Brighton vs Manchester United

The second week of the 24/25 season kicked off down on the South coast with Brighton taking on Manchester United. United came out the more dominant side in the opening exchanges with Amad Diallo missing a huge chance to put his side ahead when he failed to convert Diogo Dalot’s cross from the left wing. It was Brighton who took the lead, with ex-United player Danny Welbeck, scoring for the Seagulls. Joao Pedro’s cross from the right wing travelled all the way through the Manchester United penalty area before falling to Kaoru Mitoma who drilled it back across the 6 yard box. Welbeck anticipated Mitoma’s pass and threw his body at the ball, watching as it deflected off him and into the United net. The Red Devils thought they had answered with the perfect response just seconds after kick off when Marcus Rashford found the back of the net. Diallo’s cross was met with a Rashford header inside the penalty area which was originally saved by Brighton keeper Jason Steele but the rebound came off the heel of Rashford and found its way into the back of the net. Unfortunately, the English winger mistimed his run and it was ruled offside. The half finished 1-0 with Fabian Hurzeler hoping his side could continue their perfect start to the 24/25 season.

Welbeck came very close to doubling the hosts advantage when he rattled the upright with a header from Yankuba Minteh free kick. United then found a leveller in the 60th minute, courtesy of the young talent Amad Diallo. Noussair Mazraoui played a perfect pass down the left wing to the wide man who then looked to take on Jack Hinshelwood. He did so successfully, chopping back on his left foot before drilling the ball past Steele in goal. United then thought they had completed the comeback in the 70th minute when substitute Alejandro Garnacho rolled the ball across the line after a stellar pass from Bruno Fernandes. Unfortunately for the Reds, the goal was chalked off by VAR as when Garnacho passed the ball into the back of the net, it caught a deflection off of Joshua Zirkzee’s knee when he was in an offside position. The hosts then began to press, searching for a late winner. Their prayers were answered in the 4th minute of stoppage time when Brighton’s Brazilian no.9, Joao Pedro, scored to make it 2-1. Simon Adingra received the ball in the left side of the penalty area before chipping a ball over to the back post where Pedro was unmarked. The striker then had the easy task of heading it home, winning the game for the seagulls. The fixture ended 2-1 with Hurzeler continuing his brilliant start to the season as Brighton manager. Manchester United will feel as though they could have easily prevented the last minute winner and know they will have to perform much better against Liverpool next week.

Manchester City vs Ipswich Town

The next game of matchweek 2 saw champions Manchester City take on newly promoted side Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys shocked the world in the 7th minute of the tie when their Irish midfielder, Sam Szmodics, found the back of the Citizens net. Ben Johnson played a defence-splitting ball through to Szmodics who was through on goal. The Irishman then drilled the ball at City keeper Ederson, watching as it travelled through his legs and trickled over the line. The hosts then conjured up a champions response, scoring just 5 minutes later after Savinho was fouled by Leif Davis inside the penalty area. Erling Haaland stepped up to score the penalty for the hosts, calmly slotting it into the bottom left corner. City then completed a very professional comeback in the 14th minute when their Belgian midfield-maestro, Kevin De Bruyne, found the back of the net. Ipswich keeper Arijanet Muric received the ball inside his penalty area and then attempted to hold off City winger Savinho. He was not quite quick enough for the Brazilian who dispossessed the Koskovain keeper, leaving De Bruyne with an open goal to aim for. Manchester City then scored their 3rd goal in the space of 4 minutes when Haaland found his second of the afternoon. De Bruyne played a brilliant ball over the Ipswich defence for him to run onto. The Norwegian took a touch around outgoing keeper Muric before tapping the ball into an empty net right on the 16 minute mark. Before the interval, the hosts missed two major chances to increase the gap between themselves and Ipswich with Rico Lewis and De Bruyne having shots thunder against the upright. The two sides went into the break with City leading 3-1.

City maybe took their foot off the pedal a little bit in the second half but it didn’t stop them from finding a 4th. Haaland received the ball just outside the area after it pinballed off multiple Ipswich midfielders and landed kindly into his path. The Norwegian then turned to shoot, watching as his effort spun off the turf and found the bottom right corner perfectly. The tie ended 4-1 with City climbing into 1st place in the table. Ipswich sit 19th, but will be positive as they have played 2 of their tougher fixtures early on in the season and will have less harder task on Saturday when they host Fulham.

Tottenham vs Everton

The following game to kick off on Saturday afternoon starred Ange Postucoglu’s Spurs taking on Sean Dyche’s Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tottenham came out the blocks strongly like they usually do under Ange and it was no surprise when they found the lead after just 13 minutes. The tricky feet of Dejan Kulusevski were too much for the Everton backline as he dribbled through the penalty area before popping the ball outside the area to Yves Bissouma. Bissouma hit the ball first time watching as his rocket of an effort rattled the cross bar and flew over the line, giving the hosts a valuable lead. Everton keeper Jordan Pickford then gifted Tottenham a 2nd goal after Son Hueng-Min dispossessed him in the Everton penalty area before tapping the ball into an uncontested net. Tottenham had dominated the first 45 minutes and it was fair to say they deserved the 2-0 lead at the interval. 

After an evenly played first 20 minutes in the second period, Spurs found their 3rd goal through a James Maddison corner. His perfectly whipped cross was met by a bullet header from Cristian Romero, the highest scoring centre back in the league last season. Tottenham then put the cherry on top in the 77th minute when Micky van de Ven made a charging run through the midfield. No Everton player could stop him and he was able to find Son deep in the penalty area. The Korean looked to have taken it too wide, but the Spurs skipper was still able to squeeze the ball through Pickford’s legs and make it 4-0. Ange’s side held out for the remaining minutes of the game for what was a very successful first home game of the season. It takes them to 4th in the table on 4 points with only a few sides still to play. Everton sit rock bottom with no goals scored and a difference of minus 7.

Fulham vs Leicester City

The next game of matchweek 2 saw Marco Silva’s Fulham take on Steve Cooper’s newly promoted Leicester City. It was a fairly contested first quarter of an hour but it was Fulham who would strike first in the 18th minute. Adama Traore was strong in the midfield, holding off multiple attempts from Leicester players to dispossess him before spreading the ball out wide to newcomer Emile Smith Rowe. The ex-Gunner took a couple of touches into the penalty area before chipping the ball over keeper Mads Hermansen and giving the Cottagers the lead. Fulham continued to attack at Leicester, trying to find an all important 2nd goal but it was the Foxes who would find the back of the net next. 7 minutes before the break, the travelling side won a corner which Facundo Buonanotte walked over to take. His delivery was spot on, watching as centre back Wout Faes rose high to head the ball past Fulham keeper Bernd Leno. The half finished 1-1 with the game now in the balance. 

Fulham came back out much stronger than their opponents for the second period, finding a fully deserved 2nd in the 70th minute. Antonee Robinson played a brilliant first time pass to Alex Iwobi, over the Foxes’ defence and releasing him into the penalty area. The Nigerian composed himself before drilling the ball past Hermansen and making it 2-1. Leicester made a few attempts to tie the game late on, but it was Fulham who held out and came out victorious, winning 2-1. It was an ideal result for Marco Silva and his side, bouncing back after their 0-1 loss to Manchester United last week. Leicester will be disappointed they couldn’t get any away points from home and know they will need to put in a better performance against Aston Villa next week.

Southampton vs Nottingham Forest

The next game of the matchweek saw Russel Martin’s newly promoted Saints play Nuno Espirito’s Nottingham Forest at St. Mary’s Stadium. Nottingham Forest were looking strong in the opening exchanges of the first half, forcing multiple saves from Southampton shot stopper Alex McCarthy. Their best chance to find an opener occurred in the 34th minute when Chris Wood drilled a ball across the 6 yard box after a poor Forest corner. Unfortunately for Wood and Forest, Ibrahim Sangare stretched out to poke it in and diverted the ball just wide. He was perhaps better leaving it as there were two more blue shirts behind him waiting for Wood’s pass who had a better angle to aim. The half finished 0-0 with Forest unlucky not to be ahead at the break.

Forest continued to play well in the second period and found a deserved opener in the 70th minute through their skipper Morgan Gibbs-White. Callum Hudson-Odoi crossed in a ball from the left wing where Gibb-White managed to direct the ball towards the Southampton net. His initial effort was cleared off the line by defender Yukinari Sugawara but the Englishman was quick to pounce on the seconds, smashing the ball into the back of the net. Southampton made a couple of attempts to find a late equaliser but Forest defended strongly, holding out for a valuable 0-1 away win, and 3 crucial points. It has been a solid start to the season for Nuno’s side as they currently sit 5th on 4 points but with more teams left to play. Southampton’s woeful campaign continues as they lose another game by 1 goal and yet again, fail to score.

Crystal Palace vs West Ham United

The next game of the weekend was the 2nd London derby of the new season with Crystal Palace hosting the new look West Ham United at Selhurst Park. Recently, this had been a fixture that West Ham fans had dreaded but the Hammers got off to a positive start on this occasion. Michail Antonio came close to scoring after just 10 minutes when he watched his headed effort just graze past the post from a Tomas Soucek arial flick on. Palace then came close to scoring just before the break when Eberechi Eze rattled the crossbar from just outside the area. The chance occurred after Adam Wharton rolled the ball across the top of the 18 yard box for the Englishman to strike. After 45 minutes, neither side could find an opener and the score was level at 0-0. 

It didn’t take long for West Ham to take an early advantage in the second period when they found the back of the net on the 67 minute mark. Ex-Eagle, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, made a powerful run down the right wing before playing Jarrod Bowen into the penalty area. Bowen laid it off to Lucas Paqueta where his effort pinballed around the Palace box before falling kindly to Tomas Soucek. The Czech Republic midfielder made no mistake with his finish, slotting it past Palace keeper Dean Henderson and then spinning away in celebration. Five minutes later, the Hammers doubled their advantage through their new skipper, Jarrod Bowen. Maximilian Killman, their centre back signing from Wolves, made a driving run from his own half before playing a perfect switch ball through the Palace midfield and into the path of Bowen. The wide man progressed into the penalty area before cutting it back onto his favoured left boot and drilling the ball by Henderson. With not long to play, West Ham decided to defend their lead, doing so successfully as the fixture ended 0-2 to the Hammers. It was an ideal result for Julen Lopetegui as his side picked up a huge 3 points on the road complimented with a clean sheet as well. Crystal Palace fans will be disappointed with the start their team has made to the season after their brilliant finish to their last campaign under Oliver Glasner. They sit 18th with a minus three difference.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal

The final game played on Saturday was arguably the most anticipated with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal facing Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in what looked like a blockbuster of a football match at Villa Park. The Gunner’s looked ready for the occasion and came close to scoring after just a quarter of an hour when Bukayo Saka watched his effort palmed away by Emiliano Martinez. It was then Villa who came very close to scoring after Arsenal centre half, Gabriel, was dispossessed outside his penalty area by Leon Bailey. The ball popped out towards Morgan Rodegers who then squared it to Ollie Watkins with an open goal to aim for. Unfortunately for Villa fans, Watkins made terrible contact with the ball and watched in disgust as the ball bobbled wide of the post, proving a huge let off for the Gunners. At the break the score was 0-0 with Arsenal dominating possession, but Villa coming away with more big chances missed.

The hosts came so close to opening the game in the 54th minute when summer signing, Amadou Onana, had his shot from outside the area deflected onto the upright. Following his effort up was Watkins who threw his head at the ball with Arsenal keeper, David Raya, on the floor after attempting to save Onana’s effort. Fortunately for the travelling side, Raya saved the day when he used his cat-like reflexes to recover and then parry away Watkins’ effort. Arsenal fans were then able to breathe a huge sigh of relief after substitute Leandro Trossard scored for the Gunners. Martin Odegaard played a nice ball down the right channel to Bukayo Saka who drilled the ball into the 18 yard box. It managed to roll all the way over to Trossard on the opposite side of the penalty area where the Belgian passed the ball into the bottom right corner. Arsenal then wrapped up the 3 points in the 77th minute when Ghanaian international Thomas Partey found the back of Martinez’s goal. Kai Havertz’s ball across the Villa penalty area popped out all the way on the other side of the box to Saka. The Englishman attempted to cut onto his favoured left side and test Marinez but he decided not to, spitting the ball back out to Partey. Known for his long range scoring ability, Partey cracked a shot, watching as it beat Martinez and found the bottom left corner. Arsenal saw out the game, coming away with a superb away win against a tough Villa side. Mikel Arteta’s side continued their perfect start to the season with 4 goals scored and zero conceded. Villa will be disappointed they couldn’t convert any of their earlier chances and let the game slip away. Unai Emery’s side play Leicester next week.

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Chelsea

The first game played on Sunday afternoon saw Gary O’Neil’s Wolverampton Wanderers take on Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea in what looked like an entertaining encounter. The Blues found the lead inside just 2 minutes after Nicholas Jackson opened his account for the season. Cole Palmer’s corner was flicked on to the back post by Wesley Fofana where Jackson found himself in an unmarked position, free to head the ball past Jose Sa in goal. After already having a goal disallowed, Matheus Cunha struck Wolves level just before the half hour mark. Rayan Ait-Nouri made a brilliant run through the Chelsea backline, drawing multiple players in before playing the ball into Cunha who was left alone. The Brazilian then had acres of space to smash the ball past Davison Sanchez in the Chelsea goal. Moments after Joao Gomes missed his shot by millimetres in the Chelsea half, Sanchez looked to play the goal kick quick and long. His lofted pass caught the Wolves team out leaving Wolves defender Toti with Jackson and Palmer running at him. Jackson won the initial bounce, playing it across to Palmer who hit it first time with Jose Sa off his line. His left footed lofted effort was perfect, lobbing Sa and capping off a brilliant Chelsea counter attack. Just as Chelsea thought they had snatched the lead before half time, Wolves equalised again via a smartly worked set piece. Ait-Nouri clipped the ball over to the back post where Toti headed the ball back across goal. Lunging in was Jorgen Strand Larsen who prodded the ball past Sanchez to level the tie at 2-2 before the interval.

Chelsea came out for the second half, hungry for more goals. They found their first of the half, just 4 minutes in when Cole Palmer found Noni Madueke inside the Wolves penalty area. The Englishman cut back onto his left boot and shot, watching as his effort caught a huge deflection and found the back of the net. Just 9 minutes later it was that same duo that combined to score Chelsea’s 4th in Palmer and Madueke. It was almost a mirror image to the 3rd, the only difference was that his effort snuck through the legs of Sa, making for a cheekier goal. It all started to get a bit embarrassing from a Wolves perspective when the same players combined again, with Palmer registering a hat-trick of assists, and Madueke scoring his first ever senior hat-trick. Just over 15 minutes later, 5 became 6 when the Portuguese new-signing duo of Pedro Neto and Joao Felix combined. The ex Wolves star, Neto, dribbled down the left wing before cutting it back to Felix who had time to aim at Sa’s goal. His finish was sublime, placing it into the top left corner with a neat right footed finish. The fixture finished 2-6, with most Wolves fans non-existent at the Molineux as the full time whistle was blown. It was a perfect bounce back for Maresca’s side after their loss to Man.City last week. Wolves’ shaky start to the season continues and O’Neil will know his side will need to put in a stronger performance against Nottingham Forest next week. 

Bournemouth vs Newcastle

The 2nd game that took place on Sunday afternoon saw Eddie Howe’s Newcastle make the journey down to play his old team Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries got off to a good start to their first home fixture of the campaign when new signing, Evanilson, came close to scoring inside 20 minutes. Just 6 minutes later, Antonie Semenyo rattled the crossbar with a long range effort; Bournemouth continued to create chances. 10 minutes later, Bournemouth found an opener after Semenyo dispossessed Joelinton right outside the Magpies penalty area. He took the ball down into the penalty area before crossing it into the 6 yard area where Marcus Tavernier tapped the ball home. The half finished 1-0 with Bournemouth hoping to earn their first win of the season.

Newcastle made a few substitutions going into the second period, with the most impactful of them all, Harvey Barnes. After just narrowly missing the target with his first involvement of the game, Barnes whipped in a cross from the left wing. Running in at the back post was Anthony Gordon who was able to smash the ball in to tie the game at the 75 minute mark. The remaining 15 minutes played out evenly but it was Bournemouth who thought they had found the back of the net with 2 minutes to play. Lewis Cook’s corner was met by a rising header from Dango Ouattara who had already had a goal disallowed this season at the City Ground. This time, his goal was disallowed for a handball, with the ball allegedly striking his hand and not his shoulder or head. After having a late winner chalked off, Cherries fans felt even more hard done by when their keeper Neto claimed the ball and looked to spark one last Bournemouth attack. Instead, as he was running out, Joelinton proceeded to wrap his arm around his neck and tug him to the ground, not only harming the keeper but also stopping any chance of the hosts progressing up the pitch. He was only shown a yellow card by referee David Coote. The game finished 1-1 with Newcastle very lucky to have walked away with a point. Bournemouth fans will feel frustrated again, but continue their unbeaten start to the season.

Liverpool vs Brentford

The final game of matchweek 2 saw Anfield host its first game of the new season with Arne Slot’s side taking on Thomas Franks Brentford. Liverpool got off to the perfect start inside just 15 minutes when they sparked a counter after a poor Brentford corner. Jota sprinted with the ball at the two Brentford players back defending, with Luis Diaz in support. Diaz made a diagonal run between the two Brentford players where Jota spotted him perfectly, playing the Colobian through on goal. Diaz made no mistake with his finish, drilling it into the top left corner. Liverpool dominated for the rest of the half, but Alisson was drawn into action in the final minutes of the first 45. The first half finished 1-0 with Liverpool hoping to hold onto their lead.

After soaking up some early Brentford pressure, Liverpool found an all important goal through their Egyptian king, Mohamed Salah. Dominik Szboszlai won the ball in the midfield before Alexis Mac Allister quickly passed it to Luis Diaz. Diaz saw Salah on the opposite side of the penalty area unmarked where he spread it over to him. He took a touch before placing the ball around Mark Flekken in goal. Liverpool did hit the crossbar before the final whistle but it was right to say 2-0 was a fair result. Liverpool continue their perfect start to the season with two wins on the board and no goals conceded as they sit in equal 3rd. Brentford will be disappointed they couldn’t find the back of the net but after 2 games they sit in 12th.

Written by Ollie Wade