The Grubby Balls Matchweek 3 Review

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

Manchester United 2 - 1 Liverpool

United are just full of surprises this season, and this week it came at Jurgen Klopp's expense. Most pundits were expecting Liverpool to run rampant on United, but to be fair, Liverpool hadn't won a game yet this season either, and without Darwin Nunez and Thiago, it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. United took down Liverpool using the same formula Crystal Palace used last week. They pressed Liverpool hard, a complete turnaround compared with the abysmal defending we saw against Brentford. They then played through balls into their speedy attackers to exploit gaps in the Liverpool defence. This week it was Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford who got the goals instead of Wilfred Zaha. With Sancho opening the scoring with a superb finish and Rashford making it two in the second half with an equally composed shot. Liverpool had the vast majority of possession, but without Nunez up front, seemed to be lacking enough threat to do anything with it, taking 17 shots but only creating one "big chance", from which they scored, compared to United's four big chances from 13 attempts. At the same time, Liverpool's midfield of Henderson, Milner, and Harvey Elliot were just being beaten to that second ball. It was in many ways a Ten Hag style performance, without the possession that was a staple of his dominant Ajax squad. This is probably a sign of things to come for United, as they won't be able to replicate that dominating possession immediately, but they can replicate that high press high energy attack that wins the ball back high up the pitch. Now they have to be able to replicate this performance when the stakes aren't as high, which is more complicated than it sounds.

Newcastle 3 - 3 Manchester City

Sunday was undoubtedly super as the Leeds win over Chelsea was shortly eclipsed by a classic at St James Park. It was the battle of oil-rich owners in a match that may be the equivalent of Man City vs Liverpool in a few years. City opened the scoring early, but Newcastle had the better chances in the first half, with Miguel Almiron equalizing in the 28th before Callum Wilson scored their second ten minutes later. Kieran Trippier scored a worldy free kick early in the second half to put Newcastle in dreamland. It was short-lived, though, as City came back with a Haaland and Silva 1-2 punch in the 60th and 64th to even the scores. Newcastle had a red card scare when Trippier was shown a straight red for his challenge on De Bruyne, but the referee overturned it correctly, in my opinion. City will be happy they could come back to rescue a point but disappointed that they weren't able to draw level with Arsenal. It seems they still have to work out the best way to use Haaland, who made several good runs where he didn't receive the ball. On the other hand, Newcastle will be jubilant and feel they can crack on in the top half of the table, especially if Allan Saint-Maximin can make man of the match performances like this the norm.

Leeds 3 - 0 Chelsea

Leeds got what might have been one of their most memorable wins since returning to the Premier League when they beat Chelsea at home on Saturday. Chelsea's attack appeared to lack the killer instinct, only having 0.88 expected goals despite having 61% possession. Raheem Sterling had a few good chances that he couldn't convert, as did Marc Cucurella. On the other hand, Leeds were cutthroat, with their slightly tweaked high pressing style shining through when Brenden Aaronson robbed Edouard Mendy of the ball to dribble it in for the first. Rodrigo scored his fourth goal of the season from a brilliant set piece by Man of the Match Jack Harrison. Chelsea came out in the second half looking slightly better, but Leeds still offered a threat and didn't sit back on their goals, a strategy which paid off when Harrison stabbed in their third. Things went from bad to worse for Chelsea when Koulibaly was sent off in the 84th minute after earning a second yellow. After scoring two at home against Spurs last week, this was a stark reminder for Chelsea that after losing so many attackers, they could use some new ones, while for Leeds, it was another win to cap off what has already been a great start.

West Ham 1 - 2 Brighton

West Ham fell to the bottom of the table after losing their third game in three matches, much to the home crowd's disappointment at the London Stadium. While West Ham were undoubtedly poor, Brighton looked brilliant again. West Ham had 13 shots total in the game but didn't create a single big chance and managed an XG of only 0.89. Mr West Ham Mikail Antonio didn't manage a single shot in the 74 minutes he was on the pitch. West Ham looked more threatening in the first half but were caught out by Brighton when Danny Welbeck won a penalty. Brighton stars of the season so far, Leandro Trossard and Pascal Gross, linked up well to score the second that secured the Seagulls the win. West Ham will hope these are only growing pains after such a good season last year, but with European football on their plate, they need to start picking up points soon, as the pressure will only mount further.

Bournemouth 0 - 3 Arsenal

The side fielded by Mikel Arteta looked miles ahead of the one put out by Bournemouth and Scott Parker on paper. However, unlike usual in the Premier League, this match played out how you would expect it to on paper, with Arsenal putting in another dominating performance to come away 3-0 victors. Odegaard opened the scoring early on after Gabriel Jesus brilliantly controlled the ball in midfield and dribbled past several Bournemouth defenders before slotting the ball into Martinelli, whose shot was parried into the path of the Arsenal captain. Not long after, Odegaard got his second with a brilliant curler that he practically took off the boot of Jesus. Arsenal saved the best for last, though, as William Saliba hit a first-time cracker in the 54th to make it 3-0. A well-deserved Arsenal victory, but Bournemouth shouldn't feel too bad about it.

Leicester 1 - 2 Southampton

Goals were expected at the King Power when the two teams with the leakiest defences clashed on Saturday. The headlines before the game were all about Wesley Fofana, who was left out of the side after Brendan Rodgers stated he wasn't in the right mindset to start amidst the links with a move away to Chelsea. Leicester were the better of the two sides in the first half but weren't rewarded with a goal. They got the breakthrough in the second from a brilliant James Maddison free-kick, another player whose future is in question. Ralph Hassenhutl will take plaudits for subbing on Che Adams, who made an instant impact and slotted in the equalizer, but it was poor defending from Leicester. He put in the winner not much later when he volleyed in from a James Ward-Prowse cross to claim the three points. A tremendous late comeback for the Saints, but serious questions have to be asked of the Leicester defence, as they let in another two late goals after letting go of a 2-0 lead in their opener against Brentford. Leicester still have so much quality in their attack, but with several players' futures in doubt, times are uncertain for the Foxes.

Fulham 3 - 2 Brentford

Over a weekend of high-profile matches, this West London Derby flew slightly under the radar but provided some of the best action we saw all weekend when Fulham scored late to take all three points in their 3-2 win over Brentford. Both teams attacking quality was on full display, as was the quality of their talisman strikers Ivan Toney and Alexsander Mitrovic, who both scored. For me, these have been two of the most exciting teams to watch this season, with their attacking build-up play and link-up looking more and more fluid each week. Fulham took an incredibly early lead when Bobby Decordova-Reid scored inside two minutes. Fulham got their second when Andreas Perreira played a corner into their other new midfielder Palhinha, who slotted home to make it 2-0. This set-piece threat has been one of Fulham's best attacking qualities so far this season and seems like it will pose a threat to any opposition. However, Brentford quickly pulled one back from a well-practised corner routine, giving Fulham a taste of their own medicine. Ivan Toney then got their second after having two goals disallowed when Bryan Mbuemo played a classy through ball to Wissa, who passed it to Toney to finish, three players who have been linking up well in these early matches. In the end, Fulham got the deserved win when they floated a cross into the box, which Mitrovic buried with a brilliant header. It was a great match between two entertaining teams who I think will both have great seasons at this rate.

Everton 1 - 1 Nottingham Forest

Everton were attempting to avoid their worst Premier League start in recent history when they hosted newly promoted Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park on Saturday. Frank Lampard decided to start Salomon Rondon up top after playing Anthony Gordon there last weekend in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. This change proved fruitful as Gordon and Demarai Gray looked lively in the opening minutes linking up well and dropping into space now that neither of them was expected to sit up top as a striker. Despite looking improved, Everton could not break the deadlock and still looked like they lacked a comfortable goal scorer without Richarlison and DCL. Nottingham Forest was able to fashion a few chances, primarily due to Everton's defensive errors but didn't look like scoring. It looked like we were heading for a 0-0 before Brennan Johnson put in the opener in the 81st minute after Pickford parried a shot from outside the box into his path. The goalkeeper made up for his mistake only a few minutes later when he assisted Demarai Gray with a beautiful long ball over the top, which he could bring down with a brilliant first touch and slot past Dean Henderson, who had been playing brilliantly. Everton almost looked like they would get a winner, with Anthony Gordon having a great chance to put a second past Dean Henderson, in the dying embers of the game, but luck wasn't on their side. With a week left in the transfer window, Everton need to move quickly, as they still lack enough attacking spark, while Forest will be relatively pleased with the away point.

Crystal Palace 3 - 1 Aston Villa

After defeating Frank Lampards Everton last weekend Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa travelled to London to take on another Premier League greats side in Patrick Viera's Crystal Palace. It all started so well for Villa when Ollie Watkins got on the end of a long ball in the early minutes to score, a formula they have relied heavily on these first few weeks. However, the Villa jubilation didn't last long as Wilfred Zaha evened the score shortly after, similarly to how he scored against Liverpool last week. He is looking better and better at striker and is in absolutely blistering form. Palace had their second disallowed for a ridiculous VAR offside call, but the Villa defence looked very shaky again. Eberiche Eze also looked fantastic, showcasing his ability to carry the ball from back to front and take on defenders in a central midfield role. Villa still have quality in their attack and were able to make chances, but their defence couldn't handle Palace. Palace got their second from a relatively soft penalty called for a handball from Lucas Digne, who couldn't have done much about it, but in the grand scheme of things, Palace deserved the lead after their second was disallowed. Jean Phillipe Mateta finished the game with a brilliant volley to make it 3-1. It was a well-deserved Crystal Palace win, and they look like they'll be a handful for any opposition they face. On the other hand, Villa needs to sort out their defence fast, or Steven Gerrard will start to come under serious pressure.

Tottenham 1 - 0 Wolves

In the first match of the weekend, Spurs hosted Wolves. Wolves started their two new signings in Guedes and Matheus Nunes, while Conte gave Ivan Perisic his first start. Spurs' build-up play in the first half was relatively slow, with the best chance of the 45 falling to Wolves' new man Nunes who nearly got the opener with a header. However, Spurs came out in the second half looking much sharper, with Kulesevski and Kane linking up well. Harry Kane and Heung Min Son both hit the post before Spurs finally got the lead from a well-worked corner routine, a front post flick on Harry Kane, who buried the winner. Not a match to remember for either side but a crucial three points for Spurs nonetheless.

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