The Grubby Balls Matchweek 2 Review

A brief look at all the results from this past weekend of Premier League action

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Everton

It was the battle of the former England midfielders who could never play together when Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa hosted Frank Lampard's Everton on Saturday. Lampard stuck with his favoured 3-4-3, with new signing Conor Coady starting in defence for his debut, while he opted again to play without a proper striker, leaving Rondon on the bench. Gerrard played a 4-1-2-1-2 with Ollie Watkins returning to the side to start alongside Danny Ings. Villa dominated the early possession, but Everton's defence looked surprisingly solid, especially compared to how easy they were to cut through last season. Danny Ings opened the scoring with a beautiful left-footed finish and showed the critical difference between these two sides, a good striker. While Everton were able to make more chances in the second half, a lot of these were coming from quite far out, as the wingers and other creative players didn't have anyone to aim for inside the box. Everton's new midfielder Amadou Onana made an unfortunate instant impact when he gave the ball away in midfield while trying to drive up the centre of the pitch, only for Aston Villa to quickly counter and score their second via sub-Emiliano Buendia. Apart from this mistake, Onana made a very impressive debut, setting up Everton's only goal when he made a brilliant run to the byline showing off his strength and crossed the ball into the box, which Lucas Digne was unable to deal with and put it into his own net. Aston Villa had a nervy final few minutes with the Toffees applying the pressure but ultimately got away with the three points. Everton have improved in defence and midfield, but without a striker, it's hard to see where the goals will come from on the pitch. Lampard will be hoping he can add one to the squad in the coming days. Villa deserved the three points, but it was too close for comfort at the end of the game for them. Steven Gerrard can't sit on his laurels and needs to continue improving the team, especially by figuring out how to involve Phillipe Coutinho, who was a passenger in this encounter.

Brighton 0 - 0 Newcastle

It was a tight and rather dull encounter between Brighton and Newcastle on Saturday, with neither team able to get that final bit of quality to earn them a breakthrough. Brighton had the better chances, but their finishing was relatively poor, emphasizing the need for another true goal scorer in their squad. While Newcastle struggled to make chances with their creative players all having relatively quiet games, Callum Wilson had a goal-scoring opportunity called back for a high boot, a relatively soft call from my perspective. But other than that, Newcastle created very few chances, emphasizing a need for some attacking reinforcements. Nick Pope was the man of the match, already proving himself to be a superb acquisition. An evenly matched encounter that won't live long in the memories of either set of supporters, both sides have strengths and areas in which they can improve.

Manchester City 4 - 0 Bournemouth

It was a classic dominating Manchester City performance when they hosted Bournemouth on Saturday, defeating the Cherries by a comfortable 4 goals to 0. City were just too good for Bournemouth, as they are for lots of teams, dominating possession in the final third and creating opportunities from all over. Their runs are quick, their passes are precise, and their finishing is deadly. It's so difficult to compete with them when they are in this kind of form. Bournemouth managed a few long shots but none of them particularly troubled Ederson. Erling Haaland performed well again, providing an assist for the first goal and nearly scoring their second a few minutes later, had Phil Foden not selfishly decided to shoot rather than square the ball to his striker, who had an open look at goal. Kevin De Bruyne was a deserved Man of the Match, providing a goal and an assist. With Liverpool dropping points in their first two matches, there's a danger Man City might be starting to run away with it already.

Southampton 2 - 2 Leeds

Southampton hosted Leeds it what turned out to be an exciting clash, but one in which Leeds fans will walk away from feeling bitter that they threw away a 2-0 lead. Leeds started the match much the brighter, with their creative players linking up well and creating chances from wide areas. Brenden Aaronson in particular looked brilliant yet again, as did Jack Harrison. The highlight of the first half was a potential red card for a tackle on Stuart Armstrong from Diego Llorente, that I think the referee got right. Despite this great start, Leeds supporters will be worried as Patrick Bamford left the pitch early with an injury, and without a back up striker this could prove costly in the long run. Eventually, Rodrigo made the pressure count when he flicked in a brilliant Jack Harrison cross at the start of the second half. Leeds also showed a threat from set pieces, with their second goal coming from a corner routine that had already almost proved fruitful, yet Southampton failed to pick up on it and allowed to nod it into the box from the near post for Rodrigo to bury it. With roughly a third of the match to go, Ralph Hassenhutl put on newly signed striker Joe Aribo, along with Adam Armstrong, and shortly after Sekou Mara. These additions completely changed the game for Southampton, with Aribo and Armstrong having an almost instant impact when Armstrong assisted Aribo for Southamptons first goal. Less than ten minutes later Sekou Mara assisted Kyle Walker-Peters for the equalizer and to secure a point. While Leeds' attacking play was Brilliant for the first two thirds of the match, Southampton exposed their defensive shortcomings after making the necessary changes which allowed them to put pressure on Leeds. Leeds fans are also critical of Jesse Marsch's game management, as he failed to change his team in reaction to the changes made by Southampton that ultimately cost them the points. The biggest worry for Leeds is obviously the injury to Patrick Bamford, whose absence was dearly felt last season. For Southampton, the performances of their new signings will be a huge boost for the team, and if they can continue to perform and improve Southampton fans will be feeling optimistic about how their rebuild is going.

Arsenal 4 - 2 Leicester

Arsenal looked really classy in their 4-2 win over Leicester, who above all else are a decent side. They worked the ball around brilliantly with quick one/two touch passes and their attacking players cycling in and out of position to create space. After failing to get off the mark against Palace, Gabriel Jesus scored a superb goal to open up his account. Despite being under heavy pressure, Leicester still have that scary ability on the counter, which is how they got their two goals. However, Arsenal continued to dominate the game, and Leicester's set-piece troubles of last season crept back when they conceded yet again from a dead ball scenario. Arsenal look really, really dangerous, and I can't wait to see how they perform when they come up against 'Big 6' opposition. Leicester were outclassed on this occasion but still showed why they're formidable opponents on their day.

Wolves 0 - 0 Fulham

It was a very even matchup when Wolves took on Fulham at the Molineux, and eventually, spoils were shared as the match finished 0-0. Both teams had chances, with Wolves unable to capitalize on their early pressure as both Neto and Podence failed to score from brilliant opportunities. Fulham again showed their newfound set piece threat, with two of their best chances coming from corners. Morgan Gibbs-White had one of the best chances of the game when he missed an open net in the second half. Still, Fulham failed to capitalize on an equally good opportunity when Jose Sa saved Aleksandr Mitrovic's penalty in the 80th minute. It wasn't a great penalty nor a terrible one; Sa simply guessed right, and Mitrovic failed to hit it high enough. Wolves are likely to be the more disappointed of the two teams, as it's looking like they are missing a natural finisher up top as this is the second week in a row they have failed to convert several good chances. While Fulham showed again, they are here to compete with their new Premier League opponents.

Brentford 4 - 0 Manchester United

Again, all I asked of Manchester United going into this season was don't embarrass yourselves, and they go and do it two weeks in a row, typical. All jokes aside, United were unbelievably poor on Saturday. De Gea is at fault for the first and second goals, the first when he lets in an easy shot from Josh Dasilva, and the second when he played a suicide pass to Christian Eriksen, resulting in a goal from Matthias Jensen. This isn't to say that Brentford's goals were flukey. They dominated United with intense pressure and made it difficult for them to play out from the back the way Ten Hag likes. The third goal is embarrassing for the United defence, a corner in that no United player makes a good attempt at clearing, and Ben Mee shrugs off Lisandro Martinez like a child to head home the third. Brentford's fourth was a great goal. Solid defending turns into a quick counter from a brilliant long ball from Ivan Toney, which Bryan Mbuemo finishes. Brentford were brilliant on Saturday and deserved to win by at least four goals. On the other hand, despite having 66 percent possession, United offered absolutely nothing in attack. Perhaps this possession could be viewed as progress towards playing the way Ten Hag wants, but as of right now, this team looks spineless and lost.

Nottingham Forest 1 - 0 West Ham

It was always going to be tough for West Ham when they travelled to Nottingham to become the first team to take on Nottingham Forest away in the Premier League this millennium. The atmosphere was suitably great, and the Forest team seemed to react to that. Nottingham Forest had the better of the early chances, with new striker Taiwo Awoniyi getting into many good positions and causing the West Ham defence problems. West Ham looked a bit flustered, to begin with, but their attacking quality was still visible. Said Benrahma had a goal disallowed due to a foul by Antonio in the build-up, a definite foul but West Ham fans may feel a bit hard done by as it didn't directly affect play. Forest needed a bit of luck to get their opener, but it was well deserved for the pressure they applied. Fans will be pleased that it was three new signings, Harry Toffolo, Jesse Lingard, and eventually Taiwo Awoniyi, who linked up to put them in front. West Ham had loads of chances to go ahead in the second half, with Dean Henderson making unbelievable saves to keep his side in front. Thomas Soucek alone could have had a hat trick. After Dean Henderson saved Declan Rice's penalty, it was clear it was just one of those days for Forest, at home, back in the Premier League, great atmosphere, and they were going to win. West Ham won't be too disappointed with the result due to the wealth of chances they created, and similarly, Nottingham Forest still looked beatable. Still, they undoubtedly improved on their opening day defeat to Newcastle.

Chelsea 2 - 2 Tottenham

Chelsea and Tottenham played out an instant classic at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in a match that had everything from dodgy calls, managerial dustups, and, most importantly, goals. I have to say I underestimated Chelsea going into this one, as I expected the attacking wealth of Tottenham would overpower the strikerless Chelsea, but I was wrong. Chelsea dominated in the first half and deservedly got their lead when new centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly thrashed home a volley from a corner kick. Despite this domination, Chelsea still appears to lack that natural finisher up top. Kane and Son were able to create a couple of chances on the break early in the second but couldn't find that final moment of class. Tottenham's equalizer was shrouded in controversy, as the build-up play began after Romero made a sliding tackle on Kai Havertz, which Chelsea was convinced was a foul. I think it was fair to let the teams play on, as, from several angles, it looks like Romero may have gotten the ball. Either way, the move ended with Hojberg burying a shot in the bottom left corner and bringing Tottenham level. The goal sent the benches into a frenzy, with Conte and Tuchel at each other's throats and looking like they were ready to face off for what would be the Premier League Manager's lightweight belt. Chelsea responded quickly, at first with Kai Havertz missing a golden opportunity from a Reece James cross, again emphasizing the lack of a natural finisher up top. A few minutes later, Reece James was able to bury their second following a quick counter after regaining possession in the final third. While I thought the Spurs attacking power would overwhelm Chelsea, it just brought them level, as the substitutions of Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, and Yves Bissouma added some much-needed energy to their attack. Spurs' second goal was equally as controversial, as there were very reasonable calls for a red card after Romero yanked Marc Cucurella's hair during the corner before the one where Harry Kane headed home the second goal. Even the final handshake was dramatic! Both teams will take positives from this game, Chelsea, in that they can still compete with the big boys even after having such an underwhelming transfer window. While Spurs did something very un-Spurs and showed that they can still get points from challenging games when they aren't playing their best.

Liverpool 1 - 1 Crystal Palace

Our final encounter of match week 2 was the Monday night kick-off between Liverpool and Crystal Palace, with the hosts looking to bounce back from their disappointing start at Fulham. Crystal Palace executed their plan to near perfection, absorbing Liverpool's early pressure and not allowing the hosts' possession to result in any real chances. Palace opened the scoring with a brilliant counter-attacking goal. The goalkeeper cleared it to Eze, who got away from Fabinho brilliantly, then played a great through ball to Zaha, who put it in so coolly. The blueprint for a counter-attacking goal. Palace would have been incredibly pleased with how that first half played out and even more delighted when Liverpool's most significant threat Darwin Nunez saw red in the second half. Joachim Anderson had been pestering Nunez for the entire match, and he took the bait, quickly turning into Anderson and head butting him in the face, inevitably leading to him falling down like a sack of potatoes. Still, it was a red card, nonetheless. Things were looking bleak for Liverpool, down a goal and a man, but Luis Dias came to the rescue when he dribbled past four Palace defenders and buried the ball in the far corner brilliantly. Both teams had chances in the final twenty minutes, but neither capitalized, and the match ended in a draw. Crystal Palace will be a bit disappointed they couldn't come away with all three points, but a draw at Anfield is always a good result. Liverpool, on the other hand, will be becoming increasingly concerned. No wins in their first two matches against opposition they need to be beating if they want to compete for the title, while their new striker is sent off a week before they are set to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford. Jurgen Klopp has a lot to think about.

Thanks for reading this weeks Grubby Balls match week review, stay tuned for our preview of Matchweek 3 coming tomorrow