Matchday #3 Recap

September 03, 2024

Matchday #3

Another thrilling week of Premier League action for fans, well for some more than others cough* Man United and Everton fans cough*. We used this exact line in last week’s recap, and believe it or not, it’s still relevant—so here it is again. You can find all of last week’s goals here.

Now let’s get into the recap.

Match highlights are embedded in the scoreline.

Kai Havertz’s first-half goal had the Gunners on track for a third consecutive win, but Brighton capitalized on Rice’s red card (we will get to this later, equalizing through Joao Pedro. Despite late pressure from both sides, the match ended level, leaving both teams unbeaten with seven points from three games. Before we leave this recap, let’s address the elephant in the room: Chris Kavanagh. You are a wanted man in North London. While the initial call was likely spot on, the inconsistency that followed was some of the worst refereeing we’ve seen—and we’ve watched Anthony Taylor screw Chelsea countless times. On the bright side, it was pretty entertaining to watch Arsenal fans meltdown on X.

Yet another horrible week to be a Toffee. As joy of the season’s first points was beginning to set in, Everton dug deep and grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. The lack of defensive awareness did them again. Goals from Michael Keane and DCL were not the cushion the Toffees thought they had. The damage goes as such: In the 87’, Dango Ouattara played a left-footed cross into the box to an unmarked Antoine Semenyo. Lewis Cook played a beautiful header from Luis Sinisterra in the 92’ to draw them level, and Sinisterra grabbed the third goal just four minutes later to cap off a disgusting defensive performance from Everton leaving Jordan Pickford dazed and confused. Prayers up to our fellow football commentator over at Men in Blazers, Roger Bennet. There are brighter days ahead. Godspeed my friend.

Ipswich Town earned their first Premier League point since 2002 with a 1-1 draw against Fulham, thanks to Liam Delap's early strike which sent Portman Road into a frenzy. Adama Traore equalized for Fulham in the first half, and despite both teams creating chances, neither could find a winner. Ipswich showed promise, with new signings impressing, while Fulham’s slow start and solid defense marked a mixed performance. The result leaves Ipswich 16th and Fulham in the top half of the table ahead of the dreaded international break, our worst nightmare.

“Yer on a horrible team Harry” - Hagrid to Harry if he played with Southampton probably. Aaron Ramsdale's debut with the Saints got off to a rough start as Brentford, in their first match without Ivan Toney, fired in three goals before Southampton managed a late consolation through Yukinari Sugawara. Despite Toney's departure to Al-Ahli, Brentford dominated, capitalizing on Southampton's defensive errors. Mbeumo opened the scoring just before halftime, doubled the lead in the second half, and Wissa added a third. Brentford now sit in fifth place, while Southampton remain winless and second bottom in the table.

Is Jhon Duran the guy? Is Ollie Watkins shaking in his boots for his starting spot? I don’t fully believe in these opinions, but there might be some truth in them if Watkins does not break his 8 game-goalless streak. Steve Cooper’s side continues to struggle which is a usual occurrence in a Steve Cooper side, so we predict to see much more of the same from this Leicester City team. Despite not being in control of possession, Villa dominated much of the match opening the scoring with a well-executed free-kick routine, and doubling their lead through Duran's header. Leicester's Facundo Buonanotte pulled one back, setting up a tense finish, but Villa held on to move up to sixth place. Leicester remain winless, struggling with creativity despite a spirited effort.

Forest's unbeaten run continues, but they could only manage a point against a struggling Wolves side last weekend—a result that feels like a bit of a letdown. Wolves would secure their first point of the season with a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, thanks to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's stunning equalizer just minutes after Chris Wood's early header put Forest ahead. After the fast start, the game seemed to slowly burn out despite a strong second-half push from the hosts. Forest remain unbeaten in eighth, while Wolves climb to 17th, moving out of the relegation zone.

As we predicted, City cruised to a 3-1 victory with Haaland netting yet another hat-trick. They seem unstoppable, eyeing a fifth consecutive Premier League title. What’s even more terrifying for the rest of the league is that they’re dominating without one of their key players, Rodri. Haaland opened the scoring early before a Ruben Dias own goal briefly brought West Ham level. The Norwegian striker added two more goals, bringing his season tally to seven and setting new Premier League records in the process. Despite a spirited effort and a near miss from Mohammed Kudus, West Ham couldn't keep pace with the champions. The win keeps City atop the standings with nine points where we predict they will be for the rest of the season, while West Ham sit 14th with three points under manager Julen Lopetegui.

Sad. We really wanted this one for the Blues, but their coldness from the midweek loss against Servette continued as they could not capitalize on an early goal from Nicolas Jackson. Eze would score a beautifully placed curler from outside the 18. Later in the game Nicolas Jackson would Nicolas Jackson and miss yet another 1v1 against the Palace keeper. He scores goals, but we’re still not sure what to make of him.

I (Seth) knew Spurs would be Spursy this week. Big Ange claims he usually wins things in his second year, but can his every-two-year success outlast Spurs’ tradition of never winning? Our prediction: they’re not winning anything. Alexander Isak’s late goal sealed a 2-1 win for Newcastle United, punishing a wasteful Spurs side at St James’ Park. Despite dominating much of the game, Spurs found themselves trailing at halftime after Harvey Barnes scored against the run of play. Brennan Johnson’s effort, deflected in by Dan Burn, brought Spurs level, but Isak’s simple finish on the counter handed Newcastle the victory. The Magpies remain unbeaten and move up to fourth, while Spurs sit 10th, still searching for consistency in front of goal.

If you had any reservations about Casemiro retiring, it is with utmost confidence that can be put to bed. The 32-year-old midfielder started Liverpool’s scoring with a beautiful pass to Ryan Gravenberch to aid the counterattack. He proceeded his mental blunder by jogging back on defense. Gravenberch played the ball off to Salah who crossed it into the back of the box to a wide-open Luis Diaz to make it 1-0. He would later be dispossessed with ease by Diaz who then passed out to Salah on the wing to give it right back to Diaz near the penalty spot where he beat Onana at his near post to make it 2-0. Another costly midfield turnover from United in the 56’ would lead to a Salah goal to cap the game off 3-0. Liverpool is firing on all cylinders with Arne Slot while Man U continues to struggle.

Predictions Recap:

Seth: 4/10 correct- Villa, Man City, Newcastle, and Liverpool.

Nathan: 6/10 correct- Bournemouth, (Draw) Ipswich Town vs. Fulham, Villa, Brentford, Man City, and Liverpool

That concludes our recap of Matchday #3! 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 next Friday after the international break (BOOOO!) for our predictions of next week’s games.

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