It was another weekend of football and I had my fill. I watched almost all the matches and I am so glad the international break is over. I am not a fan of international matches but I still watch them. Club football gives me that edge even though I still watch any kind of match because football is like food to me. You can't blame me hahahaha. Since I didn't realize my dream as a football player, I still want to be close to football in every way.
The matches get interesting as the season gets tougher and another round of exciting games came over the weekend and I will be sharing my views on each of these top matches.
Crystal Palace v Tottenham.
This was the surprise of the lot and that's no disrespect to Palace but on paper, anyone would expect Tottenham to win this game. Tottenham had a perfect start to the season until this game. They have always managed to get through with 1-0s but that only masked the underlying problems they have which are still unattended to. They needed to inject new faces into the team and their reliance on the services of Son left them exposed again seeing that he couldn't make this match due to injury.
Their injury woes continued as Eric Dier had to be taken out of the game in just 12 minutes and to make it worse, Tanganga was sent off for a second bookable offence after a clumsy challenge. This only made things worse for them and would have to find a way to navigate through these injury crises they are currently facing.
Palace showed they were the better side in this game. They played with more determination and flair. Zaha and Gallagher particularly caused problems for Tottenham who had no response to the three goals they conceded. Even their talisman, Harry Kane couldn't do much as he was bereft of quality services.
Zaha opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Ben Davies who came on to replace the sent off Tanganga (Harry Winks was pulled off to accommodate the defender after the red card) handled the ball inside the box. Zaha scored and the exciting part was for Palace's new boy: Edouard as he scored after being introduced into the game under 30 seconds before bagging his brace to finish off Tottenham. Palace had been searching for their first win of the season under Patrick Vieira and what a time to get it.
Arsenal v Norwich.
Arsenal reduced the pressure on the team with a solitary goal against Norwich. Norwich caused Arsenal problems on few occasions but Arsenal managed to get the needed win to get their first goal and first win of the season after being rock bottom of the league table. Aubameyang was at the right place and at the right time to bundle home the ball with ease.
Both teams have been struggling with results as Norwich is struggling to get the needed point after winning the championship the last term in their division and Arsenal had to endure a horrible start to the season which is the first time in history they've had to go three games without a win and a goal on the opening games of the season. This win would at least reduce the pressure and give them the needed confidence they need to get more points as they are off the bottom of the table with that win.
Manchester United v Newcastle.
All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo's second stint with Manchester United. No warm-up has ever been watched as this was watched and that's the influence that Cristiano Ronaldo wields. He is not only influential in games but even outside the game as his shirt sold far more than we can imagine.
He admitted to being nervy and that's because of the outpouring of love from the fans which he wants to repay by having a good game and a win for the team. Newcastle caused United a lot of problems but Manchester United held firm and the alertness, awareness and pure genius of Cristiano got United over the line as his homecoming was perfected.
United took the lead just before the halftime break when Ronaldo tapped home. Newcastle scored emphatically afterwards on the restart of the second half and Ronaldo restored United's lead with a lovely darting run that led to a goal from his left foot. The icing of the cake came from Bruno Fernandes who had to remind Manchester United fans not to forget him by being lost in the euphoria of Cristiano's homecoming when he blasted a goal that would certainly be a contender for the goal of the month after receiving a pass from Paul Pogba.
Pogba is another player who has had a decent start to the season by raking up 7 assists in the first 4 games. Jesse Lingard was introduced early on and he was able to complete the rout with the form that we saw when he was on loan at West Ham last season. United ended the game with a 4-1 victory much to the delight of the fans who were pleased to see Ronaldo back in United's colours.
Leicester City v Manchester City.
Bernado Silva was the only difference in this game as he was alert to get the rebound that came off the feet of Soyuncu. Leicester City had their chances and Manchester City too but they were unable to convert the chances.
Manchester City would be thrilled to get the three points in the bag after their opening day defeat to Tottenham. Manchester City still needs a quality striker and it must be hard to take for City after missing out on Harry Kane. The good thing is that City are not solely reliant on their center forward as they can get goals from every angle as we have witnessed over the past seasons. Bernardo Silva delivered the goods this time around and it was enough to give them the 3 points.
Chelsea v Aston Villa.
Lukaku proved to be the answers to Chelsea's frontline after all they witnessed with Timo Werner last season. Lukaku is an upgrade as he can link up, hold up play, drift wide and also score. Timo Werner can drift wide and link-up play but he is not a good finisher neither can he hold up play. Lukaku is giving Chelsea something different upfront which would help them in different competition and I believe Timo Werner still have a huge part to play as the season progresses.
Chelsea didn't play their best game but they know how to grind out the results. They got the result against Liverpool the last time too despite not being at their best and now they got the result despite Aston Villa dominating the better part of the game. Lukaku got a brace to score for the first time in his career at Stamford Bridge. Kovacic scored in between Lukaku's goals to also register his first goal at Stamford Bridge also. Chelsea know how to get their result and they did it clinically.
Leeds v Liverpool.
Leeds hosted Liverpool at Elland Road and with their new boy; Daniel James still fresh from his transfer from Manchester United, Leeds would be hoping to cause Liverpool some problems but they were not able to do enough. Liverpool are finally coming around to the form that saw them win the league two seasons ago.
Salah, Fabinho and Mane all did the damage to Leeds who also lost Struijk to a red card in the 60th minute after a clumsy challenge that left Elliott's left leg broken. After a review of the challenge, the referee had no choice. Liverpool had a penalty shout waved off while Mane missed an open goal but still they weathered the storm and came out with the win. It was a good tussle between the two attacking sides.
Liverpool moved to 3rd on the log but they are also the joint leader with Manchester United and Chelsea on 10 points with the same goal difference. I believe Liverpool cannot be ruled out as they are finding their grooves back gradually and it would be a wonderful battle as the season progresses.
Thank you for your time.
I watched one of Cristiano Ronaldo's game. He was really great player. Just awesome!