Top game: Liverpool's 2:1 win at Stamford Bridge showed the difference between the new boy and the old school. Tactically Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish and his assistant Steve Clarke got everything spot-on and outclassed and outplayed André Villas-Boas' side. David Luiz and John Terry fell victim to Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez on the flanks and Craig Bellamy supporting Luis Suárez and could not recover after a dire first half. With Manchester City next on the fixture list, Liverpool will hope they can continue that trend.
Top team: The records keep on tumbling for Manchester City. With 11 wins and one draw in the first 12 league fixtures, City have made the best start by any team in Premier League history. And with 42 goals, they have the highest goal tally at this stage since Tottenham with 44 goals in the 1963-64 season. Who needs Carlos Tevez? Talking about Tottenham, they are enjoying their best start to the season since 1966, scoring at least two goals in the last nine games.
Top player: Robin Van Persie was the man again, scoring both goals in Arsenal's 2:1 win at Norwich. He has scored 31 goals in 29 league games this year, only five away from Alan Shearer's record of 36 goals in a calendar year. Theo Walcott partnered brilliantly with the Dutch striker as attacker and provider, although the Gunners still showed worrying signs at the back after conceding the 18th away goal this season, the worst record in the Premier League.
Top goal: Glen Johnson's fine run and left-foot shot, after steering the ball through Ashley Cole's legs off Charlie Adam's probing pass to the right wing, summarised and won a match where Liverpool dominated a flawed Chelsea side. Emmanuel Adebayor's acrobatic finish put a sweet touch onto Tottenham's win against Aston Villa, a game they also dominated and never saw or got much opposition to fear.Top news: The Champions League is back in action this week, the decisive stage of the group phase kicking off.
Flop game: Fulham's goalless draw at Sunderland had its opening 15 minutes of excitement, the home side hitting the woodwork twice and visitors seeing a chance cleared off the line, but that was about it. Mark Schwarzer's right-leg save after diving the wrong way when Stephane Sessegnon's shot had taken a wicked deflection off Philippe Senderos was the most sensational and crucial action of the game, Fulham's 25th game of the season, their fatigue showing.
Flop team: Losing three out of the last four Premier League games after their fourth defeat of the season against Liverpool, Villa-Boas will most certainly feel the fans, the players and a certain Russian breathing down his neck. Everyone will have a sell-by-date in mind for the Portuguese and if Chelsea continue like this I don't think he will reach 2012. Too negative, too scrambled and too leaking, that is how they looked against the Reds. And we all know Roman Abramovich's patience.
Flop player: Ryan Taylor will want to forget this weekend as quickly as possible. The Newcastle's defender's mistakes led to two goals conceded within four minutes against Manchester City. First he gave away a penalty with an obvious handball, netted cooly by Mario Balotelli, and then he let Micah Richards score an easy one without much of a challenge. What makes these kind of errors the more frustrating is the fact that Newcastle were everything else but outplayed. The were in it with a shout, testing Joe Hart thoroughly and constantly.
Flop goal: The media and press have covered Blackburn's 3:3 draw at Wigan as controversial with a corner and penalty that should not have been. I don't agree with that. I see the prior as a last minute change of heart, Morten Gamst Pederson taking the (ball from) the corner rather than Yakubu Ayegbeni, providing David Hoilett to head it in. And the penalty given in injury time was a penalty-and-a-half, even if it was goalkeeper Paul Robinson attacking a late corner in the opposition's box and being kicked in the face for it by David Jones, it was still a penalty which saw Yakubu net the eqaliser in the 99th minute. That is what the game is all about, making the most of what you have and (can) (maybe) (hopefully) get!Flop news: Believe it or not, the FA confirmed the possibilty of goal-line technology from the 2012-13 season. Yeh, I won't believe that until I see it!
My predictions - Actual results
Norwich 1:2 Arsenal - 1:2
Everton 1:1 Wolves - 2:1
Man City 3:1 Newcastle - 3:1
Stoke 1:2 QPR - 2:3
Sunderland 2:0 Fulham - 0:0
West Brom 1:1 Bolton - 2:1
Wigan 1:1 Blackburn - 3:3
Swansea 0:1 Man Utd - 0:1
Chelsea 2:0 Liverpool - 1:2
Tottenham 2:2 Aston Villa - 2:0
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