Premier League action continued to enthral football enthusiasts all over the world in Gameweek 5.
An action-packed weekend saw a plethora of goals scored with end-to-end entertaining football—some top-class finishes spiced up with some controversial refereeing decisions.
While Chelsea struck a hammer blow to West Ham, Liverpool returned to winning ways at Anfield. Fulham shocked Newcastle and Aston Villa came back against Wolves to continue a fine start to the season. Ipswich Town, meanwhile, broke Saints hearts with a dramatic late equaliser, while Man United were denied by Crystal Palace in an entertaining draw. The big match-up of the weekend was the top-of-the-table clash between Man City and Arsenal, which ended in a dramatic 2-2 draw. Elsewhere, the Seagulls played Nottingham Forest in another highly-entertaining fixture which saw the two sides share the spoils.
Let’s take a look at all the action from the Premier League this weekend.
Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson gave his side the dream start with a brace inside 20 minutes. West Ham looked lethargic and slow but came to life as the first half progressed, playing more aggressively but failing to find an opening. The first half ended with Chelsea 2-0 up with a controversial penalty decision not given for a foul inside the box by Wesley Fofana on Crysencio Summerville.
The second half started with Chelsea adding a third in the 48th minute as Cole Palmer slotted in from a Jackson pass. The Hammers did have a lot of possession in this half, but their decision-making in the final third left a lot to be desired, Lucas Paquetá looking particularly off-colour. What was predicted as a potential banana skin turned out to be a cruise for the Blues.
Bournemouth started in blistering fashion as Antoine Semenyo scored inside three minutes. To the relief of the home side, the goal was disallowed by VAR for offside. This served as a wake-up call for the Reds, who then started to create some decent chances of their own.
Ultimately, it was the home side who opened the scoring in the 26th minute as Luis Díaz found an Ibrahima Konaté long pass and slotted it past a hapless Bournemouth defence; Kepa had come off his line. Díaz then added his second of the game, finding a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Bournemouth had their chances as well but couldn’t capitalise on them as another Liverpool burst forward saw Darwin Núñez score a stunner off a Mo Salah link-up for Liverpool’s third.
The second half saw Liverpool keep control of the game, with missed chances coming from both sides. The game ended 3-0 as Liverpool got back to winning ways after the shock home defeat to Nottingham Forest last weekend.
The Spurs fans were shocked into silence right away as Brentford forward Bryan Mbuemo scored from a volley inside the first minute. However, the home team weren’t perturbed for long and soon found an equaliser in the eighth minute when a James Maddison shot could only be parried off by Brentford goalie Mark Flekken and landed in the path of Dominic Solanke for an easy tap-in.
Spurs continued to attack even more aggressively after the equaliser, with the Brentford defence losing possession in dangerous areas. Spurs soon took the lead when Brennan Johnson found a pass from Son Heung-min outside the box and scored from a tight angle in the 28th minute.
The second half saw both teams on an even keel. Spurs were lucky to not be down to ten men before the hour mark when their shot-stopper Guglielmo Vicario seemingly handled the ball outside the box, though no foul was given. The two sides continued to play entertaining football, but Spurs ultimately delivered the death blow to Brentford by scoring a third through Maddison in the 85th minute.
The home team scored within the opening five minutes when forward Raúl Jiménez delivered a sublime finish off an Adama Traoré pass. Emile Smith Rowe’s brilliant start to life at Craven Cottage continued as he added the second to Fulham’s tally with a 22nd-minute slot-in past a fumbling Nick Pope. The first half ended with Fulham leading 2-0 at the break.
The second half started even more quickly than the first when an in-form Harvey Barnes finished incredibly 20 seconds after resumption to get Newcastle back in the game. But it really was a bad day at the office for the Magpies as Bruno Guimarães’ misplaced pass was latched onto by Reiss Nelson in stoppage time, who made it 3-1 and secured the three points for his side.
The home team scored from a great chance early on when an Adam Lallana pass found 18-year-old midfielder Tyler Dibling, who finished calmly in the fifth minute. With the lead on their side, Southampton had a flurry of great chances but failed to finish them, going into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The second half also saw missed opportunities from the Saints. A one-goal lead is a dangerous one, and Southampton were ultimately left to rue their missed chances late in stoppage time as Ipswich earned a draw when captain Sam Morsy’s deflected shot found the net, denying the heartbroken Southampton faithful their first win of the season.
Everton started brightly and were soon rewarded with an opening goal in the 12th minute when Iliman Ndiaye beat the opposition goalkeeper on the near post with his shot. The bottom-of-the-table side had a golden chance to double their lead when Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shot was saved well by Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. The first half ended with the visitors leading 1-0.
Leicester tried to find an equaliser in the second half, and their continued pressure paid dividends when Everton failed to defend a corner and Stephy Mavididi scored from a loose ball in the 73rd minute. The two sides ended up sharing the spoils, with the Toffees remaining bottom of the league table.
Aston Villa were yet again the comeback kings for a second week running at Villa Park. Wolves stunned the Villa fans when they scored first through Matheus Cunha in the 25th minute. The first half ended with Wolves being the dominant side who could have added more goals to the scoreline.
However, Unai Emery’s side were not to be denied and started to take the attack to the visitors in the second half. The Villa equaliser came through Ollie Watkins when he found a pass from Morgan Rogers and his shot ricocheted into the net off Craig Dawson in the 73rd minute. Their second was headed home by Ezri Konsa from a Youri Tielmans pass in the 88th minute. All off Wolves’ first-half efforts went in vain when Jhon Durán put the game to bed in stoppage time to secure all three points for the home side.
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This turned out to be the only goalless game of the weekend, though it did not come without chances for either side. Man United dominated the proceedings early on in the first half as Alejandro Garnacho’s shot was saved easily by Palace goalie Dean Henderson in the ninth minute. United went on another attacking spree when both Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes had their shots hit the crossbar around the 12th minute. The Palace shot-stopper was in sublime form and let nothing go past him. Palace had one decent opportunity in the 43rd minute that Eberechi Eze should have converted.
The second half saw the game on an equal footing and as United goalkeeper André Onana made a stunning double save early in the second half to deny the Eagles before Eze missed another glorious chance to take the lead for the home side. Either side could have taken the lead and the three points, but neither were clinical enough. The game ended in a draw, with the Eagles still waiting for their first league win of the season.
This was a game between two unbeaten sides. Forest grabbed the initiative and scored first through a Chris Wood penalty in the 13th minute when Callum Hudson-Odoi was fouled by Carlos Baleba in the box. However, Brighton started to show some positive intent of their own and drew level with a header from Jack Hinshelwood in the 42nd minute. Three minutes later, the home team found another set-piece opportunity in a dangerous area and Danny Welbeck hit a curling shot into the top right corner to take the lead.
The second half saw the two sides going at each other, and it paid dividends for Forest when winger Jota Silva found a counter-opportunity and passed to a free Ramón Sosa for a 70th-minute tap-in. The game came into disrepute and drama when Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was handed a second yellow for a challenge, on the back of which the two managers were also sent off for excessive appealing and reactions. The game ultimately ended a scintillating 2-2 draw.
The most hyped match-up of the weekend certainly lived up to its billing. Entertainment, drama, tension, and an exciting finale—this game had it all.
The first half saw City draw first blood when a line-breaking pass from Savinho saw Erling Haaland score the opener in the ninth minute. The Gunners weren’t to be denied, however, and scored the equaliser in the 42nd minute from a quickly-taken free-kick, which saw Gabriel Martinelli pass to Riccardo Calafiori whose shot found the net past a flailing Ederson.
It was end-to-end action from both teams and Arsenal soon took the lead when their Gabriel Magalhães rose highest to head home from a corner kick at the stroke of half-time, though Arsenal did suffer a major set-back when Leandro Trossard was sent off for a contentious second yellow at the end of the first half.
Due to the numerical disadvantage, the second half saw Man City dominating possession and Arsenal on the defensive. The Gunners were stoic in defence for the majority, but late drama ensued when substitute John Stones’s header from a quick corner found the net, denying Arsenal a gritty win.
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