Premier League Notes - Week 20

Sports - Football - Premier League Week 20

The 20th week of the 2019-2020 Premier League season saw:

25 goals - most by Watford = 3

249 shots - most by Everton = 22

79 on target - most by Everton = 9

108 corners - most by Southampton = 12

212 fouls - most by Chelsea = 19

43 bookings - most by Arsenal = 5

1 red card - Mariappa for Watford

3 penalties - 2 scored (Deeney for Watford, Kane for Tottenham)

#BHABOU

Only three minutes into the early kickoff, Alireza Jahanbakhsh opened his account for the home side with a lovely low finish across into the bottom right. It was end-to-end stuff, no sign of Christmas fatigue early on, the hosts on top. Dan Burn hit a Messi-esque beauty to double the lead (58’), only for the VAR to spoil the show and disallow the goal for one of those annoying offsides (60’), it was not even an inch of an arm, and so much happened after that, ping pong in the box, it’s farcical. Aaron Mooy controlled and smashed it in to make sure his side’s lead was doubled and couldn’t be disallowed (79’). Lovely lovely football and a deserved three points, the Seagulls were all over the falling Cherries. F-£< VAR!

#NEWEVE

Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the breakthrough at St James’ Park after early Toffee dominance, keeping Martin Dúbravka busy (13’). The Magpies tried their best to hit back, including an offside and handball against Andy Carroll. There were 22 shots in the first half of this game, the second most in the first half of a PL game this season (after 28, Villa at Norwich in Week 8). Fabian Schär finally found the equaliser from close range off Carroll (56’). The number seven provided three assists in his last five Premier League games, as many as he registered in his previous 89 combined. A slide over the line completed the brace for DCL after Carroll lost the ball, and put the visitors back ahead (64’), to make it five goals in his last five appearances in the PL, as many as in previous 28. Over 40 shots between the two, great contest, but only one scorer and winner for the visitors in the end. 

#SOUCRY

The first goal of the season for Max Meyer - was disallowed! Wilfried Zaha was deemed offside by the VAR as he jiggled past two defenders on the left and drilled it low into the box. Meyer was on hand to blast it in and gutted to see it chalked off. By a hair. Or breath as the BBC put it. Pf. James Tomkins headed the visitors ahead off Luka Milivojević’s free kick (50’). Danny Ings equalised for the Saints with their first shot on target, making no mistake of Martin Kelly’s cockup (74’). The point lifts Southampton four points clear of the drop zone, whilst Roy Hodgson's side remain ninth, 

#WATAVI

Troy Deeney gave the home side the lead just before the break, his low hard hit palmed back by Tom Heaton, the rebound squeezed into the far corner (43’). Adrian Mariappa was sent off, second yellow (59’), despite that the ten men doubled their lead and Deeney doubled his total from the spot (67’). Ismaila Särr finished the tie off with a blast in from close range (71’). Villa were nowhere, Nigel Pearson's side rolling over them, on- and upwards, just three points away from safety. 

#NORTOT

Four changes each side, the hosts started on top and took a deserved lead thanks to Mario Vrančiç run through and in, side-footing the ball past everything and everyone, Paulo Gazzaniga beaten too easily to his right (18’). The VAR disallowed Teemu Pukki’s controlled finish (33’), replays showing he was onside?! Great cross and counter goal, the defender’s foot ahead of everything - even the arm of the attacker they kept marking and drawing from. What are the officials watching/taking/doing up there?! Christian Eriksen levelled the score after the restart (55'). Harry Kane equalised again from the spot (83’) after Serge Aurier’s own goal had put the home side ahead for a second time, diverting Pukki’s take (61‘). Only Alan Shearer (145) and Sergio Agüero (138) have scored more Premier League goals in their first 200 appearances in the competition than Kane (136). Lucky point for one side, hard one to take for the other, as it should have been a home win, VARcical! 

#WHULEI

Nine changes for the Foxes after their Boxing Day thrashing against the Reds! A poor penalty from Demarai Gray was easily saved by Łukasz Fabiański, the keeper making up for his foul on Kelech Iheanacho. The Nigerian’s header gave the visitors the lead just before the break, the Hammers’ defence shambolic (40’). Unmarked Pablo Fornals surprised himself with the equaliser, a nice drive into the bottom corner (45’), West Ham’s 151st different goalscorer in the Premier League, more than any other team. A cool clip by Gray finished a breakaway nicely to give Brendan Rodgers’ men the lead (56’) and a comfortable win for the Foxes in the end. The Hammers equal their club Premier League record of four consecutive home defeats, set from November 2005 to January 2006 at Upton Park. Surprise surprise, the late match was still going when Manuel Pellegrini’s departure was announced. More surprising he lasted this long!

#BURMUN

The Red Devils dominated, but Burnley coped well and kept solid, including Phil Bardsley’s goal-line clearance (34’). Until Anthony Martial converted an absolute gift (44’), Charlie Taylor giving the ball away needlessly to Andres Pereira who made no mistake of setting up his team mate. Too easy. All hard work undone for Sean Dyche and his men. Marcus Rashford sealed the win in the last seconds (90+5’), Ole Gunnar Solskjær and his men ending up on top of an otherwise dire match, not much else to shout about. The home side looked like they could and should have snatched and grabbed something back, but just weren’t good enough in the end. Not that their opposition was much better. Still, the win sees United up to fifth, just one points separating them from the top four.

#ARSCHE

After a bright start for the home side, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed the Gunners ahead totally unmarked (13’). The Blues were struggling for the whole first half. The visitors dominated after the restart. Bernd Leno handed Jorginho the equaliser off Mason Mount’s free kick (83’), an easy punch away, but the keeper somehow missed it. The German stopper has made more errors leading to goals than any other player in the Premier League since August 2018 (seven). And Tammy Abraham completed the perfect counter and turnaround through Leno’s legs (87’). Frank Lampard was ecstatic, no wonder, after his side didn’t form much of a threat for most of the match. Mikel Arteta will be gutted after his side bossed it for so long - and should Jorginho have been sent off? This is the first time Arsenal lost against the Blues after being ahead at the break, winning 12 games and drawing three before. And it’s the Gunners’ first defeat after winning all other 68 home Premier League games where they led at half-time. Only one league win since the first weekend of October for the one London side, whilst the other is only three points behind third-placed Manchester City!

#LIVWOL

The Reds dominated, but didn’t quite click, couldn’t get the final touch right. It took more VAR drama to overrule the officials' judgement of handball against Adam Lallana, setting up an onside Sadio Mané for an easy tap in to give the home side the lead (42’). Pedro Neto squeezed in the equaliser into the bottom left corner to level the score before the break (45+3’) - Nuno Espírito Santo was booked as he was going absolutely mental on the sideline whilst VAR checked and disallowed Neto's equaliser, for offside in the buildup, it was Joao Moutinho’s arm! Replays showed it was the tip of his toe as well actually... 1-0 it stayed and remained at the break, still, madness! Mané is only the second player to be directly involved in 30 Premier League goals during 2019 (24 goals, 6 assists), after Jamie Vardy (34). It ended a tense win for the Reds to put them 13 points clear at the top, with a game in hand. 

#MCISHU

Lys Mousset thought he had put the visitors ahead in the first half (29’), but not for long as VAR chalked it off for offside - theme of the weekend. Sergio Agüero gave the home side the lead (52’) after the referee got in the way of the United defence trying to clear the ball. Controversial. Kevin De Bruyne doubled the Citizens’ lead with a low finish (82’). Chris Wilders' side's first away defeat of the season (10 games) and they still out-created the champions. Big chances: Man City 1-3 Sheffield United (with Man City’s big chance coming as a result of a refereeing deflection). Phenomenal first half of the season from the Blades, finishing the year in eighth, whilst the Citizens remain third after their first clean sheet since 26 October, 14 points behind the league leaders, six points ahead of Chelsea in fourth.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Brighton 2:2 Bournemouth - 2:0

Newcastle 2:1 Everton - 1:2

Southampton 2:1 Crystal Palace - 1:1

Watford 2:2 Aston Villa - 3:0

Norwich 1:2 Tottenham - 2:2

West Ham 1:3 Leicester - 1:2

Burnley 1:1 Man United - 0:2

Arsenal 2:2 Chelsea - 1:2

Liverpool 2:1 Wolves - 1:0

Man City 1:1 Sheffield United - 2:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Notes.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report and RMC Sport coverage.

Premier League Notes - Week 1

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 1 

The opening week of the 2019-2020 Premier League season saw:

27 goals - most by Man City = 5
228 shots - most by Tottenham = 31
78 on target - most by Man City = 9
91 corners - most by Tottenham = 14
34 offsides - most by Norwich/Burnley = 5 each
359 tackles - most by Aston Villa = 29
225 fouls - most by Sheff Utd = 19
28 bookings - most by Chelsea = 4
1 red card - Schneiderlin for Everton
2 penalties - 2 scored (Agüero for City, Rashford for United) 

VAR Stats 
Average of 7 checks per game 
3 overturned decisions: 
2 disallowed goals (City and Wolves) and Agüero’s penalty retake

The first game of the season was Liverpool's convincing win against Norwich on Friday night, thrashing the newly promoted side in the first half, and keeping them at bay after the break. An injury to Red keeper Alisson didn't help Jürgen Klopp's men, his replacement and LFC debutante Adrián did a good job under the circumstances. VAR went totally unnoticed, surprisingly. Click here for my ByTheMin Twitter live match coverage. 

Manchester United thrashed Chelsea in the Super Sunday clash. But the scoreline is very harsh and doesn’t reflect the game at all. It was much more competitive, cagey and close in the first hour, just fell to bits with two quick goals. Same with Tottenham against newly promoted Aston Villa, Harry Kane making the crucial difference with two goals in the final four minutes (86', 90').

Manchester City took West Ham apart, making my prediction look more ridiculous with every goal. I honestly thought the Hammers could surprise us after having a very active and positive summer. Pf. Fool me. Dream starts for Burnley and Brighton went pretty unnoticed with all the focus just on the top teams, both sides recording convincing 3-0 wins against Southampton and at Watford respectively.

Raheem Sterling starred for the champions with a hat-trick (51', 75', 90'+1'), Kane and Marcus Rashford (18' pen, 67'), as mentioned above, helped their sides to opening wins with a brace each. Mohamed Salah scored and provided (19', 28') in an explosive first half at Anfield. Same old names at the top, ey?
Billy Sharp’s last-minute equaliser for Sheffield United broke Bournemouth hearts (88'). In only his third PL appearance, the local lad scored with his first top-flight shot. One to remember. Tanguy Ndombele’s leveller for Spurs against Villa was a cracker as well.

As mentioned above, it has been confirmed and was quite clear from the offset, Alisson went down and will be out for a while! It looked like the Brazilian stopper was hit by a ghost?! He looked and searched for the culprit behind him  But it was obvious, he had pulled something. Worrying for Klopp and co. The Schadenfreude of the opposition fans was all over the social media afterwards.

And last but definitely not least, the beloved, VAR! See stats above. It has finally arrived in the Premier League and of course still needs getting used to. But I expected worse to be honest. The interruptions weren't half as long and bad as in the trials. And the reviews and overturned decisions were clear. I am sure especially Wolves boss Nuno Espírito Santo and also City manager Pep Guardiola see it differently, the prior's disallowed goal costing his side two points. It is just impossible to get everything right, but everything can at least be double-checked now. In the end, there is still human beings sitting in front of the screens, so, the decisions are, though more objective, still subjective. So we can and will still curse the officials. Same old. Even with the new technology.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Liverpool 5:1 Norwich - 4:1
West Ham 2:1 Man City - 0:5
Bournemouth 2:1 Sheff Utd - 1:1
Burnley 1:0 Southampton - 3:0
Crystal Palace 0:1 Everton - 0:0
Watford 0:0 Brighton - 0:3
Tottenham 3:1 Aston Villa - 3:1
Leicester 2:1 Wolves - 0:0
Newcastle 0:1 Arsenal - 0:1
Man United 1:1 Chelsea - 4:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks Of The Week.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, PL app, Sky Sports News and RMC Sport live coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 30

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 30

The 30th week of Premier League action saw:

33 goals - most by Liverpool = 4

237 shots - most by Liverpool = 23

81 on target - most by Man City = 9

103 corners - most by Chelsea = 13

220 fouls - most by Brighton and Man United = 18 each

38 bookings - most by Brighton = 5

0 red cards

3 penalties - 2 scored (Milivojević for Crystal Palace, Aubameyang for Arsenal)

What a game! It was a super comeback by Newcastle against Everton, their best, winning a Premier League game from two goals down for the first time since October 2003 against Fulham under Sir Bobby Robson. Rafael Benítez's men were 0-2 down and showed no sign of any threat at half-time, however, the Magpies took the Toffees apart after the break. Ayoze Pérez was the controversial hero with a brace (81’, 84’) plus an assist (Rondón 65’), for a perfect second-half comeback, including a Jordan Pickford flop. More to the England keeper's disastrous performance below.

It was a Super Sunday indeed, three games, plenty of goals, including two braces at Anfield, later than late equaliser at Stamford Bridge and end of a run at the Emirates. More to the first two below. The Gunners shot down and ended the Red Devils' unbeaten run in the league under caretaker Ole Gunnar Solskjær, thanks to Granit Xhaka's swerving shot making David de Gea look like a fool (12') and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang converting a super-soft penalty (69'). The visitors had hit the woodwork a couple of times before the break and didn't go down easily, so it was a sweet win for Unai Emery's men, their ninth home win in a row, which takes them above United and back up to fourth, just one point behind Tottenham in third.

What a team! Liverpool kept the title race going thrashing Burnley 4-2 at Anfield, but not without controversies and tensions. Roberto Firmino (19’, 67’) and Sadio Mané (29’, 90’+3’) with a brace each made up for Ashley Westwood’s controversial opener (6’), where Alisson looked like being fouled before the corner went into the back of the net. The Red keeper was booked for his objections against the decision, double argh! Sub Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson pulled one back late on (90’+1’), but the home side sealed and bagged the three points despite all ups and downs. Manchester City had kept the pressure on with a win the day before, more to the questionable calls at the Etihad against Watford below.

Fulham join Huddersfield in deep trouble after a flopping defeat at Leicester. West Ham have to be careful not to join the two clubs in the drop zone after yet another disappointing result at Cardiff! Consistently inconsistent! More below.

What a man! The double-century for Harry Kane was set up by Dele Alli (26’), but was all for nothing thanks to the super goal by Southampton mentioned below. The Spurs star looked offside anyways. More to the usual useless refereeing below, as always. 

Jamie Vardy’s 100th and 101st banked Brendan Rodgers his first win as Leicester boss against Fulham. The managerless London side look doomed and down with Huddersfield.

And it was Eden Hazard of course, who else, to spare Chelsea from yet another miserable defeat against Wolves. His 92nd minute equaliser was like scripted, fitting to the top player he is, curled in to the bottom corner to nullify Raul Jiménez’s opener on the counter (56’). It was the only shot on target for the Blues. Cruel. More to Manchester City's hat-trick-man below. 

What a goal! Brighton’s and Southampton’s second goals were both unstoppable crackers into the top corner, no chance for either keeper. The prior was Anthony Knockaert’s winner at Crystal Palace (74’), whilst the latter was James Ward-Prowse’s incredible free-kick that shocked Tottenham (81’) after Yan Valery’s equaliser (76’). The prior was especially outraging for Roy Hodgson after the Brighton winger got booked with just 28 seconds on the clock, lucky it wasn’t red! Glenn Murray’s 100th was double-sweet/sour after that (depending which side you're on)! 
The first Manchester City goal looked offside: The defender made contact with the ball, yes, but when the cross was made, Raheem Sterling was offside. The long debate between the linesman and ref was double-annoying. The Watford bus was broken after that. Sterling doubled the lead, Sergio Agüero looking offside in that buildup. The hat-trick was no doubt though, the former Red running through the Hornets defence, to make it three goals in 13 minutes (46’, 50’, 59’), 3-1 to the Citizens, keeping them at the helm. For now

What the hell?! Everton keeper Pickford should have been sent off. He was the last man, didn’t go for the ball and took the man out, in this case Rondón, in a goalscoring opportunity. Penalty was given, but the England stopper was lucky to stay on the pitch. Matt Ritchie's poor take of the spot kick was an easy stop, the more aggrieving and annoying it was for the home side. And was Newcastle’s late winning goal offside? Marco Silva was not happy but cannot ignore his side's inconsistencies and lack of oomph. Just poor all round. The Portuguese cannot deny that his side did not deserve more and had lucky calls of their own. He is not alone with his frustrations about the officials, I rant on about them every week! Week in week out there are too many errors. In any other profession, one would expect consequences if someone would make so many bad calls! Penalties, suspensions, sackings... I am not gonna repeat all the bad calls I mentioned above... And there were more! Cardiff’s second goal was just as questionable as City’s opener. As well as Burnley’s first. Etc. Etc. So. Many. Calls. JUST WRONG! AGAIN! ARGH! BOO! WTF?!

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Crystal Palace 2:1 Brighton - 1:2

Cardiff 2:0 West Ham - 2:0

Huddersfield 1:0 Bournemouth - 0:2

Leicester 2:1 Fulham - 3:1

Newcastle 2:1 Everton - 3:2

Southampton 1:2 Tottenham - 2:1

Man City 2:0 Watford - 3:1

Liverpool 3:0 Burnley - 4:2

Chelsea 3:1 Wolves - 1:1

Arsenal 3:2 Man United - 2:0

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Sky Sports app, Twitter and RMC Sports live coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 29

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 29

The 29th week of the Premier League action saw:

23 goals - most by Man United and Crystal Palace = 3 each

234 shots - most by Man City = 23

80 on target - most by Man City and Chelsea = 7 each

106 corners - most by Man City = 14

204 fouls - most by Tottenham and Watford = 15 each

39 bookings - most by Watford = 5

1 red card - Torreira for Arsenal 

4 penalties - 2 scored (Kane for Tottenham, Noble for West Ham)

What a game! There were goals and action galore at Old Trafford. Southampton scored two crackers, but were still the losers in the end, whilst Manchester United had plenty more chances and misses but were able to end up on top despite more injuries and a missed spot-kick. More details about all the top goals below.

It was derby day on Sunday... More on Chelsea’s win at Craven Cottage below. Disappointing 200th league Merseyside derby for goalless and hopeless Liverpool: Everton were definitely happier after denying Mohamed Salah and Fabinho, the only two that got anything on target for the visitors at Goodison Park. Red boss Jürgen Klopp blamed the wind. Whatever it is, it’s costing his side dearly. Four draws in the last six league games means eight points dropped. For the first time in 14 weeks, the Reds have dropped all the way down to second (ignoring week 26 where Manchester City played the extra game because of the League Cup), one point behind Pep Guardiola's men. Following the Red Twitter world, it seems like all is over, the chance has been blown, the first title in 28 years is gone. The difference between the top two clubs is just ONE point, with NINE games to go. And LFC are TEN points and TWO places BETTER off than last season (whilst City are TEN points DOWN!). PERSPECTIVE!

What a team! More injuries hit Manchester City on Saturday, but they’re still winning, that’s the main thing for the league leaders in the title race. It was one-way traffic at Bournemouth (18%-82% possession, 0-23 shots, 0-7 on target, 0-14 corners). Kevin De Bruyne went off injured, his replacement Riyad Mahrez got the winner (55’), a fine low finish in the bottom right corner after a nice team interplay, his first goal since 4th December, his 11th of the season. That is all that was needed. Crucial. 

And it was another good away win for Crystal Palace, this time at Burnley, Roy Hodgson consolidating his and his sides’ place in the top league. A fine run of three wins in the last five games has seen the London side climb up the table by two places, eight points clear from the drop zone. This time, Phillip Bardsley (OG 15'), Michy Batshuayi (48') and Wilfried Zaha (76') were on the scoreboard, denying Sean Dyche’s side any way back, condemning them to their second defeat on the trot, sucking them down to 16th. Contrast.

What a man! REF!!! Watford's opener was just weird?! Jonathan Moss made a very late call on a free-kick after Troy Deeney broke free into the box... To head it in seconds later off the set-piece, but the English striker looked offside (5’). More iffy goals and decisions are mentioned above and below as well. Ridiculous refereeing! So, Brendan Rodgers’ first match as Leicester boss didn’t start well with that! Kasper Schmeichel made a brill block seconds before. Jamie Vardy and keeper Ben Foster clashed and you can tell when players are really injured and hurt when they lay flat and DON’T ROLL AND MOAN AROUND!!! Both were fine in the end. But OUCH! And the champion striker levelled the score in the second half (75’) after the visitors dominated all round, keeping his record going of scoring under five out of six new Foxes managers and taking his club tally to 99. But Hornets sub Andre Gray nicked an injury-time winner for the home side and got booked for his shirtless celebrations (90’+2’) to spoil the party for the Northern Irishman. Javi Gracia and co meanwhile were over the moon. A tense finish at Vicarage road saw Foster blocking and saving again, but it ended 2-1. BRilliant.

What a goal! Talking about managers, Fulham’s first match after sacking Claudio Ranieri was only against Chelsea at Craven Cottage. The managerless side did well under the circumstances, keeping the pressure on and not making it easy for the Blues. Ryan Sessegnon’s injury-time equaliser was flagged offside - a very close call! It looked fine! Another tense finish. Maurizio Sarri’s men ended up on top 1-2 thanks to Gonzalo Higuaín (20’) and Jorginho (31’) after Calum Chambers' leveller (27’). Cruel. How the latter boss is still hanging on to his job, I do not know... *shaking*my*head*

Saints defender Yan Valery’s first professional goal (26’) and United’s first equaliser by Andreas Pereira, the Brazilian's first Premier League goal (53’), were both just unstoppable, breathtaking takes. To add to the iffy list mentioned above, the 2-1, Romelu Lukaku’s first (59’), looked a hint offside though? The second equaliser (2-2 in case you can't keep track) was a beautiful free-kick by James Ward-Prowse (75'), into the top corner, who’s the keeper again?! However, Lukaku snuck in the late low winner (88’), a cruel one into the bottom right corner, 3-2. And that was not all! A later than late penalty to the Red Devils, after Stuart Armstrong brought down Marcus Rashford from behind, saw Paul Pogba selfishly take it, not giving Lukaku a chance of a hat-trick, keeper Angus Gunn kicking the central shot away with his left boot. Top match. Top goals. Plenty of flops as well. Never boring. Another win for Ole Gunnar Solskjær, to make it 10 wins out of 12 league games for the Norwegian temp boss.

What the hell?! Another soft penalty call went Tottenham's way in the London derby Saturday lunch-time, and it was offside in the build-up to the foul as well?! An easy equaliser for Harry Kane out of nowhere against Arsenal (74’) after Aaron Ramsey’s opener (16’). The Gunners got a spot-kick back late on, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made a soft mess of the take and Hugo Lloris the hero, and Jan Vertonghen’s defending in the aftermath controversial as the Belgian defender looked way over the line when the penalty was taken, denying the visitors a winner. The game exploded into life in the final minutes, seeing Lucas Torreira sent off. As mentioned above, numerous times, I know I am repeating myself, but that is because the bad calls and refereeing overlooks and errors are piling up, again and again, every game, every week! If you like VAR or not, at least that is SOMETHING to check and double-check all these iffy calls!!!

After Cardiff boss Neil Warnock revealed that Nuno Espírito Santo is his wife's favourite manager, there could only be one winner on the day at the Molineux Stadium... ;-) I LMAO AT THE CHANTS!!!

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Tottenham 0:1 Arsenal - 1:1

Bournemouth 2:2 Man City - 0:1

Brighton 0:1 Huddersfield - 1:0

Burnley 2:3 Crystal Palace - 1:3

Man United 1:1 Southampton - 3:2

Wolves 2:1 Cardiff - 2:0

West Ham 2:1 Newcastle - 2:0

Watford 1:1 Leicester - 2:1

Fulham 1:2 Chelsea - 1:2

Everton 1:2 Liverpool - 0:0

Click here for the previous Picks Of The Week.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and RMC Sports coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 7

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 7

Here are my Premier League Picks Of The Week 7:

25 goals - most by Everton and West Ham = 3 each

231 shots - most by Man City = 28

81 on target - most by Man City = 8

110 corners - most by Everton = 12

221 fouls - most by Watford and Huddersfield = 17 each 

32 bookings - most by Crystal Palace = 4

0 red cards

4 penalties - 3 scored (Vardy for Leicester, Kane for Tottenham, Stanislas for Bournemouth)

What a game! Bubbles were blowing loud and galore as West Ham beat Manchester United by a goal margin over two in a league game for the first time since October 1982. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have picked up seven points from the last three games, showing great team spirit against absolute shambles (no discrediting the home side). Felipe Anderson (5’), Victor Lindelöf (43’ own goal) and Marko Arnautović (74’) were on the scoreboard for the Hammers, shattering José Mourinho’s men at London Road, Marcus Rashford (71’) with the only lonely reply. More to the Mancs' misery below.

The draw at Stamford Bridge stunned everyone, it was “spectacular” as Jürgen Klopp put it, with top quality play, goals and saves, honours even seemed a fair result. More to that cracker also below.

What a team! It’s the Red Devil’s worst start to a league season in 29 years. Their Portuguese boss can moan and groan as much as he likes, about the ref, about the linesman, about certain players, about the lack of investment, bla bla bla bla bla. It all doesn't distract from the fact they are not playing as a team. They were absolute sleepwalking shambles on Saturday. Mourinho’s bags under his eyes showed he is done. This is the worst and least organised/inspired/driven I have ever seen the record 20-times champions. Full. Stop.

Newcastle have lost their first four home games on the trot for the first time ever after Leicester beat them comfortably 0-2 in a game of few chances at St James Park. Protests are still loud against Mike Ashley, more rumours about him selling but nothing happening nor changing just frustrate and anger the fans more and more, not even mentioning the pressure on Rafael Benítez. The Spaniard has done a great job in the couple of years he has been at the Tyneside club but is getting nothing back for all his troubles.

Cardiff City are on their worst run since 1964-65 having failed to win in eight games in all competitions after losing 1-2 against Burnley on Sunday. Only the Magpies have scored fewer goals.

What a man! Marco Silva said something right at half-time as Everton scored three in the second half to beat Fulham 3-0 thanks to Gylfi Sigurðsson’s brace (56’ and 89’) after the Icelandic midfielder had missed a penalty (52’) and Cenk Tosun with an easy header (66’). It’s the Toffees first win since August, whilst the Cottagers suffered their fourth defeat of the season, Ryan Sessegnon hitting the woodwork, oh so close, but yet so far. The London club have never won at Goodison Park in the league, losing 23 - the last 22 in a row - and drawing the other four games.

Roy Hodgson looked furious after watching Mamadou Sakho concede a silly penalty which handed Bournemouth a late winner against Crystal Palace at Dean Court on Monday night. The win took the Cherries up to seventh, six points ahead of Palace in 13th. David Brooks’ first Premier League goal for the home side was just as much of a cracker as Patrick Van Aanholt’s slammed in equaliser - but the latter looked offside. So, fair result in the end.

Twitter Source: @AnfieldExpress

What a goal! Daniel Sturridge’s last-minute equaliser silenced Stamford Bridge. It was a stunner, from distance, into the top right corner, no chance for the keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who stared on gobsmacked, mouth wide open himself (89’). Eden Hazard had given the Blues the lead beating Alisson with a low strike (25’) after Mohamed Salah had missed a couple of chances for the visitors. Both most expensive keepers in the world made sure the scoreboard didn’t fill up and maintained both sides’ unbeaten league records. The result sees the Reds second behind City on goal difference, whilst Maurizio Sarri’s men are third.

Ivan Cavaleiro scored with his first touch in the Premier League to help Wolves beat Southampton 2-0 at Molineux. It was one of two decisive late goals in a less spectacular game (79' and 87').

What the hell?! Arsenal also left it late, two goals in two minutes to beat Watford to make it five league wins in a row. Craig Cathcart turned the opener into his own net off Alex Iwobi's fine drive (81') and Mesut Özil doubled the score a couple of minutes later (83'). New Gunners boss Unai Emery's heat map showed the Spaniard is on fire trying and working hard to reform the team his way.

David Wagner said his side will win games if they keep playing like they did against Tottenham despite losing 0-2 thanks to Harry Kane’s brace. It seems very hard to believe that watching Huddersfield stuck rock bottom still waiting for their first win of the season after seven games, having only scored three goals against 16 conceded.

Salah and Paul Pogba were both surprise substitutions for Liverpool and United respectively. Well, not really surprisingly, as both players were nowhere near their best. The big difference is though, the effort, results and their sides’ form and positions. From top to flop, respectively. Klopp to Mourinwho?!
Man City meanwhile top the table on goal difference after dominating and beating Brighton 2-0 thanks to Raheem Sterling and Sergio Agüero. Pep and co are probably wondering what all the fuss is about - we will see how they will fare next week in their big test against the Reds, the only side to beat the champions last season.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

West Ham 1:1 Man United - 3:1

Arsenal 2:1 Watford - 2:0

Everton 2:1 Fulham - 3:0

Huddersfield 0:2 Tottenham - 0:2

Man City 3:0 Brighton - 2:0

Newcastle 1:2 Leicester - 0:2

Wolves 1:0 Southampton - 2:0

Chelsea 1:2 Liverpool - 1:1

Cardiff 0:0 Burnley - 1:2

Bournemouth 1:1 Crystal Palace - 2:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter, Sky Sports and RMC apps and coverage.