Bernd Leno claims a cross during Saturday's Premier League match. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
Three factors which stood out on Matchday 4 of the Premier League
Pep Guardiola celebrates with Erling Haaland after the latter scored a hat trick in Manchester City’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The Premier League season is almost a month in as Matchday 4 was full of drama and excitement. While table toppers Arsenal and Manchester City registered comeback wins, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United also strengthened their position by winning their respective matches.
However, the likes of Bournemouth and Leicester City continued to perform poorly. Leicester, the 2015-16 champions, are actually languishing at the bottom of the table after their loss to Chelsea. On that note, let’s take a look at three key factors which stood out on Matchday 4.
Arsenal and Manchester City showed great resolve
As mentioned earlier, both Arsenal and Manchester City bounced back from one and two-goal deficits, respectively, to register wins over the weekend. For the Gunners, Martin Odegaard was brilliant against Fulham by pulling the strings continuously and also scoring the equalizer.
Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka also worked very hard on the flanks and Eddie Nketiah had an impact after coming in after halftime. Mikel Arteta would also take heart from the fact Gabriel, the centre-back, atoned for his mistake, which led to Fulham’s goal, by scoring the match-winner.
Manchester City, meanwhile, seem to have made a habit of bouncing back to snatch points from the opposition. Erling Haaland justified his signing yet again by scoring a hat-trick against Crystal Palace and is now the Premier League’s leading goal-scorer with six goals from four matches.
Haaland is dangerous inside the opposition penalty box just like his predecessor Sergio Aguero and is also considerably bigger and stronger than the Argentine. However, the defensive follies are likely to keep Guardiola worried and would definitely expect better performances from the likes of Ruben Dias and John Stones in the future.
Liverpool back with a bang in the Premier League
Liverpool shrugged off a jittery start to decimate Bournemouth on Saturday. It was a record-equaling victory for the Reds as Jurgen Klopp’s side put nine past a hapless Bournemouth at Anfield.
Liverpool thus registered their first victory in the Premier League this season as their supporters breathe a sigh of relief, having seen both Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino score braces in the match. Trent Alexander-Arnold showed yet again his attacking prowess by scoring with a brilliant shot as Virgil Van Dijk and Fabio Carvalho also joined the party.
The very fact they registered the mammoth win even without Mohamed Salah scoring a goal, would also give the Reds some much needed confidence. It can be said without any doubt that Liverpool’s opponents in the upcoming fixtures should be considerably wary of them.
Chelsea, United scrape by
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United continue to look a work in progress, but can now boast a couple of victories from their last two matches. Their 1-0 win over Southampton was not quite the stuff legends are made of, but it served the purpose nonetheless.
However, Ten Hag should have some concerns as Southampton finished the match with more attempts than his side. Bruno Fernandes would be happy to score his first goal of the season, but more was expected from Manchester United’s forwards against a less-fancied opponent. Lisandro Martinez’s performance, though, was a silver lining as the Argentine defender now has won two successive Man of the Match awards.
Chelsea also held on to beat Leicester City despite playing the majority of the match with 10 men after Conor Gallagher saw a red card. However, Raheem Sterling, who was really good despite not scoring in the first few matches, finally scored a brace to fashion a win for his side as Manchester City’s loss appears to be Chelsea’s gain.
