Kickoff chronicles

Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest

The first game of Matchweek 4 saw Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal host Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium in Postecoglou’s first game in charge of the Reds since Nuno Espirito was sacked during the international break. As expected, Arsenal dominated the 1st half, with Mikel Merino forcing a brilliant save from the Forest keeper inside seven minutes. It was hardly an ideal first game for Ange, with star centre half Murillo going off with an injury early on. The Gunners finally found the breakthrough in the 32nd minute after Martin Zubimendi opened his account in red and white, also scoring his first professional goal from outside the penalty area. It was a wonderful strike, with Noni Madueke’s corner cleared only as far as the Spaniard who brilliantly smashed the ball into the top right corner to make it 1-0. Forest started to play some good football after Arsenal’s opener, creating a few good chances but unfortunately, the half-time whistle was blown before they could equalise with the score remaining 1-0.

Arsenal made the perfect start to the 2nd half, scoring inside 45 seconds of the restart thanks to two of their big money signings. Riccardo Calafiori played a brilliant ball over the Forest defence to Eberechi Eze down the left wing. The ex-Crystal Palace man, who was making his full debut, fizzed the ball across the penalty area where striker Viktor Gyokores cushioned the ball into an uncontested net to make it 2-0. Both sides rattled the woodwork through their strikers, with Chris Wood seeing his improvised strike from his chest hit the upright before Gyokores’ powerful effort smashed into the post. Arsenal then wrapped up all three points in the 79th minute when Zubemendi scored another, a rare brace for the midfielder. Leandro Trossard, who had been on the pitch for a matter of seconds, whipped the ball into the penalty area where Zubemendi headed the ball into the top right corner, a brilliant goal. The full-time score finished 3-0, with Arsenal claiming a huge three points taking them into 1st on the table, putting a slight amount of pressure on Liverpool who play Burnley away on Sunday. Forest lost their 2nd game on the bounce and 1st under ‘Big Ange’ with the Australian left with lots of work to do before their cup game against Swansea on Wednesday night.

AFC Bournemouth vs Brighton Hove & Albion

The following game of Matchweek 4 saw Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth host Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton at the Vitality Stadium with both sides claiming huge victories two weekends ago. Bournemouth made a stellar start to the fixture scoring inside 20 minutes thanks to a sublime strike from the young Alex Scott. Antoine Semenyo showed brilliant skill to take the ball down in the Brighton penalty area from a lofted ball by Marcos Senesi. Semenyo then played the ball to Scott who faked a shot before smashing the ball into the far right of Bart Verbruggen’s net to open his account for the season. Brighton had a few chances late on in the 1st half, coming through pacey winger Yankuba Minteh but the Cherries new keeper, Djordje Petrovic, was solid in goal, denying Brighton on multiple occasions. The half-time score stood at 1-0, with Bournemouth hoping to claim a 3rd win in a row.

Brighton made a brilliant start to the 2nd half and, much like Arsenal in the previous game, scored just after the restart. Minteh had been brilliant for Brighton all game and proved it once again after he whipped the ball in from the right wing where Kaoru Mitoma was unmarked at the backpost and free to score a rare headed goal. After conceding to such an early goal in the 2nd half, Bournemouth then won a penalty out of absolutely nothing. Marcus Tavernier pounced on a poor pass from Lewis Dunk, driving into the Brighton area surrounded by defenders. After he attempted to take all of them on, he poked the ball through to Evanilson inside the penalty area where the Brazilian touched the ball back onto his left boot before he was brought down by Jan Paul van Hecke. Semenyo then stepped up and thrashed the ball down the centre of the goal to score his 3rd of the season and put Bournemouth back in front. The Cherries were able to hold onto their precious lead, with the full-time score finishing 2-1. With nine points from a possible twelve, this is now Bournemouth’s best ever start to a season as they sit 4th. Brighton were unfortunate with two big injuries early on in the game and will need to recover for when they play Tottenham next weekend.

Crystal Palace vs Sunderland

Next up, Matchweek 4 saw Oliver Glasner’s unbeaten Crystal Palace host Regis Le Bris Sunderland at Selhurst Park with the Black Cats surprisingly ahead of the Eagles in the table. Palace made a much better start to the tie than Sunderland, with new signing Yeremy Pino putting two early chances wide of Robin Roefs’ goal, missing out on the chance to make a perfect start to his Premier League and Palace debut. The half-time score finished 0-0, with it clear to all that Sunderland had little intention of trying to attack in this game, their attention solely on defending.

Palace then had two huge chances in quick succession after the restart, with Tyrick Mitchell fizzing the ball in from the left wing where Jean-Philippe Mateta’s effort was saved by Roefs before Pino saw his shot heroically blocked over the bar by Omar Alderete. Palace continued their domination, with Daichi Kamada forcing a solid save again from Roefs down at his bottom right corner after a powerful strike from the Japanese international. Roefs was clearly man of the match, denying Mateta once again before late on in the game he made an out of this world double stop. He first parried away a close range effort from new signing Christiantus Uche before he brilliantly dove to his left to keep out another thunderous strike from Kamada. The full-time score finished 0-0, with Robin Roefs heroically keeping a clean sheet against an in-form Palace to earn his side a priceless point. Glasner will be disappointed his side couldn’t pick apart the Sunderland defence but Palace continue their unbeaten start to the season and also stretch their streak of games without loses’ to 15 in a row. The Eagles sit 8th in the table with six points. Sunderland managed to hold out and earn a point which sees them jump into equal 6th with seven points, a dream start to life back in the Premier League.

Everton vs Aston Villa

The following game of Matchweek 4 on Saturday afternoon saw David Moyes inform Everton host Unai Emery’s scoreless Aston Villa at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Villa were delighted to have no.1 goalkeeper back in their starting lineup, Emiliano Martinez, after his rumored transfer to Manchester United meant he was left out of the squad against Crystal Palace. The Argentinian shot-stopper was forced into some acrobatic saves early on from Everton’s Jack Grealish (who had just won August Premier League player of the month) and Beto. The first half was dominated by the hosts, with Villa struggling to progress with the ball and leaving themselves no chance of scoring their first goal of the season. The half-time score remained 0-0, with it surely only a matter of time before Moyes’ side took the lead.

Villa finally had their first real chance of the game early in the 2nd half after Emiliano Buendia saw his effort on the counter attack catch a huge deflection which almost helped it into the top left corner. Everton had multiple chances in quick succession just after the hour mark when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s cross was parried away by Martinez before Jake O’Brien and Tim Ireogbunam saw their efforts blocked. Toffees’ centre half Micheal Keane had two rare opportunities to win all three points for the hosts late in the game. His first came in the 72nd minute from a brilliant inswinging cross from Grealish which forced Martinez to produce a brilliant save before his 2nd header in stoppage time from another Grealish cross fizzed just wide of the post. The full-time score finished 0-0, with Martinez earning his side a point with some outstanding saves. Everton fans will be disappointed not to have picked up all three points but will still feel positive with the way their side are playing. The Toffees sit 6th on seven points. Villa are now the only team in the top seven English divisions to have not scored a league goal yet, with Emery’s side sitting 19th on two points. 

Fulham vs Leeds United

The next fixture in Matchweek 4 saw Marco Silva’s Fulham host Daniel Farke’s Leeds at Craven Cottage with both sides desperate for a win. Leeds surprisingly had two huge chances early on, with new signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin seeing his header saved by Bernd Leno before Anton Stach saw his powerful effort blocked by Sasa Lukic. Fulham struggled to create any meaningful chances in the 1st half and Leeds almost scored the opener after summer-signing from Newcastle, Sean Longstaff, saw his piledriver of an effort strike the crossbar and fly out for a Fulham goal kick. The half-time score remained 0-0, with Leeds outplaying the hosts in the first 45 minutes.

Fulham were much better in the 2nd half, with Harry Wilson forcing Karl Darlow into a superb save to stop his top goal-bound free kick from nestling into the top left corner. Darlow was then called into action again, this time flicking Emile Smith Rowe’s shot onto the post to keep the score at 0-0. It was now Leeds who were doing their best to keep the game goalless and Darlow was the hero yet again in stoppage time after Fulham’s latest signing Kevin saw his curling effort, destined for the top right corner, amazingly tipped over the bar by the Welsh keeper. Unfortunately for the promoted side, they were unable to hold on as they scored a horror own goal with just minutes left to play. Lukic whipped the ball in from the corner flag, missing all the Fulham white shirts in the penalty area, only for Leeds defender Gabriel Gudmundsson to head the ball into the back of his own net, despite him being at least 12 yards from goal with no Fulham player near him. The full-time score finished 1-0, with Fulham claiming their first win of the season with a very lucky last minute winner. They move up into 11th on the table with five points while Leeds drop to 16th on four.

Newcastle United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

The following game of Matchweek 4 saw two winless teams face-off, with Eddie Howe’s Newcastle hosting Vitor Pereira’s Wolves at St. James’ Park, with Pereira’s Wolves the only pointless team left. Wolves made a rapid start to the tie, with Hugo Bueno seeing his effort fizz just over the top right corner of the Newcastle goal with just 10 seconds played. Newcastle then had their share of chances after a shaky start, with Jacob Murphy having two consecutive opportunities. His first was from outside the area, playing a sharp 1-2 with new 6ft 5’ German striker Nick Woltemade, before his effort just curled around the wrong side of Sam Johnstone’s near post. His 2nd came from a Tino Liveramento throw in, with the ball bobbling over to the back post where Murphy’s effort was parried away by Johnstone. Newcastle finally found the opener in the 29th minute after Newcastle’s record signing, Woltemade, used his height to head Murphy’s cross into the top left corner, a dream start to his life in black and white. Murphy was at the centre of everything positive for Newcastle and thought he’d scored just before the interval after he received the ball from Harvey Barnes in the penalty area before he composed himself and smashed it past Johnstone. Unfortunately for the Englishman, Barnes was offside and the goal was chalked off. The half-time score stood at 1-0, with Newcastle hoping to hold on for their first win of the season.

The 2nd half was much less action-packed, with Newcastle seemingly happy to hold onto a 1-0 victory and Wolves unable to break down their defence. The Magpies had one good chance to put the game to bed midway through the 2nd period, with Barnes linking up well with Liveramento and Bruno Guimaraes down the left wing before he ballooned his shot over the bar. The full-time score finished 1-0, with Newcastle claiming their first win of the season thanks to a goal from record signing Woltemade. Howe’s side move into 10th on the table with five points, a brilliant way to start the week before they host Barcelona in the Champions League at St. James on Thursday night. Wolves’ horrid start to the season continues as they remain the only team with zero points as they sit 20th.

West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur

The next game played in Matchweek 4 on Saturday afternoon was a big London derby, with Graham Potter’s West Ham hosting Thomas Frank’s Tottenham in what looked like a cracking contest at the London Stadium. Despite West Ham dominating the opening exchanges, Spurs thought they’d taken the lead inside 20 minutes after skipper Christian Romero headed home ex-Hammer Mohammed Kudus’s corner past Mads Hermansen, but it was instantly ruled out by referee Jarrad Gillet after Micky van de Ven clearly shoved Kyle Walker-Peters to the ground. West Ham should have scored minutes later after some good play down the right by Walker-Peters and Jarrod Bowen, with the captain playing the ball into the penalty area to Lucas Paqueta, only for the Brazilian to roll the ball wide of Guglielmo Vicario’s post. The half-time score finished 0-0, although Spurs were looking dangerous with every set piece they had, Hermansen clearly nervous in the Hammers’ goal.

Spurs finally broke the deadlock less than two minutes into the 2nd half after Pape Sarr was unmarked at the back post and free to head in Xavi Simons’ corner. They had finally exposed West Ham’s weakness of defending corners, with the hosts pathetically leaving Sarr unmarked at the back post where he was left to score what was probably the easiest goal of his career. West Ham then ruined their chance of making a comeback after Tomas Soucek was sent off for a horror tackle on Joao Palhinha, tearing the Portuguese midfielder’s sock and shin pad, proving how bad the tackle really was. Tottenham then scored instantly after the red card, with Romero playing a long ball over into the West Ham penalty where they once again proved their inability to defend high balls with Bergvall rising high to head the ball over Hermansen whose positioning for the goal was horrid. Spurs made it 0-3 just after the hour mark, with Bergvall tearing apart the West Ham defence before knocking the ball to Van de Ven who placed the ball into the bottom left corner to seal all three points. The final half hour was not as action packed, with Tottenham’s focus now to hold onto their clean sheet. The full-time score finished 0-3, with West Ham smashed on their own turf by another London rival, with their win at Forest last week only painting over the cracks. They drop to 18th on three points. Tottenham go back to winning ways after a shock loss to Bournemouth last week as they sit 3rd on the table with nine points.

Brentford vs Chelsea

The final tie played in an eight-game Premier League Saturday saw Keith Andrew’s Brentford host Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea in another London derby, this time at the Gtech Stadium. After having two previous chances already in the West London derby, Kevin Schade made his 3rd chance count after Jordan Henderson (experienced Premier League player previously of Liverpool who Brentford had signed from Ajax) played an excellent through ball to the German where he progressed into the penalty area before placing the ball into the bottom right corner. Brentford frustrated Chelsea for the majority of the half and went into the break holding a 1-0 lead, hoping to make it back-to-back home wins at the Gtech.

Chelsea were much better in the 2nd half, with substitute Tyrique George making an instant impact when he won his side a corner after his sharp shot was brilliantly saved by Coaimhin Kelleher. Chelsea finally tied the game just after the hour mark, with Cole Palmer opening his account for the season after his injury in Matchweek 2. Enzo Fernandez’s cross was headed into the path of Palmer where he brilliantly placed the ball into the bottom left corner with a neat volley. Robert Sanchez was then called into action for Chelsea to keep the game at 1-1 after he dove low to his right to keep out Schade’s volley. The travelling side then looked to have won all three points after they scored in the 85th minute to make it 1-2. New signing from Manchester United, Alejandro Garnacho, dribbled with the ball down the left wing before cutting the ball back where it was cleared only as far as Moises Caicedo. Caicedo was given lots of time and space where he rocketed the ball into the top left corner with a sumptuous strike. With there little time left for a Brentford equaliser, the hosts fired up in search of a late goal. Record signing Dango Ouattara came inches away after his shot from the right side of the Chelsea penalty area forced Sanchez to dive down low to his left to deny Ouattara. Brentford then spoiled Chelsea’s day with minutes left in stoppage time after Schade catapulted in one last long throw-in. The ball was flicked over to the back post by Kristoffer Ajer where Fabio Carvalho, who had been on the pitch a matter of minutes, was unmarked and free to smash the ball past Sanchez. The full-time score finished 2-2, with Carvalho’s late goal capping off an enthralling London derby. Brentford saved a point at the death which takes them into 12th on the table with four points. Despite dropping two huge points, Chelsea will need to regroup before they travel to Bayern Munich on Wednesday night. The Blues continue their unbeaten start to the season as they sit 5th on eight points.

Burnley vs Liverpool

The first game played in Matchweek 4 on Sunday afternoon saw Scott Parker’s Burnley host Arne Slot’s Liverpool at Turf Moor, with Slot hoping his side could continue their 100% winning record. Less than 10 minutes into the game Burnley came inches away from snatching the lead after Loum Tchaouna played the ball across the penalty area to Jaidon Anthony. Unfortunately for the Clarets, Anthony blazed the ball over the cross bar, unable to net his 3rd of the season. Liverpool then had a huge chance through an unlikely source after Andy Robertson danced down the left wing and between a few Burnley defenders before his effort with the outside of his boot was comfortably saved by Martin Dubravka. The half-time score finished 0-0, with Burnley surprisingly able to keep Liverpool out for the 1st half.

Liverpool were much better in the 2nd half and had two chances early on with Ryan Gravenberch watching as his thunderous volleyed effort just rose over Dubravka’s crossbar before Florian Wirtz weaved through the Burnley defence before he placed his effort just wide of the post. Fresh off scoring the winner versus Arsenal in Matchweek 3, Dominik Szoboszlai saw his 30-yard piledriver force a brilliant stop by Dubravka who dove high to his right to deny the Hungarian. Substitute Federico Chiesa then missed a huge chance to score almost instantly after coming on when his header flew just wide of the post from Robertson’s cross. Burnley made the final ten minutes much harder than it needed to be after Lesley Ugochukwu received a 2nd yellow card after he brought down Wirtz on the edge of his own penalty area. Jeremie Frimpong was subbed on in the 87th minute and made a real difference for Liverpool, instantly forcing a huge save from Dubravka after receiving the ball on the right side of the penalty area from 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha. Frimpong won his side a penalty with the last chance of the game, crossing the ball in with Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri blocking the ball with his elbow. Last season’s golden boot winner, Mohamed Salah, stepped up and calmly smashed the ball into the top right corner to continue Liverpool’s 100% record. The full-time score finished 1-0, with Liverpool moving back to the top of the table with 12 points from 12. Parker’s Burnley were so unfortunate, conceding with the final kick of the game against last season champions. They sit 17th on the table with three points.

Manchester City vs Manchester United

The final game played in Matchweek 4 was easily the pick of the week, with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City hosting Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League’s latest Manchester derby. City came inches away from scoring inside 15 seconds after Erling Haaland’s shot from an almost impossible angle just rolled wide of Altay Bayindir’s far post. The Citizens then found a deserved lead in the 18th minute after some brilliant trickery from Jeremey Doku to dance around Luke Shaw and progress into the penalty area. Doku’s first cross was blocked but his second was perfect, sitting up brilliantly for Phil Foden who headed the ball past Bayindir to open his account for the season. Foden now has the second most goals in the Manchester Derby (7). Only Sergio Aguero holds the record (8). City dominated the 1st half and were unlucky not to go into the interval with a two or three goal lead. The half-time score finished 1-0, with Amorim needing a much better 2nd half from his players.

City all but sealed the points just seven minutes into the 2nd period after Haaland scored his 4th of the season. Once again, Foden and Doku were in the thick of it, Foden playing a brilliant ball into the path of Doku before the Belgian released Haaland into the United penalty area with a perfectly weighted ball. Haaland then chipped the ball over Bayindir, a lovely finish to make it 2-0. City should’ve made it 3-0 in the 55th minute after Doku pounced on a poor pass and played in Haaland again. The Norwegian beat the goalkeeper Bayindir and with an open net, somehow managed to hit the inside of the post before the ball was cleared by United. City’s latest signing, Gianluigi Donnarumma (who is known as the best keeper in the world right now after winning the Champions League with PSG), then proved his worth after he dove brilliantly down to his right to save an equally good volley from Bryan Mbeumo. City finally made it 3-0 in the 68th minute after Bernandro Silva played the ball over to Haaland, who was 1v1 with Bayindir after starting his run in his own half ensuring he was well onside. Haaland slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to win the derby for City with his 5th of the season. The full-time score finished 3-0, with City getting back to their winning ways after a poor start to the season as they sit 8th on six points. United failed to win their 3rd game of the season as they drop to 14th on 4 points after another terrible display.

Written by Ollie Wade.