Premier League Notes - Week 2

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 2

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

25 goals - most by Norwich = 3

262 shots - most by Man City = 30

88 on target - most by Man City = 10

129 corners - most by Man City = 13

44 offsides - most by Arsenal/Aston Villa = 5 each

363 tackles - most by Watford = 34

219 fouls - most by Wolves = 17

29 bookings - most by WAT/NEW/SHU = 3 each

0 red cards

2 penalties - 1 scored (King for Bournemouth)

VAR Stats

Average 6 checks per game

3 overturned decisions

3 disallowed goals (Arsenal, Brighton and Man City)

VAR denied Raheem Sterling a last-second winner! Cruel but correct. Hand ball is hand ball, the (not really) new rule book says. Pep Guardiola was gutted of course, pointing out the deja vue of last season’s Champions League quarter-final drama between the same two sides. The boss' bust-up with scorer and star-man Sergio Agüero on the sideline didn't help polish the match report either. And more than ever, it just showed once again, something I always preach, NEVER LEAVE A GAME EARLY!!! No matter how much you dominate, it’s only the scoreboard that counts!!! Brighton's opening goal was also reviewed and disallowed for offside. Oh so close, but rightly so. That's what VAR was introduced for, no? To make sure goals ARE goals. Or not. 

Liverpool made it 11 consecutive league wins as their record run continued at Southampton, having not dropped a point since March 3. Replacement keeper Adrián's late blunder was a nightmare goal to concede, a present for former Red Danny Ings (83'), but Sadio Mané’s opener was just top class (45'+1')! The Senegalese forward turned from scorer to provider as Roberto Firmino produced a fine finish to double the Reds' lead (71') before their keeper's giveaway spoiled the show, ever so slightly. Still, three points and a 100% start is the main thing for Jürgen Klopp and his men.

It's the first time since 2009-10 that Arsenal have won their opening two league games, beating a fighting Burnley side 2-1 at the Emirates. However, Sean Dyche lauded his side's mentality, his side recording more shots than the home side, and was not impressed and complained about all the diving and whining, and I couldn’t agree more! It's not just the Gunners, but especially with replays available, all the drama queens just look more and more ridiculous! But they still keep on falling as long as they get some advantage and calls their way. Annoying but true. The refs need to toughen them up and punish them more for their acts, especially when it's obvious in the replays!

Teemu Pukki's first hat-trick for Norwich is also a first in 26 years for the club in the top-tier. All three goals were superb finishes, including the cracking opener, downing a miserable Newcastle side at Carrow Road. But, as mentioned above, Mané’s stunner gets my top vote (of course)! Leicester's equaliser at Chelsea, Wilfred Ndidi's banging header, is worth a shout-out as well! Aston Villa shot themselves in the foot straight away, conceding a penalty after 26 seconds, giving the home side no chance for the rest of the race against Bournemouth. What a wonder goal it was to make it 2-1 though! Worth nothing in the end, but just in awe!

And last but definitely not least, on Monday Night Football, Paul Pogba's penalty flop cost Manchester United at bogey team Wolves, the first team to come from behind and avoid defeat in three consecutive Premier League games against United. Why oh why did the number 6 take it?! Marcus Rashford is the usual and most reliable taker! Talk afterwards was all about the racist abuse the Frenchman received on Twitter. I always report and block anything repulsive like that straight away. But, on another note, isn’t it funny how racist insults against a Red Devil gets all the attention and condemnation, suddenly there's all sorts of shout-outs and meetings, but a certain Red Egyptian and plenty of other players have had to deal with it for years, but nothing happened. A fine distraction from a weak display and result, me thinks. 

My Predictions - Actual Results

Arsenal 3:1 Burnley - 2:1

Aston Villa 2:2 Bournemouth - 1:2

Brighton 2:0 West Ham - 1:1

Everton 2:1 Watford - 1:0

Norwich 3:2 Newcastle - 3:1

Southampton 0:3 Liverpool - 1:2

Man City 3:1 Tottenham - 2:2

Sheff Utd 1:1 Crystal Palace - 1:0

Chelsea 1:1 Leicester - 1:1

Wolves 1:2 Man Utd - 1:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Notes.

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 34

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 34

The 34th week of Premier League action saw:

28 goals - most by Bournemouth = 5
262 shots - most by Tottenham = 22
83 on target - most by Bournemouth, Burnley and Liverpool = 7 each
97 corners - most by West Ham = 11
180 fouls - most by Man United = 14
32 bookings - most by Bournemouth = 4
2 red cards - Knockaert for Brighton, Deeney for Watford
2 penalties - 2 scored (Pogba for Man United x 2)

What a game! A Super Sunday it was! Manchester City were easy winners in the early kick-off at Crystal Palace after only a hint of a fightback late on by the home side. Raheem Sterling missed a sitter, but then scored from a more difficult angle soon after (15'). The former Redman doubled the lead after the break (63'), before Luka Milivojević's free kick made it 1-2 (81') and a tense ending at Selhurst Park. But sub Gabriel Jesus made sure all three points went to the Citizens with a fine finish to make it 1-3 (90'). But Pep Guardiola's men didn't stay top for long:

Liverpool blasted Chelsea away at Anfield with two goals in two minutes after the restart on Sunday afternoon. It was a tense first half, lots of clumsy footy, giving the ball away, missing and messing up by both sides. Both managers will have had a rant-and-a-half during the interval. It worked wonders for the Reds. Sadio Mané banged in a header off some wonderful team play in the buildup and bang-on Jordan Henderson cross into the box (51'). And seconds later, Mohamed Salah smashed in his 9th Premier League goal of the season from 25 yards out into the top right corner, stunning everyone. The great Egyptian enjoyed it and showed it with his celebration. Jürgen Klopp could not be more chuffed with his side's first home win against the Blues since 2012 in his 200th game in charge, taking them back to the top. Maurizio Sarri meanwhile, continues his miserable run against the top teams, having lost their past six away Premier League matches against fellow 'big six' opponents, conceding 16 goals across those defeats.

What a team! Everton?! Beat Arsenal one week, downed by Fulham the next?! Tom Cairney gave the home side the lead after just 30 seconds after the restart at Craven Cottage. Ryan Babel doubled the lead in the 69th minute, both goals ripping through a sleepy Toffees defence. The Cottagers’ first Premier League win since January after nine consecutive defeats has started talks and hopes to see caretaker Scott Parker's permanent appointment. Marco Silva's men have won just one of their past 12 Premier League away games in London (D3 L8). Travel sick.

Southampton should be safe, eight points clear from the drop zone (reduced to five after the Bluebirds played their game in hand *see below*), after downing high-flying Wolves 3-1 thanks to Nathan Redmond’s brace (2', 30'). The Saints have won eight of their 18 Premier League games under Ralph Hasenhüttl, as many as they had won in 52 games under their two previous permanent managers combined (Mark Hughes managed three from 22 and Mauricio Pellegrino managed five from 30). Nuno Espírito Santo’s side could still finish seventh which would be the highest placed finish by a newly promoted team to the Premier League since Ipswich came fifth in the 2000-01 season. 
And last but not least, Bournemouth are booming and capitalised against ten men Brighton, who completely lost it yet again?! 0-5!!!!! The Cherries scored five goals in a Premier League away game for the first time and equalled their biggest top flight victory, a 6-1 home win against Hull City on 15 October 2016.

What a man! Lucas Moura’s hat-trick (27', 87', 90'+3') did it for Tottenham against Huddersfield, everyone enjoying the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Spurs winger is the fourth Brazilian to score three in a Premier League match (with Afonso Alves, Robinho and Roberto Firmino). Who needs Harry Kane or Son Heung-min?! The Terriers have lost all nine of their league encounters against the established top six clubs this season, conceding 26. So, no surprise there.
Ayoze Pérez’s header (32') was enough for Newcastle on Friday night and fully deserved, despite all Leicester’s dominance. Crucial. The win put the Magpies ten points clear from the drop zone. Safe.

What a goal! Paul Pogba netted a softer than soft penalty at Old Trafford, plus the “offense” took place outside the area, not long after West Ham saw a goal disallowed for offside although the line was fine, lucky United. Pf. Double lucky: The second penalty. After all the Hammers’ dominance with chance after chance to go ahead after Felipe Anderson’s deserved equaliser, hitting the bar and pulling a full-stretch save out of David de Gea. Pogba netted the second spot kick. 2-1. Luckier than lucky. The Frenchman has now taken as many penalties (10) as Salah, Sergio Agüero and Kane combined (10). In fact, no team have taken more Premier League penalties than the Red Devils this season (11, level with Crystal Palace). Indeed, in no other Premier League campaign have the Mancs taken more spot kicks (also 11 in 2011-12). Dotty. At least Ole Gunnar Solskjær conceded they got away with it!!!

What the hell?! The refs let down Cardiff again on Saturday! No discrediting Burnley, they deserved the win overall, Chris Wood’s brace was enough to seal the three points (31', 90'+2'). But Neil Warnock was understandably fuming, screwed by the officials yet again (like week 32), keeping them in the drop zone, the gap to safety staying at five points. The FA should be very ashamed! And Mike Dean especially! Very ashamed! (LOVE THE KISS PIC! Ashley Barnes on Joe Bennett, love love love!) The more crucial/deserved/bombastic the win at Brighton on Tuesday was, closing the gap to two points *(see game in hand below)*!

Mad mad mad mad couple of minutes at Watford! First Ben Foster made a mess of a back-pass and handed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang his first goal of the year for Arsenal (10’). Since his debut in February 2018, the Gabonese has been directly involved in 37 Premier League goals for the Gunners (28 goals, 9 assists), 11 more than any other of his team mates. And then Troy Deeney was given a straight red for elbowing Lucas Torreira (11’). Those two moments of madness decided the tie, 0-1, keeping Unai Emery's side in fourth, ahead of Chelsea in fifth by goal difference. Crucial crunch.

My Predictions - Actual Results 
Leicester 1:0 Newcastle - 0:1
Tottenham 2:0 Huddersfield - 4:0
Brighton 1:0 Bournemouth - 0:5 
Burnley 2:1 Cardiff - 2:0
Fulham 1:2 Everton - 2:0
Southampton 1:1 Wolves - 3:1 
Man United 2:1 West Ham - 2:1 
Crystal Palace 1:3 Man City - 1:3
Liverpool 3:1 Chelsea - 2:0 
Watford 1:2 Arsenal - 0:1
(Brighton 0:1 Cardiff - 0:2 - a crucial result in the relegation battle, it was rescheduled due to cup ties, all stats added to the original week = week 31)

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks. 

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 19

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 19

The 19th week of the Premier League action saw:

32 goals - most by Tottenham and Everton = 5 each

249 shots - most by Crystal Palace = 31

94 on target - most by Man United = 10

94 corners - most by Crystal Palace = 12

177 fouls - most by Everton = 19

27 bookings - most by Everton = 4

1 red card - Delph for Man City

3 penalties - 3 scored (Sigurdsson for Everton, Salah for Liverpool, Hazard for Chelsea)

So, halfway through the season, how much better/worse is your side off? 
Click here to see the main gainers (and losers) in the comparison table. 

What a game! Manchester City lost again! After the shock home defeat against Crystal Palace last week, Pep Guardiola’s side could not keep hold of a lead again and ended up failing and falling 2-1 at Leicester. Bernardo Silva had opened the scoring for the champions (14’), but just five minutes later Marc Albrighton headed in the equaliser (19’). Ricardo Pereira’s blasting strike (81’) put the Foxes ahead, before Fabian Delph’s sliding tackle ended the afternoon early for the Bradford-born and any chance back into the match for his side, the defeat seeing City slide down to third. Their Spanish boss doesn’t like December, seeing six of their 11 league defeats in the month of Christmas. Claude Puel meanwhile, will be thinking he is dreaming, his change of formation was spot on. The 2016 champions are up to seventh after taking max points against top sides, when the Frenchman was being doubted and under fire most. 

What a team! Liverpool thrashed Newcastle 4-0 to extend their lead at the top to six points. Cheers were even louder at Anfield after hearing the result mentioned above come through from the King Power Stadium. An unmarked Dejan Lovren had opened the scoring with a belter from the centre of the box (11’). Mohamed Salah doubled the score from the spot (47’) after being pulled back in the penalty area by Paul Dummett. Xherdan Shaqiri (79’) and Fabinho (85’) doubled the score to complete the comfortable win, their 16th in 19 games, and secure their 12th clean sheet. It was Jürgen Klopp’s 100th win as LFC boss in his 181st match and the Magpies’ heaviest league defeat at Anfield since December 1987. The Reds are only the fourth Premier League team to be unbeaten at the halfway stage of a season after Arsenal 2003-04, Manchester United 2010-11 and Manchester City 2017-18. Each of those sides went on to win the title.

Tottenham are the closest chasers at the moment, moving up to second after they hammered Bournemouth 5-0 at Wembley. Boss Mauricio Pochettino remained humble though, pointing to Liverpool and City as “the real contenders”.

What a man! Manchester United caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær was all smiles after watching his side make it back-to-back wins under him with a convincing 3-1 win against Huddersfield, making Old Trafford bounce again. The Red Devils were on fire, much more open, positive, liberal and riveting, with ten shots on target. Paul Pogba scored twice, a nice sweeper (64’) and 30-yard rocket (78’), after Nemanja Matić poked one home earlier on (28’). The French world champion has been directly involved in four goals in two league games under the Norwegian (2 goals, 2 assists), the same total he registered in his last 12 matches under The Sacked One (José Mourinwho).

Eden Hazard became only the tenth Chelsea player to reach the landmark of 100 goals for the club, his brace (45’+1’, 58’ pen) was enough to secure a win at Watford and keep his side in fourth. 

What a goal! Everton shook off the 2-6 home embarrassment against Tottenham last week by thrashing Burnley to bits 1-5 at Turf Moor. Lucas Digne’s long-range effort gets the pick, a smacker to complete his brace (13’, 71’) and add to man of the match Yerry Mina’s early opener (2’) and Gylfi Sigurðsson’s spot kick (22’). Ben Gibson had pulled one back for the home side before the break (36’), but Richarlison came off the bench to add a late goal to the Clarets’ misery (90’+3’). The win takes the Toffees up to eighth, whilst Sean Dyche watched his side trying hard but suffering and failing harder, the defeat keeping them stuck in 18th, having conceded 41 goals after 19 games, two more than they shipped in the whole of last season (39).

What the hell?! Crystal Palace had 31 shots against Cardiff, their highest number since 2003-4, including last week's hero Andros Townsend and Luka Milivojević hitting the crossbar and post respectively, but it somehow stayed goalless. Frustrating for manager Roy Hodgson, who was left rueing all the missed chances. But the former England boss can be more than happy with four points from the two last to games after beating the champions last week. Neil Warnock can still be satisfied as well, watching his side staying stubborn, keeping a clean sheet and collecting only their second point on the road this season. The sides remain 14th and 17th respectively. This was the first-ever Premier League meeting between two managers aged over 70 (Warnock 70y 25d, Hodgson 71y 139d on the day of the game).

Three goals in nine minutes decided the only clash left on the day after Boxing Day. Southampton went ahead against West Ham thanks to Nathan Redmond scrappy finish (50), before Felipe Anderson’s brace decided the encounter, one low strike (53’) and a powerful shot (59’). Injury-hit Hammers held on to the lead to secure their fifth win in six games, taking them up to ninth, whilst the Saints remain 16th.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Fulham 0:1 Wolves - 1:1

Burnley 1:2 Everton - 1:5

Crystal Palace 2:1 Cardiff - 0:0

Leicester 1:1 Man City - 2:1

Liverpool 3:0 Newcastle - 4:0

Man United 4:0 Huddersfield - 3:1

Tottenham 3:1 Bournemouth - 5:0

Brighton 2:2 Arsenal - 1:1

Watford 2:2 Chelsea - 1:2

Southampton 0:0 West Ham - 1:2

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports and MOTD.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 16

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 16

The 16th week of the Premier League action saw:

28 goals - most by Liverpool and Man United = 4 each

234 shots - most by Man United = 20

75 on target - most by Man United = 11

111 corners - most by Man City = 13

233  fouls - most by Huddersfield = 20

40 bookings - most by Wolves and Arsenal = 5 each

2 red cards - Zambo Aguissa for Fulham, Yedlin for Newcastle

2 penalties - 1 scored (Kamara for Fulham)

What a match! Chelsea shocked Manchester City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, becoming the first team to beat Pep Guardiola’s men in the league this season and knock them off the top spot. The Blues were very well organised, stood back and weathered the storm, stubborn and professionally. The Citizens dominated, but the hosts hit back on the counter when it mattered most, N’Golo Kanté (45’) and David Luiz (78’) finding the gaps and pouncing on them, netting a strong right-footed strike and from a corner (that should have been a goal kick - VAR material) respectively. The more surprising and relieving the result was for the London club after Maurizio Sarri’s side’s shambolic defensive display against Tottenham and defeat at Wolves the previous weeks. 

What a team! Liverpool are the last team left in the country standing unbeaten in the league after thrashing Bournemouth 0-4 at Dean Court thanks to a Mohamed Salah hat-trick (25’, 48’, 77’) and Steve Cook's own goal (68’). The great Egyptian showed great character, staying up and scoring rather than tumbling and rolling on the floor whining after being fouled by Cook, and last but not least, sharing his man-of-the-match award with James Milner after his 500th Premier League match. Respect. Jürgen Klopp’s men went into their crucial Champions League decider against Napoli at Anfield on Tuesday much more confident, top of the Premier League, with their firing boots fit and set and yet another clean sheet on record. And the Reds made it through to the last 16, maybe not comfortable, but solid and deserved.

What a man! Paul Pogba looked a very sad and lonely man not featuring at all in Manchester United’s confident and comfortable 4-1 win against struggling Fulham at Old Trafford. Much in contrast to that, Juan Mata starred with his 50th Premier League goal that made it 2-0 and his 50th league assist. Manager José Mourinho did not shy from complimenting the Spaniard and pointing out the difference - “the quality, the brain,... he plays for the team.”. Something the Portuguese has been missing from the Frenchman and club record £89 million signing. Even Romelu Lukaku ended his goalless drought of 997 minutes at home in all competitions, scoring his first goal at Old Trafford since March that made it 3-0 before the break and easy going from there for the hosts.

What a goal! Lucas Torreira left it late at the Emirates but his winning goal was a spectacular acrobatic take and the only starring light in a very dozy, grey and gloomy day, game and display for Arsenal against Huddersfield (83’). The result takes the Gunners' unbeaten run to 21 games in all competitions, their longest since 2007. Unai Emery’s men are yet to have a league game where they lead at the break though, only two games off West Ham’s and Cardiff’s season total records of 18 games in 1994-5 and 2013-14 respectively, totalling 17 points after 16 games, whilst Arsenal are on 34 points. Worrying? Not really, it is the result that matters most. No?

Felipe Anderson’s sublime finish made it 3-2 and completed a fine comeback for West Ham against Crystal Palace (65’). The Brazilian winger’s fifth in six games added to Robert Snodgrass’ (48’) and Javier Hernández’s (62’) goals to overturn James McArthur’s early opener (6’). Jeffrey Schlupp pulled one back for Roy Hodgson’s men (76’), but it was too little too late. It’s the Hammers’ third win on the trot for the first time in two years and scoring three goals in three consecutive games for the first time in 36 years!

What the hell?! Ten-man Newcastle fell to their seventh home defeat in nine thanks to Matt Doherty’s 94th minute header to make it 1-2 to Wolves at St James' Park. Rafael Benítez was fuming, pointing out VAR cannot come soon enough, and understandably so. Referee Mike Dean was annoyingly inconsistent, sending off Magpies defender DeAndre Yedlin for pulling back Diogo Jota, even-though he was not the last man, but letting off Wolves defender Willy Boly scot-free despite elbowing Ayoze Pérez in the face. The result sees Rafa’s men remain 15th, three points above the drop zone, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side tenth. 
The former LFC and CFC Spaniard is not the only one counting down to VAR time!!! Watford manager Javi Gracia insisted the dramatic late 2-2 draw at Everton on Monday night would have definitely ended differently if the most crucial calls would have been made correctly, like the Toffees’ offside opening goal by Richarlison (15’) and Yerry Mina escaping a red card. Lucas Digne’s delightful curl five minutes into stoppage time earned the home side the point at Goodison Park, leaving the Londoners reeling after a dramatic game that saw two goals and a missed penalty in five action-packed minutes with just over an hour gone. The result takes the Hornet's winless run on the blue side of the Mersey to 13 in the league (D2 L11). Damn.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Bournemouth 1:2 Liverpool - 0:4

Arsenal 3:1 Huddersfield - 1:0

Burnley 1:1 Brighton - 1:0

Cardiff 2:1 Southampton - 1:0

Man United 2:1 Fulham - 4:1

West Ham 2:1 Crystal Palace - 3:2

Chelsea 1:3 Man City - 2:0

Leicester 1:2 Tottenham - 0:2

Newcastle 2:1 Wolves - 1:2

Everton 1:1 Watford - 2:2

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Times newspaper, MOTD, BT and Sky Sports coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 1

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 1

The first week of the Premier League 2018-19 season saw:

25 goals - most by Liverpool = 4

244 shots - most by Watford = 19

87 on target - most by Palace = 10

95 corners - most by Man City = 9

207 fouls - most by Brighton = 16

28 bookings - most by MUN, NEW, TOT, CPL, HUD, WAT, BHA, WHU, ARS, MCI = 2 each

1 red card - Jagielka for Everton

3 penalties - 2 scored (Pogba for United, Jorginho for Chelsea)

What a game! Everton’s summer signing Richarlison scored twice (17' & 67') on his debut in an entertaining draw at PL newbies Wolves. But it was only enough for a point, Rúben Neves stealing the show with a stunning free kick (44') from the foul that saw Phil Jagielka sent off (40') and Raúl Jiménez's header from the Portuguese midfielder’s cross (80') grabbing a point for Nuno Espírito Santo’s fighting side. Since the start of last season, Neves has scored more goals from outside the box than any other player in the top four tiers of English league football (seven).

There was a goalless game at the weekend (believe it or not) between Southampton and Burnley thanks to both keepers’ top performances. Hats off to Alex McCarthy with crucial stops for the Saints and former England stopper Joe Hart after his impressive debut for Sean Dyche’s side. Southampton don’t like Sundays, having never won an opening PL fixture when playing on a Sunday, drawing three and losing three of their six matches.

What a team! Liverpool recorded their biggest opening home league win since 1932 thrashing West Ham 4-0 at Anfield on Sunday, click here for my full match report. Their Egyptian king Mohamed Salah opened the scoring and their Senegalese star Sadio Mané's brace made him the first LFC player to score in three consecutive opening top-flight fixtures since John Barnes between 1989-92. New signing Nabi Keita impressed with a driving performance, contributing to the first goal. Substitute Daniel Sturridge added to the party scoring with his first touch, 24 seconds after coming on, making it 4-0 and sealing Liverpool’s 500th Premier League win. New Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini saw his side being well beaten and not giving the new Red club-record keeper Alisson Becker much to do. And it could have been more, leaving Jürgen Klopp all smiles and full of compliments, but also warning his side there are certainly bigger and harder challenges ahead..

What a man! United skipper Paul Pogba stole all the headlines after he helped his side beat Leicester 2-1 in their season opener at Old Trafford on Friday night - but, rift or no rift, will he stay or will he go? (Just google the name and you'll see what I mean...) The World Cup winner was a surprise starter just four days after his return to training. The Frenchman’s goal from the spot beating Kasper Schmeichel inside three minutes was the Red Devil’s fastest goal scored in a Premier League season opener - the previous fastest was Dwight Yorke after seven minutes against Everton in 1999-2000. Boss José Mourinho is unbeaten in all 18 of his opening league matches (W11 D7), winning nine of his 10 in the Premier League (D1). The Portuguese’s misery, moans and riddled messages throughout the pre-season didn’t halt his side, but didn’t impress anyone either. Only time will tell how much longer they will stick together and bring results. I know what my money is on...

What a goal! Tottenham were helped by goalline technology in their win at Newcastle. Man of the match Jan Vertonghen’s header after eight minutes was confirmed to have crossed the line, just. 149 seconds later an unmarked Joselu headed in Matt Ritchie’s top quality cross. But Dele Alli put the London side back in the lead with a textbook header of his own in the 18th minute. Three goals in seven minutes, that was all, despite plenty of fight back by Rafael Benítez’s men after the break, hitting the woodwork a couple of times, Spurs ended up on top and bagging all three points. No signings? No problem.

Roberto Pereyra’s lovely brace, a sweet volley and an unstoppable curl, helped Watford to a comfortable 2-0 win against Brighton, Chris Hughton left wondering what happened with his side, recording not even a single shot on target.

What the hell?! After all the big cries for change, it was same old for Arsenal after losing their season opener 0-2 against Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday. The Gunners were playing their first match without Arsène Wenger since 1996, but failed to impress or make much impact against the Citizens. Raheem Sterling netted his 50th PL goal and Bernardo Silva doubled the lead and sealed the win for the champions. New boss Unai Emery was not happy, having failed to beat Pep Guardiola in their first 10 meetings in La Liga and Europe, and unable to end that run here becoming the first of Arsenal’s last six bosses to lose their first league game in charge. The London side have been making more news off the pitch with Stan Kroenke looking to take full control of the club, leaving the fans worried, very worried about lack of control and balance at the club... Hm... After moaning for years about the lack of change and investment?! Early days, but it shows once again, be careful what you wish for!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Man United 1:1 Leicester - 2:1

Newcastle 2:2 Tottenham - 1:2

Bournemouth 2:1 Cardiff - 2:0

Fulham 2:2 Crystal Palace - 0:2

Huddersfield 1:2 Chelsea - 0:3

Watford 1:1 Brighton - 2:0

Wolves 1:0 Everton - 2:2

Liverpool 3:1 West Ham - 4:0 or click here for my full match report

Southampton 2:1 Burnley - 0:0

Arsenal 1:1 Man City - 0:2

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks.

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