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Marcus Ashford in celebration mode.
By MATT HOOY
and ATIBA JACKSON
Post-Rooney era is just around the corner at Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho finally did what manager after manager at both United and at National level have never had the courage to do. A Rooney-less side saw United come out of the blocks firing, with defender Chris Smalling sinking the first of four goals for the Red Devils.
After a less-than-acceptable run of losses, Mourinho switched the team up, playing Ander Herrera alongside Paul Pogba in the middle, with Daley Blind also replacing the injured Luke Shaw. From the start United looked ready and willing to attack, providing multiple opportunities. Juan Mata found the net for United’s second, then wonderkid http://gty.im/512839136 followed from a short corner. Then stepped up Pogba, the world’s most expensive player. Pogba finally ended his goal draught at United, scoring his first goal with a nice header off a good cross from Blind.
Disgruntled fans will be pleased to see the back of Rooney, however Mourinho will be expected to still use the much maligned captain throughout this year’s Europa League and Premier League campaigns. (MH)
Liverpool are becoming title contenders again, under Klopp’s guidance.
The Reds lay waste to a 10-man Hull, scoring five goals and shooting up into the top four. A James Milner brace, along with Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Adams Lallana finding the back of the net, indicate Liverpool have a scary amount of attacking options.
Jürgen Klopp has managed to resurrect the club since its days with Luis Suarez at the helm of attack, with an array of impressive new talent to perform in front of the "Kop". The additions of Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and defensive duo Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip have breathed new life into players like Jordan Henderson and Lallana, who are finally beginning to live up to their early career potentials.
The way this side continues to develop, Klopp is steering the Reds into not only an impressive run of form, but a genuine shot at the title. (MH)
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Junior Stanislas scored a key goal.
Everton slip shows they aren’t quite ready for Europe.
Just when everyone had thought Everton had really turned a corner, just as Ronald Koeman had finally cracked the Everton puzzle that would boost them from the average heights of mid-table to the staggering views of Europe, they go and lose to Bournemouth.
The Cherries performed well, shocking Everton with an incredibly aggressive first half, as well as an equally impressive goal from Junior Stanislas. However, it was Everton’s game to lose.
Some missed opportunities from Ross Barkley and Yannick Bolasie, as well as a wonderfully saved shot from Romelu Lukaku meant that Everton whiffed on a chance to be sitting clear second on the ladder. With the Toffees not even salvaging a point, they move to fifth place with Manchester United and Crystal Palace closing in. (MH)
Pep’s juggernaut keeps rolling on despite distractions.
If you didn’t know by now, then you definitely should know that Manchester City are a force to be reckoned with. Still maintaining their 100 per cent winning record for the year, City have jumped to a four-point lead on the league table, after an Aguero brace.
Despite the ongoing battle between Yaya Toure, his manager and coach Pep Guardiola, City have managed to dominate yet again, with an impressive balance between defence and attack. Being 1-1 at half time didn’t seem to bother the league-leaders, as they finished the game comfortably, scoring two more second half goals to secure the three points.
While still early in the season, Manchester City are definitely playing up to the hype and at this stage would have to be considered title favourites. (MH)
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Lee Grant produced a fine save, but was unable to stop a draw-sealing goal.
Salomón Rondón’s late equaliser salvages West Brom a point.
In a game that was rather slow at the outset with West Brom content to sit back and avoid making too many mistakes, the action came late, as Stoke City were denied what they would believe was a well-deserved victory.
In Tony Pulis’ 1000th game as a manager, his West Brom side showed a defensive determination that was able to keep Stoke City at bay for over 70 minutes.
However, Joe Allen was able to put the Potters in front poking in a failed Jonny Evans clearance following a Xherdan Shaqiri cross. Stoke City goalkeeper Lee Grant produced a fine save to keep out James McClean’s header, before being left unable to stop Rondón from stealing a draw in stoppage time.
"We feel deflated but it was a good performance from us,” Stoke City manager, Mark Hughes said post-match. (AJ)
Even with a 2-0 lead Sunderland are still able to find a way to lose.
In what Crystal Palace and neutral fans would consider a thrilling come-from-behind victory, Sunderland squandered a two-goal advantage in the last half an hour to cement their position on the foot of the ladder.
In a game even Sunderland manager David Moyes didn’t believe his side deserved to lead, their defensive deficiencies costed them in the end.
“We deserve to be bottom because we’re not good enough. We’re not doing enough defensively,” Moyes told reporters post-match.
With Sunderland’s main man Jermain Defoe scoring both of Sunderland’s goals, an upset look on the cards. However, two goals in 15 second-half minutes set up a grandstand finish, where Sunderland’s defensive work again let them down. Christian Benteke broke the hearts of the Sunderland faithful as he was left unmarked and the Belgian striker was able to float in and powerfully head home the winner in the last minute of stoppage-time. (AJ)
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Son Heung-Minhas started strongly at Tottenham.
Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough marks their best start in the top flight for 51 years.
With Harry Kane missing through injury, it was Son Heung-Min who scored two spectacular goals to lead the Spurs to an away victory at Riverside Stadium. Usually deployed in a secondary role supporting Tottenham, star striker Heung-Min again showed his class in a dominant display. In scoring his third and fourth goals of the season, he has already equalled his goal tally from last season in only three Premier league games.
In the seventh minute Heung-Min played a one-two with Vincent Janssen, then slipped past two Middlesbrough defenders scoring past the outstretched Victor Valdes. Only 15 minutes later, Heung-Min turned what appeared to be a non-threatening attack into a spectacular finish as he maneuvered himself out of tight position on the byline and fired a spectacular curling shot perfectly into the far corner.
Tottenham’s next league action is Sunday, in a must watch top-of-the-table clash at home against Manchester City, while Middlesbrough face West Ham with both teams in desperate need of three points. (AJ)
Chelsea’s defensive woes continue as Arsenal sparkle in a dominant London derby performance.
If last week’s performance against Liverpool was worrying, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has even greater reason for concern following his team’s lackluster first half performance, that saw them down 3-0 before the main break.
While Gary Cahill may have gifted Alexis Sánchez Arsenal’s first goal, it was the irrepressible passing of the Gunners that quickly had them two goals up within the opening 15 minutes. Theo Walcott was the beneficiary of their play getting himself on the end of a Hector Bellerin pass to finish off an exciting passage of play.
Arsenal’s stars showed their class, with standout performances from Sánchez and Mesut Özil who dictated the play for most of the first half. Özil was able to join the scorers sheet just minutes before half time, closing the door on any Chelsea fightback.
It was Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s first win over Chelsea in the Premier League since October 2011 and this fine performance moves the Gunners to third place, five points adrift of the rampant Manchester City. (AJ)
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Charlie Austin provided the spark.
West Ham’s life at the London Stadium is off to a shocking start.
It was a day where things went from bad to worse for West Ham United, suffering their fifth league defeat in only their six match of the season slumping to third last on the table.
It was Southampton who capitalised on the Hammers' slump putting three goals past them in a superb all-round team performance. For Slaven Bilic, the greatest concern will again be his team's complete lack of defensive effort, with no heart shown by his players until they were already down two goals.
It makes it an appalling 11 goals conceded in their past three league games. Further up the pitch, the Hammers lacked any creative spark and failed to register a single strike on target all evening.
For Southampton it was again Charlie Austin who provided the spark, scoring for the fifth time in Southampton’s last four games (all wins across different competitions) and also set up Dusan Tadic to make it 2-0 after an hour's play. (AJ)
- First half onslaught proves successful for Burnley’s attacking mindset.
Burnley used a dominant first half performance to end Watford’s string of good form by scoring twice and keeping a strong clean sheet. A lacklustre Watford side were ambushed by a willing and competitive Burnley side who managed to score in the 38th minute thanks to a Jeff Hendrick header.
From there it was a matter of catch-up in which Watford simply didn’t muster enough effort, with Troy Deeney’s early second half shot being saved, only to go down the other end for Burnley to score a second.
Burnley’s second win of the season has put them into 13th place, while Watford have dropped to 11th. A disappointing performance for Watford has them sitting with a -1 goal difference for the year, something which forwards Deeney and Odion Ighalo will look to change in the coming weeks. (MH)