Matchday #2

Author

Seth Dyk
August 27, 2024

Matchday #2

Another thrilling week of Premier League action for fans, well for some more than others cough* Man United and Everton fans cough*. From last-minute winners to goals galore, this weekend had it all, and Arsenal finally broke their Aston Villa curse from last year. Catch all the weekend’s goals right here.

Now let’s get into the recap.

Match highlights are embedded in the scoreline.

Since we are in the States, we pick and choose which games we get up for in the morning because sometimes sleeping in on a Saturday is better than watching Chelsea lose at 5:30 am, but we made the mistake of missing this game because what a belter it was. Goals from Welbeck (BHA) and Amad Diallo (ManU) made it 1-1 until the 70th minute when Garnacho scored but scored off Zirkzee’s offside knee. In the 94th minute, Man United’s defenders swarmed to Adringa who whipped in a cross to three unmarked Brighton players and Joao Pedro headed it in for the win. After a hot start, this win takes Brighton to 2nd on the leaderboard and Man United sit T10.

Palace lost again and are we jumping the gun, but is Roy Hodgson sitting by his phone waiting for a call from Palace for yet another return? Feel free to reply by calling us crazy (WARNING: We will remember to call you out once it comes true). Crystal controlled possession with 58%, but could not find the back of the net even though many chances were created, with their best chance coming from the first half after Eze hit the bar after a perfectly executed training ground corner kick. Soucek pounced on a loose ball in the 67th minute, and just five minutes later, Bowen cut onto his left and fired one into the near post to secure all three points. Our MOTM? Jared Bowen, not just for scoring the clincher but also for heroically rescuing a young ball boy from a collapsing advertising board.

Fulham finally got their act together after losing to Man United in their first game of the season, edging out Leicester 2-1 thanks to Alex Iwobi's 70th-minute nutmeg on the Foxes' keeper. Emile Smith Rowe, fresh from Arsenal with a £34m price tag, kicked things off with a debut goal, proving he's worth every penny—or at least the first few million. As for Leicester, let’s just say their defense was about as solid as Everton’s—spoiler alert, that's not a compliment, but we’ll get to that later. It's late, I'm tired, and honestly, there’s nothing else worth mentioning about them. So, that’s a wrap for this game’s recap.

GOAL SAMMIE SZMODICS!!! Ipswich scores and are up 1-0 on the champs! Fast forward 10 minutes 3-1 Man City and Pep’s team continues to ruin the fun and drama of the Premier League. Erling Haaland had an average game with just three goals and De Bruyne of course registered an assist plus one goal assisted by Ipswich’s goalie which matches Jordan Pickford on the season. Sorry another spoiler for the Everton game.

I’m sorry Southampton fans if you’re reading this but Southampton had 64.6% possession and recorded one shot on target. No, you’re not reading that wrong. Southampton had 64.6% possession and recorded one shot on target. That means Southampton had the ball for 65 minutes and shot it five times and once the ball was on goal (In case you wondering you can find that shot here). On the brighter side for this game, Morgan Gibbs-White continues to impress by scoring a late winner after his initial header was cleared off the line by Yukinari Sugawara, but the Forest captain was quick to pounce on the rebound and tap it in in the 70th minute.

Speaking of one shot on target, Everton recorded one shot on target but had the excuse of only having 29% of the possession and for having Sean Dyche be their coach (Park the Bus lads). Tottenham lit up Everton’s defense with attack after attack and goal after goal with Bissouma starting the game off with a top cheddar goal from outside the box. As hinted above the Spurs offense was so scintillating that even Pickford got in on the fun and registered an amazing assist to Son who nestled it home to make it 2-0. Romero rose above a pitiful Everton defense and Son would later score a brace in the 77th minute to add insult to injury. Everton are two games in finding themselves 20th on the table.

The Match of the Week did not disappoint and neither did the PFA goalkeeper David Raya. Raya pulled off an insane save after a deflected shot hit the crossbar and Ollie Watkins attempted a point-blank header to redeem himself after missing an absolute sitter in the first half. In the 67th minute and with his first touch of the ball, substitute Leandro Trossard did what he does best and scored a clutch goal to put Arsenal 1-0 up. Partey would cap it off to make it 2-0 and Arsenal are looking to make another push for the title and eventually lose it in the end again to Man City.

As a Blues fan, it felt really good to type that scoreline out. The game started amazingly and then it slowly turned into another usual Chelsea game where right when the fans are given hope the defense and overvalued midfielders decide to hand the game away. Maresca’s halftime speech inspired the troops at the half and he also decided to play with 11 men after taking Mudryk off who contributed about as much as I did sitting and watching from my couch, I’m sorry is that harsh? Cold Palmer contributed one goal and three assists and Maueke had a hattrick of identical goals and Joao Felix finished it off after scoring his second first goal for Chelsea.

This game was one of the weekend's most thrilling, delivering excitement from start to finish. Newcastle dominated possession, but Bournemouth still managed to create numerous chances, thanks largely to the outstanding wing play of Semenyo. Let’s hope Todd Boehly doesn’t catch wind of these highlights and throw in a $100 million bid. Bournemouth struck first with Marcus Tavernier finding the net, assisted by Semenyo’s quick feet. Newcastle then pushed hard for an equalizer, which eventually came when Anthony Gordon headed in a cross from Harvey Barnes on the left. But the drama didn’t stop there—Dango Outtara seemed to have clinched the three points with a 92nd-minute header. Unfortunately for Bournemouth fans and Outtara, unless you're Diego Maradona, scoring with your arm in football isn’t allowed, and VAR overturned the goal for handball.

Let’s just hope Ivan Toney had Liverpool moneyline as they look no different from the team they were when Klopp was in charge as Arne Slot secured his first home Premier League win at Anfield with a 2-0 victory over Brentford, thanks to goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah. The Reds dominated much of the match, building on their strong start to the season with another win after last week’s 2-0 triumph over Ipswich Town. Diaz opened the scoring early, marking his 100th Liverpool appearance in style, and of course, Salah sealed the victory with a second goal following relentless pressing. Despite a spirited effort from Brentford, who were missing star striker Ivan Toney, Liverpool's attacking prowess and solid defense ensured their perfect start to the campaign. Brentford’s lack of a clinical striker was evident, underscoring the need to resolve Toney’s future quickly, especially with tough fixtures ahead.

That concludes our recap of Matchday #2! Thanks for reading and subscribing. If you have any suggestions or ideas for future emails, we'd love to hear from you—just reply to this message with your thoughts. See you Thursday for our predictions of next week’s games.

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