Here’s what happened in the Premier League this weekend, in case you missed it…
READ ALL ABOUT IT
• Opinion: Mourinho too tactically shifty for his own good
• Saturday: Man City blanks Stoke, Palace stuns Chelsea and more
• Sunday: Rooney rescues Everton and Gabbiadini stars for Southampton
WATCH MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Liverpool 0, Manchester United 0 || Burnley 1, West Ham United 1 || Crystal Palace 2, Chelsea 1 || Manchester City 7, Stoke City 2 || Swansea City 2, Huddersfield Town 0 || Tottenham 1, Bournemouth 0 || Watford 2, Arsenal 1 || Brighton & Hove Albion 1, Everton 1 || Southampton 2, Newcastle United 2
WHAT STOOD OUT
Typical Arsenal
Unbeaten in their four games coming into this past weekend, Arsenal reverted to their old ways and shot themselves in the foot on Saturday at Vicarage Road in typical Arsenal fashion.
The knock on the Gunners for the past few seasons has been they are too mentally frail, they crumble under the slightest bit of pressure, and lack a killer instinct. All of their shortcomings were on fully display against Watford. Arsene Wenger’s men were firmly in control of the proceedings thanks to Per Mertesacker’s first-half goal, only to see another three points slip through their fingers.
Honestly, the game should have been done and dusted, with both Alex Iwobi and Mesut Ozil squandering glorious scoring opportunities to build on their 1-0 lead. Instead, Arsenal let the Hornets stick around, and the home side took full advantage with Richarlison drawing a penalty that Troy Deeney covered in the 71st minute. Arsenal was shell shocked, and they never fully recovered, as they tried in vain to hold onto a point. Then Tom Cleverley pounced on an error inside the penalty area as Arsenal couldn’t clear its line, netting the game winner in injury time to compound Wenger’s misery.
What’s most concerning for Arsenal is that opponents appear to be picking up on their sense of desperation in games, with Cleverly telling one TV outlet, “You could smell a bit of blood in the water. I gambled for the goal. If you were a bit more wary of a team, then maybe I wouldn’t have done it.” Even more telling were the comments of Deeney, who said, “I’m not going to be one to tell Mr. Wenger about himself, but there’s a reason they lost and it wasn’t because of one penalty. It’s having a bit of cojones.”
Pressure mounting on Koeman and Everton
Danny Dichio and James Sharman discuss how Sunday’s draw against Brighton & Hove Albion could spell trouble for Everton manager Ronald Koeman.
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BEST MOMENT
You have to like the hustle from Manchester City’s Kyle Walker, who smashed into an advertising board as he attempted to prevent a Stoke City goal kick.
BEST GOAL
Manchester City’s Fernandinho unleashed a rocket from distance that beat Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland.
BEST QUOTE
BEST SAVE
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea made an unbelievable kick stop to deny Liverpool’s Joel Matip.
BEST MATCH
It wasn’t very competitive, but Manchester City vs. Stoke City produced nine goals in total, many of them spectacular, and the soccer on display from City was scintillating at times.
CRISIS CLUB OF THE WEEK: CHELSEA
After being handed their second straight Premier League loss, Chelsea might be showing signs that they could struggle moving forward this season.
BEST TWEET
Liverpool vs Manchester United didn’t live up the hype, prompting responses such as this:
THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME
It was even honours between Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton on Sunday, which wasn’t too surprising when you look at the numbers:
THE BIG QUESTION
Every week, Sportsnet’s soccer panel will debate The Big Question. Have your say by voting in the poll below:
SIX PACK OF STATS
• Crystal Palace scored its first goal in 731 minutes of Premier League action on Saturday.
• Manchester City is the first top-flight team to score 29 goals in their first eight league games of the season since Everton (30 goals) in 1894-95.
• Chelsea have lost consecutive Premier League games under Antonio Conte for just the second time.
• Per Mertesacker scored his first Premier League goal in 1400 days on Saturday since scoring vs. Man City in December 2013.
• Only Frank Lampard (39), Andy Cole (38) and Alan Shearer (37) have scored against more clubs in the Premier League than Wayne Rooney (36).
• Newcastle United on Sunday scored an away goal in the first half of a Premier League match for the first time since Nov. 2015, 687 days ago.
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS
1) Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City: He didn’t score, but the Belgian was sensational in pulling the creative strings and recording a pair of assists.
2) Manolo Gabbiadini, Southampton: Scored two goals and ran himself ragged in a man-of-the-match performance for the Saints.
3) Tammy Abraham, Swansea City: Bagged a brace and showed great composure in front of goal for the Swans.