The third week of the Premier League season saw a number of interesting results. Today we take a look at the winners and the losers from the weekend fixtures.
Perfect three
The third match of the new Premier League season culminated in Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford occupying the top three spots respectively. The three have won all of their matches, which is no mean feat considering the current Champions have already faltered. Liverpool, in particular, have been on an outright rampage as they are the only team that is yet to concede a goal in the new season. Former champions Chelsea haven’t been so lucky at the back, but they hold the second highest number of goals scored thus far. Given their 14th place finish last season, this is a dream start indeed for Watford. It’s still early doors in the new season, and we expect other clubs to level up in the coming weeks. However, this perfect start will, without a doubt, put some pep in the top trio’s step.
BTTS bets
Both Teams to Score is one of the most popular bets placed on English football matches, and for good reason. This weekend saw a flood of BTTS results in the games that took place across the Premier League. A goalless draw between Huddersfield and Cardiff, and Liverpool’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Brighton prevented what could have been a clean sweep of BTTS results. Seven of the nine matches played saw goals at both ends of the field. The last day of Game Week three will see Manchester United take on Tottenham tonight and who know what is in store for BTTS backers.
Losers
Jose Mourinho
It’s not going well for Jose and Man United this season. Monday night’s 3-0 loss at home to Tottenham could well be the beginning of the end for the Portuguese coach. The result followed a 3-2 defeat against Brighton. The turnover by Spurs made it the first time in 49 years that United had conceded seven or more goals in their opening three games.
Manchester City
Manchester City dropped points for the first time this season after playing out a 1-1 draw away to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The hosts took the lead early in the second half through a controversial Willy Boly goal, and it took the intervention of Aymeric Laporte to restore parity. As expected the Citizens dominated the ball and went close on a few occasions, but Wolves held their fort to snatch a point. This was particularly impressive for a side that gained promotion in the new season and hopefully it will inspire other teams on how to tame the rampant City. For Pep Guardiola this a lost opportunity to take an early lead in the title race.
Richarlison
Evertons’ record signing Richarlison received a controversial red-card for violent conduct in the first half when they played Bournemouth away. The match ended with ten men a piece, as Bournemouth’s Adam Smith was equally dismissed early in the second half for taking down Theo Walcott. Richarlison has started the season excellently with the Toffees and he has already scored three goals in three appearances. The suspension will slow his momentum as he will miss the next three outings as a result. This will be a huge blow to Marcos Silva’s side who have relied heavily on the Brazilian’s attacking instinct in the final third.
Rafael Benitez
Finally, to complete our list, is Rafael Benitez who set up Newcastle to do a defensive job against Chelsea. His efforts were almost rewarded when Joselu’s header in the 83rd minute cancelled out Eden Hazard’s goal, but a DeAndre Yedlin own goal handed the Blues all three points. The visitors dominated proceedings from the word go, enjoying 81% of the possession, although they only had three shots on target. Chelsea had not won at the St. James Park in seven years and the home side were expected to show some attacking intent against a side struggling to come to terms with new methods following the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as head coach.