The International Break is over, Premier League soccer is back and there were some interesting results from match Week 5. Last year Liverpool raced out to an early lead and then was methodically chased down and passed late by Manchester City. This year…..Liverpool is off to a fast start, the only unbeaten, untied team in the league….and well, can they change the ending this year. They look unstoppable. Manchester City looks beatable with a couple of wobbles early….actually a really big wobble. More on that in a moment.
Well, we better get to that, can’t really wait on this one. Manchester City lost their first game of the season, 3-2 to newly promoted Norwich City. Oh my….let me repeat that, you might have thought you misread that..Manchester City, last years Premier League champions just lost to a newly promoted club. Holy Toledo. Have I ever mentioned that this league was really, really difficult. That on any give day, the worst team can beat the best tam. It basically happened. I still can’t believe it even though I wrote it twice. What the heck. I hear Man City has lost a key defender for a few months who was holding the defense together, but still. They are pretty deep. Let’s see how it happened.
As with most big upsets, there is a weird play or two. A lot of woodwork for Manchester City, but then the really, really bad turnover and score for the third Norwich goal. That was really sloppy for a team with this talent. A real give-away. Plus a real gift for Liverpool!!
As a Chelsea fan, got to give them some love. A 5-2 win and hat trick from Tammy Abraham. Currently with a transfer ban, and it forced Chelsea to promote from within and add some high quality club players from the Academy. So far this year, Chelsea has 10 goals. All 10 from young players promoted this year, and maybe some who would not be on the roster if there was no ban. Maybe the ban will work out long term….but would like to sigh a few players too, just sayin’. Check it out.
Race for the Title & Champions League Top 4
We had 7 winners for the week:
- Liverpool with a 3-1 win over Newcastle. 5-0 to start the season
- Chelsea 5-2 over Wolverhampton.
- Manchester United with a solid 1-0 win over Leicester City.
- Southampton 1-0 over Sheffield United.
- Tottenham with a 4-0 thrashing over Crystal Palace.
- Manchester City losing to Norwich City 3-2. WQow!
- Bournemouth with a 3-1 win over Everton.
Dud of the week, Version 2. Arsenal gave up a 2-0 lead and drew against Watford!
Race for Top 4. Win-Tie-Loss
- Liverpool 5-0-0. 15 Points.
- Manchester City 3-1-1 10 Points.
- Tottenham 2-2-1 8 Points
- Manchester United 2-2-1 8 Points
- Leicester City 2-2-1 8 Points.
- Chelsea 2-2-1 8 Points.
Arsenal, West Ham, Bournemouth, and Southampton coming in in spots 7-8-9-10.
Relegation Zone
Hard to know after 5 games but teams are starting to show their quality. Not many teams separating and lots of similar records right now. There are 12 teams still within 3 points of the relegation zone. Here are the teams that bring up the 18-19-20 spots. Only two teams without a win and they bring up the last two spots.
18. Newcastle 1-1-3 4 Points
19. Wolverhampton 0-3-2 3 Points.
20. Watford 0-2-3 2 Points
Match Day 6 Preview
Game of the Week. #1 Liverpool v #6 Chelsea. Can someone knock off Liverpool. A tough game for Chelsea. Two of their best defenders Rudiger and Kante are out with injuries and they still have 2-3 of their best players who have not returned to the team from last season injuries. Recent form has been good and they are scoring goals, but a bit leaky of defense especially with the two out. Feels it will take a monster game to take down Liverpool….but hey, Norwich City just took down Manchester City….so anything is possible in the Premier League.
Champions League is Coming!
Games start this week in the group play. Stay tuned for updates and posts.