Sure, the international break gave us some thrilling moments, but there were 27 goals in the Barclays Premier League this past Saturday – eight more than on any other single day this season.
Here are the top five things we learned this weekend…
Man City can win on the road
That seems like such a stupid statement when you look the team Manuel Pellegrini has at his disposal every weekend.
But Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham United was City’s first away victory of the season. By comparison, Arsenal and Tottenham have already won three times on the road.
The score line was very complimentary to an outclassed West Ham side. Jussi Jaaskelainen made six saves to keep the Hammers from being completely embarrassed at home. The Finn may turn 39 this season, but he is still one of the very best goalkeepers in the league.
No one could have kept Sergio Aguero and David Silva off the score sheet on that day, though. The Argentine’s hunger for goals is unstoppable and he continues to put himself in the perfect positions to be fed – often times, a perfect ball from Silva.
If there was ever a doubt over the Spaniard’s importance, he eliminated it on Saturday. His link up play with Aguero and countryman Alvaro Negredo is unmatched.
But the real tip of the hat must go to the manager. Pellegrini went with a completely different back four. Vincent Kompany was the only one injured. Finding the right rotation that will satisfy all the egos in the dressing room and consistently pull out results is the toughest part of his job. I mean just look, City’s bench at Upton Park cost a combined £125 million!
The scary thing is, Man City is the complete package in October.
Soccer Central podcast: Sportsnet is proud to announce the launch of the Soccer Central podcast, hosted by James Sharman, Brendan Dunlop and Thomas Dobby. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
Samuel Eto’o hates rules
Clearly the Chelsea front man is so unhappy that he is no longer the highest paid player in the game that he feels no need to respect the rulebook.
FIFA law 12 states a goalkeeper is “considered to be in control of the ball while the ball is between his hands and any surface and while in the act of bouncing it on the ground.”
But if referee Anthony Taylor doesn’t see anything wrong with it, who’s to say that we should?
The reality is, Chelsea would have beaten Cardiff regardless of whether or not Eto’o decided to take advantage of Cardiff City goalkeeper David Marshall’s lack of awareness. But Taylor got it wrong, and it could set off a string of copycat attempts.
Of course, by the time you’re reading this after your lunch break on Monday, Taylor may have already been demoted from Premier League duty and no one would dare try such an unsportsmanlike trick again.
Although, you could probably come up with a dozen names who would try it. Joey Barton? Mario Balotelli? Thank goodness then the Premier League is no longer home to those to malcontents.
Southampton is for real
Having said that, I don’t expect the Saints to be a top five side at Christmas, nor do I expect them to be playing Europa League football next season. But Southampton is a club to be feared each and every weekend because they have an undying desire to push their opponents to their limits.
The Saints stole a point late at Old Trafford on Saturday because Manchester United couldn’t kill off the game — and not for the first time since Fergie’s retirement, although United fans do not need me to remind them of that.
There really isn’t one place on the field where you can say “The Saints aren’t as good as they should be there.” In fact the only player you can jump on for underachieving would be Pablo Osvaldo, but only because he has scored just once in seven Premier League appearances.
Still, the Italian front man has been a huge contributor in their hot start to the season and is visibly making the players around him better.
I was one of the most vocal of Nicola Cortese’s critics when he opted to hand Nigel Adkins the pink slip to bring Mauricio Pochettino to St. Mary’s. But the Saints chairman said when he first took over the club that he was determined to make Southampton successful and a force to be reckoned with, and with Pochettino at the helm, he most certainly has done that.
Aaron Ramsey is becoming a scorer of great goals
Just the fact that he leads table topping Arsenal with five goals is enough of a surprise. But the Welshman caused more than a few jaws to hit the floor with his Messi-like goal against Norwich.
To think there was a time not that long ago when Gooners were demanding Arsene Wenger give up on Ramsey. These were mainly the same Gooners that had given up on Wenger.
Ramsey, 22, is without a doubt one of the main reasons that Arsenal have gotten off to such a hot start. And the longer he keeps putting his name on the score sheet, the longer that will continue.
Newcastle and Liverpool love to score on each other
These two have played 39 times in the Premier League era, and never once has a match ended 0-0. No fixture has had more games and no scoreless draws.
In fact, there have been more goals (the four at St. James’ Park on Saturday took the tally to 126) scored in games between these two than any other Premier League pairing.
Seeing as Newcastle played with 10 men for more than a half, I expected Liverpool to find a winner. But the Magpies were fully deserving for the draw and proved yet again that you just do not know what to expect from this team.
Brendan Dunlop is the host of Soccer Central, airing Monday to Thursday and Sunday on Sportsnet World and Sportsnet ONE at 7pm ET. Follow Brendan on Twitter.