hogg was sent off for Huddersfield in the 63rd minute. Huddersfield held on as Cardiff applied the pressure as both teams settled for a draw. Huddersfield are off the mark but remain 19th while Cardiff are 15th. 

Southampton 1 vs. 2 Leicester

Southampton started the game as the better teams as they created several chances but failed to capitalise any of them. The second half started off in similar fashion and a brilliant long range strike by Bertrand gave Southampton the lead in the 52nd minute. Gray equalised for Leicester in the 56th minute and Hodjberg was sent off for Southampton in the 77th minute to leave Southampton fighting for the point. Maguire had other plans though and his long range strike in the 92nd minute gave Leicester all three points. Southampton are 17th while Leicester are 7th. 

Liverpool 1 vs. 0 Brighton

Salah scored in the 23rd minute as it proved enough to get three points for Liverpool. Liverpool dominated the game but Brighton’s defence stayed strong. Liverpool seemed to have plugged their holes in defence and goal as they remain the only team to not have conceded a goal this season. The win leaves Liverpool top of the table while Brighton are 12th. 

Watford 2 vs. 1 Crystal Palace

The game saw an entertaining first half but both sides remained goalless going into the second half. Pereyra opened the scoring as he curled in a brilliant shot to give Watford the lead in the 53rd minute. Holebas doubled the lead in the 71st minute as his attempted cross curled into the top corner. Zaha gave Palace some hope as he got one back in the 78th minute but Watford held on to maintain their 100 percent winning start to the season. Watford are 4th while Palace are 10th. 

Fulham 4 vs. 2 Burnley

An amazing game saw 5 goals in the first half as Fulham won their first game and first points of the season. Seri gave Fulham the lead in the 4th minute from a brilliant long range strike but Hendrick equalised in the 10th minute. Mitrovic then scored 2 headers in two minute to add two more to Fulham but Tarkowski scrambled in from close range in the 41st minute to keep the scoreline at 3-2. Fulham maintained the lead in the second half and Schurrle sealed the three points after he scored in the 83rd minute. With their first win Fulham move to 11th while Burnley are 18th.

Man United 0 vs. 3 Tottenham

Tottenham thrashed United at Old Trafford in what was a game of two halves. United dominated the first half while playing good football in what was refreshing from Mourinho but the players and specifically Lukaku missed several chances to give United the lead. For all the domination the teams went into half time level. United did not show up for the second half and Spurs capitalised as Kane opened the scoring in the 50th minute and Moura doubled the lead four minutes later. Moura added his second and sealed the the game in the 84th minute as United succumbed to their second defeat of the season. Some say Rio Ferdinand and the United pundits are re-thinking their predictions for the season as United sit at 13th while Spurs move to 2nd.

La Liga

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico all won their games but Sevilla were held to a goalless draw against Villareal and Valencia lost to Espanyol 2-0. The results mean that Real Madrid lead the table while Barcelona, and Sevilla follow while Atletico sit 9th and Valencia 15th.

Serie A

An entertaining weekend of action in Italy saw plenty of goals from all teams. Juventus won their game against Lazio 2-0 although Ronaldo still seeks his first goal. Napoli came from 2-0 down to beat Milan 3-2, while Inter and Torino drew 2-2 and Roma and Atlanta drew 3-3. Juventus and Napoli sit first and second while Roma sit 5th, Inter are 11th while Milan are 17th. 

Bundesliga

Bayern opened the season with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim while the weekend saw Wolfsburg beat Schalke 2-1, Monchengladbach beat Leverkusen 2-0, and Dortmund came from behind to beat Leipzig 4-1. Dortmund, Bayern, and Frankfurt sit at the top three of the table. 

Ligue 1

PSG continued their winning start with a 3-1 win against Angers, Lyon beat Strasbourg 2-0, Bordeaux beat Monaco 2-1, and Marseille drew against Rennes 2-2. PSG sit at the top while Lyon move up to 4th, Monaco are 9th and Marseille are 11th. 

Advertisement

Weekend Football Preview

Gameweek 3!!

Premier League

Wolverhampton vs. Man City 

Wolves have not had the best of starts to their season although they have played good football and were perhaps unlucky to not get a point or more against Leicester. This game week might not add points to Wolves tally as league leaders and Champions City visit them. City beat Arsenal in their first game and destroyed Huddersfield 6-1 last weekend and with plenty of squad depth it should be another win in the bag for them. The odds of Wolves getting even a point from this game are very low but Wolves have nothing to lose and with that mentality upsets can happen. 

Arsenal vs. West Ham

This is a must win game for both these London teams although it is only the third game week. Arsenal were dealt two very tough fixtures to begin their season and they lost both although they did show some promise against Chelsea. West Ham were comfortably beaten by Liverpool and no one really expected them to win that game but to lose to Bournemouth might have deflated morale amongst the fans. Emery needs to take some bold decisions as the likes of Torreira and Lacazette need to start from minute one. West Ham under Pellegrini are expected to play good football but with so many signings and a new system it could take time for them to gel. The pressure is perhaps less for the Hammers but they need at least a point and they have the quality to get more plus they have a certain Jack Wilshere who should go into the game wanting to prove Arsenal wrong. Arsenal need the win more than West Ham but both need to add points, it should be a tough game for both sides.

Bournemouth vs. Everton

Bournemouth have made a brilliant start to the season winning two out of two although they face their biggest test yet as a high flying Everton visit. Everton have been rejuvenated by Marcos Silva and are playing decent football while also scoring goals, they drew their first game against Wolves and had to fight against Southampton for the win last weekend. Bournemouth this season have shown that they have goals in them which was something they lacked last season, defensively they are sound and it is perhaps in defence where this game will be won or lost. The team with the better defence will win this game although it should be an entertaining one. 

Huddersfield vs. Cardiff

Huddersfield look for their first points of the season as they welcome newbies Cardiff. Huddersfield have shipped in 9 goals in two games having only scored one although in their defence those did come against Chelsea and Man City, still losing by 6 goals is not good enough against any team especially since they did so well defensively at the end of last season. Cardiff got their first point of the season as they held Newcastle to a draw at home and they threatened the Magpies on several occasions during the game. If Huddersfield wanted reprieve from their losses then Cardiff is the perfect game to add some points although Cardiff have nothing to lose and were known for their defence last season in the championship. A low scoring game and Cardiff might nick it. 

Southampton vs. Leicester

Southampton were unlucky to not get a point against Everton last weekend as Ings was denied a clear penalty. The Saints search for their first win of the season against Leicester. Leicester beat Wolves last weekend although they did look shaky and got lucky in the goals they scored. This game should be a close one and with Vardy out Southampton could get their first win of the season. 

Liverpool vs. Brighton

Liverpool are flying high having won two out of two and not having conceded any goals. The Reds seem to have plugged the holes in defence and with Allison in goal look like real title challengers. Brighton did extremely well against a very poor United side last weekend as they picked up their first win of the season, but because this game is at Anfield it might be a step too far for the Seagulls. Expectations are it will be a comfortable win for Liverpool although I hope Brighton at least get a point. 

Watford vs. Crystal Palace

Sunday starts off with another London derby as Crystal Palace visit Watford. Watford are flying high having won their first two games and will be expecting to get another three this weekend. Palace played well against Liverpool last weekend but got unlucky on two specific occasions, although they have more than enough to get a point or more from this game. It should be an entertaining one with Deeney, Pereyra, Gray, Zaha, Benteke, etc on show from both sides.

Fulham vs. Burnley

Fulham have played well over the last two games but still seek their first points of the season as a defensively skilled Burnley visit. With numerous signings and time needed for them to integrate Fulham should be slow to the race but once they start going they should be fun to watch. Burnley lost at home to Watford in what was a shockingly poor defensive performance and will hope to get back to winning ways against Fulham. A close game but I can see Fulham getting their first points of the season. 

Man United vs. Tottenham

Monday night brings the game of the weekend as Tottenham visit shaky Man United. United have had a torrid summer and even their opening week win against Leicester was not reassuring and they were dismal against Brighton last weekend. Mourinho needs to fix things fast otherwise it looks like he could face another third season calamity. Tottenham did not sign anyone this window but have kept all their players and are playing some brilliant football. Spurs might be stuck at Wembley till an unknown date as their Stadium does not seem to be nearing completion. On the pitch though this game should be a low scoring one and for all the flak that Mourinho gets he will probably nick three points from Spurs. If Spurs do win expect the crisis talk to amplify in the red half of Manchester. 

La Liga

La Liga kicked off last weekend with the regular wins for most of the contenders as Real, Barcelona, and Sevilla all got wins. Valencia and Atletico face each other and only managed a point. This weekend should see a further three points added to all these teams although Sevilla do face Villareal. 

Serie A

Serie A kicked off last weekend as well and Juventus, Napoli and Roma all started off with wins. Inter lost, and Milan still need to play their first game. This season Serie A has gone up a notch in star status mainly because of one Cristiano Ronaldo who moved to Turin in the summer. Ronaldo seeks his first goal for Juventus as they come up against Lazio this weekend. Napoli face Milan which sees Ancelotti face his former club. Inter face off against Torino while Roma go up against a tough Atlanta side. An entertaining weekend of football in Italy. 

Bundesliga

Bundesliga kicks off this weekend as Bayern face off against Hoffenheim, Bayern are under new management as Niko Kovac leads them this season. Schalke face Wolfsburg, Borussia Monchengladbach face Leverkusen, and Dortmund go up against Leipzig in an entertaining opening weekend. 

Ligue 1

Ligue 1 is already in its third game week and the likes of Monaco, Marseille, and Lyon are already playing catchup to league leaders PSG. It should be comfortable wins for all teams involved although Monaco do face Bordeaux this weekend.