We look at the major talking points from the second gameweek of what was an enthralling weekend of Premier League action.
Follow Us
The second gameweek in the 2021-22 Premier League season was, predictably, not as open or high-scoring as the opening weekend was. However, it was enough to give fans an indication as to where this season could possibly be heading. There were big wins aplenty, as Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all took three points. We also saw a few surprise results, with West Ham’s thrasing of Leicester being chief among them. There also seem to be a few candidates already preparing for a relegation dog-fight. All in all, it made for another exciting week of football in the English top-flight.
? @WestHam ? pic.twitter.com/TiSXzUHQrF
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 23, 2021
So without further ado, let’s delve straight into the major talking points of the week.
Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Arsenal was a result that, based on form, anyone could have seen coming from a mile away. Football, however, is not always that simple. It is worth remembering that Mikel Arteta has a pretty good managerial record against the Blues in recent times. However, on Sunday the only shock was that Arsenal didn’t lose by a bigger margin.
Part of it was down to a fine save from goalkeeper Bernd Leno – and also to Chelsea easing off in the second half. But while Arsenal showed glimmers of quality, they never really seemed in it. The gap between the two sides seems bigger than ever.
Chelsea, for their part, showed why so many see them as title favourites. They were clinical up front and watertight at the back. Sterner tests await than Crystal Palace and Arsenal, but this has been a good start for the side.
Another side who have benefitted from an easy fixture run early in the season are Liverpool. After beating Norwich easily on the opening day, they easily saw the back of Burnley in their first game at Anfield this season.
Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane were the men on the scoresheet, with assists coming from full-backs Konstantinos Tsimikas and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The 2019-20 champions have looked a lot more assured in recent times but will need big results against big teams to establish themselves as contenders.
As it happens, their next match sees them take on Chelsea at Anfield. A win over the reigning European champions would be some way to show they mean business.
Norwich managed to upset City 3-2 in the beginning of the 2019-20 season, a result that made everyone sit up and take notice. They would play out another five-goal match in the return fixture, only this time it was City scoring all five. Norwich would go on to get relegated.
They’re back after only a season in the Championship but not much has changed for them. Sure, a draw pitting them against Liverpool and City is unhelpful at best. But Norwich’s 5-0 loss to City on Saturday shows the problems of old remain.
They are capable of some excellent football on their day. The issue, of course, is that the bigger Premier League teams can play that style too and possess better individuals. City – and Jack Grealish – won’t mind though. This was the perfect way to put the Spurs loss behind them.
When West Ham so nearly finished in the top 4 last season, there was some who expected their run to be a one-off. However, their form so far in the season suggests that the London side might well be angling for at least another top 6 finish if not more.
After scoring four against Newcastle, they only went and repeated the feat against Leicester City. Doing so against the Foxes is doubly impressive given how solid a side they are. Not that it mattered to Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma and the rest of the side.
Leicester can doubtless point to Ayoze Perez’s red card as a turning point – and rightfully so. However, take nothing away from how the Hammers went about their business. David Moyes’ men could once again be a team to watch this season.
The Nuno Espirito Santo revolution is well and truly underway at Spurs. Back-to-back 1-0 wins – first over City and now against Nuno’s old side Wolves – means Spurs are one of five sides to be unbeaten as of now. It wasn’t the easiest of wins, despite both sides clearly being in a state of transition.
However, the points accumulated is the main thing that matters. And, of course, the fact that Dele Alli won and scored the winning penalty. The midfielder has looked reinvigorated thus far and will want to continue playing this way.
For Wolves under Bruno Lage, it wasn’t the worst result. They actually played some good football and created a few chances, but were unable to make them count. One gets the feeling that, with a little more fine tuning, this side can go back to being a threat to the big boys.
Ah, to be a Manchester United fan. After an enthralling 5-0 win over Leeds on opening day, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s men go and drop points away to Southampton. Given it is still early days in the season, it’s not the worst result in the world – and Southampton are no pushovers either.
Yet United will regret not building on last week’s resounding win. A victory even by a two-goal margin would have seen them on top of the league. As things stand, they’re sixth ahead of Everton and Brentford on goal difference.
Again, this means little given the season is still in its infancy. But there’s plenty expected of United, which is understandable given how much quality they possess. Nevertheless, the Saints will be happy to walk away with a point against tough opposition.
Brighton became something of a punchline for many last season as a team that simply could not score goals despite playing attacking football. Yet so far this season, they’ve scored two goals in both their games. What’s more, their win over newly-promoted Watford this season saw them also keep a clean-sheet.
Of course, biggeer tests await for Brighton. They’ve only played Burnley and Watford thus far – teams many would expect them to at least draw against, if not outright beat. But the signs so far are looking good for Graham Potter’s men. At the very least, they should target a finish well above the relegation zone.
It’s not easy being a Newcastle fan, but this season already feels like they’re setting themselves up for more of the same. After an embarrassing loss to West Ham in a match they once led, they then go and get steamrolled by Aston Villa. As such, they are already in the relegation zone.
Recent seasons have seen the Magpies battle it out at the bottom half of the table all season and it looks set to be no different this year. Manager Steve Bruce can point to a relative lack of investment. But the simple fact is that he himself has not done enough to get the most out of this squad.
Whether a balance can be struck that sees results pick up remains to be seen. But either way, it feels like another year of battling – and hopefully avoiding – relegation awaits.
Leeds vs Everton was always set to be one of those Premier League bouts to watch out for. A battle against the ever-attacking Marcelo Bielsa and the ever-pragmatic Rafael Benitez could have gone either way. In the end, the fact they shared the points just makes sense.
For Everton, it’s a welcome point to pick up after their opening week win. The same can be said of Leeds, who were on the wrong side of a 5-1 loss to start their campaign. Both sides created chances and deserved to win but in the end, both cancelled each other out.
It’s been something of a trend in recent times for newly-promoted sides to get decent results in the beginning of the campaign before teetering off. Sheffield United did it in 2019-20 and so did Norwich a year before. For their sake, Brentford will be hoping to not go down the same path.
Their 2-0 win at home against Arsenal was followed by a 0-0 draw away to Crystal Palace. That might not seem like a great result given Palace’s sttruggles, but context is key. Brentford’s main goal will be survival, with anything in the 40-point range assuring that. As things stand, they have already collected four points – which isn’t a bad start at all.
