2019-20 Premier League: 5 Talking points from Round 6
The Premier League once again lived up to the expectations last weekend and produced plenty of thrills and spills to excite all sets of fans around the globe, with none of the games failing to produce a goal.
It was always going to be intriguing to see how the respective teams would fare heading into the final match week before the first international break of the season and Round 6 had plenty of talking points on offer for the fans and the media to dissect.
Here are 5 key talking points from the Premier League this weekend:-
1. Man City and Liverpool continue their winning ways
Liverpool hardly had any trouble putting Burnley to bed at Turf Moor on Saturday, as the current European champions went into the international break with a perfect record in the Premier League.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s spectacular opener followed by goals from Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino fired the Reds to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sean Dyche’s side, thus preserving their status as the only team in the top four divisions in England to boast of a perfect record in the league.
Man City, too, had a walk in the park against Brighton at home, with the Citizens putting in a dominant performance to sweep 4-0 past the Seagulls. Unlike Liverpool, City might not have a perfect record but they looked quite formidable this week, nevertheless.
Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne all got their names on the scoresheet to keep pace with their title rivals, although the injury to Aymeric Laporte, which looked pretty serious on the day, is likely to give Pep Guardiola something to think about.
2. Man United stumble once again
Man United would have hoped to bounce back from the shock 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace last week when they made the trip to St. Mary’s to face Southampton on Saturday.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be less than impressed with his team’s efforts after they played out a 1-1 draw, with the failure to break down a 10-man opposition making the result all the more bitter to swallow for the fans.
After a promising start from the Saints, Daniel James put United in the driver’s seat with his third goal of the season, an absolute stunner into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Southampton weren’t the ones to throw in the towel though, and Jannik Vestergaard’s headed equaliser in the second half levelled the score for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
United controlled the game after Kevin Danso was sent off for a second bookable offence, but they just didn’t do enough to break the opposition down.
3. Leicester City still unbeaten
Leicester City went into the international break placed third in the standings, four points behind current pace-setters Liverpool, and Brendan Rodgers would probably have a big smile on his face after the Foxes romped home to a comfortable 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at home.
Having edged 2-1 past Sheffield United last week, the Foxes came into the game brimming with confidence and it didn’t take long for them to open the scoring.
Ben Chilwell’s perfectly-weighted lob found the run of Jamie Vardy behind Bournemouth’s backline and the striker found the net in spectacular fashion, executing a perfect chip over the head of an advancing Aaron Ramsdale.
Ryan Fraser set up Callum Wilson for the equaliser but Youri Tielemans’ strike before the interval and Vardy’s second of the game in the 73rd minute sealed a rather simple win for Leicester City.
The Foxes will be relieved that Tielemans escaped a straight red card for a horrible studs-up challenge on Wilson.
Yes, it is still very early in the season to draw any significant conclusions but it won’t be surprising to see the Foxes make a surge for a top-six finish if they maintain their consistency levels throughout the season.
4. Plenty to cheer about for the West Ham fans
West Ham put in arguably their best performance of the season, as they beat Norwich City 2-0 at home on Saturday.
Having registered their first win of the campaign against Watford, Manuel Pellegrini’s side would have been hoping to build on that victory when they played host to the Canaries. But the East Londoners really exceeded expectations this past weekend.
The 2-0 scoreline might only look like a decent victory for the Hammers but in all honesty, the hosts could have bagged five or six goals on the day had they managed to put away all their chances.
Apart from Haller continuing his scoring form, some of the link-up play involving Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko was truly delicious and Yarmolenko’s goal in just his second start of the season was a timely reminder of what the Ukrainian is capable of producing in the coming weeks if he manages to keep himself fit.
5. Spoils shared in the North London derby but Chelsea bottle it
The North London Derby was expected to be one of the main attractions of Round 6 and despite the game finishing in a 2-2 draw, the ninety minutes at the Emirates on Sunday had enough drama and excitement in store for both sets of fans.
It was all Spurs in the first half as Christian Eriksen’s opener followed by Harry Kane’s penalty put the visitors 2-0 up but Arsenal responded just at the stroke of the interval, with Lacazette giving them a lifeline.
The Gunners took the game by the scruff of the neck after the restart and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal handed them a much-deserved equaliser in the 71st-minute. In the end, a draw was probably a fair reflection on the game.
Chelsea, though, will be less than happy with their 2-2 draw at home against Sheffield United.
It looked as if the Blues already had the game in the bag when Tammy Abraham put them 2-0 up with his second brace of the season, but a goal from Callum Robinson followed by an unfortunate last-gasp own goal from Kurt Zouma meant that Frank Lampard’s side dropped some crucial points.
Surely, Chelsea cannot afford such slip-ups against promoted teams at home if they are to challenge for a top-four finish.
