What a great weekend of Premier League football. This game week saw an incredible 39 goals scored across all 10 games, with two 5-2 victories for Tottenham and Everton, both of which kicked off their campaigns against each other in game week 1.
There was some stand out players along the way too – with Harry Kane and Heung-min Son enjoying a very fruitful weekend with 4 assists and a goal and 4 goals respectively, and a hattrick from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, as well as braces from Danny Ings, Neal Maupay, Sadio Mané, Helder Costa, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Wilfried Zaha.
With all that being said, it comes that time again where we take a look at those results and how they compare to my predictions from Premier Picks. If you haven’t signed up already, then be sure to do so here, and create a mini-league to challenge your mates throughout the season ahead of GW3- good luck!
Everton 5-2 West Brom
It was an impressive display from Carlo Ancelotti and his team – with the standout inevitably being Calvert-Lewin, with the 23-year-old scoring a hattrick in the Toffees’ 5-2 victory.
West Brom actually started the game well, with Grady Diangana kicking things off with a cracking striker in the 10th minute and an incredible freekick from Matheus Pereira at the start of the second half to level the game out for the Baggies. It was short-lived, however, with Everton completing the turnaround to win the game.
New boy James Rodriguez also scored his first goal for the club, before being involved in an incident that saw West Brom left-back Kieran Gibbs face a red card – a game that differed greatly from my 3-0 prediction, but at least I got the result correct.
Leeds 4-3 Fulham
Marcelo Bielsa’s side found themselves in their second 4-3 game in just two weeks, however this time they were the victors after their opening day defeat to Liverpool. The Whites were 4-1 up on the hour mark thanks to goals from Helder Costa, Mateusz Klich, and Patrick Bamford, but Fulham had other ideas – with two goals from Bobby Reid and a second for Aleksandar Mitrovic, the Cottagers almost staged an impressive comeback but failed to find that fourth and goal to level the game out.
It was an important win for Leeds, their first Premier League victory for 16 years, and their first three points of the season – this left Fulham bottom of the table, with no points from their first two games. I had predicted a calmer game, with a 2-0 win for Leeds, as I’m sure not many would have gone with a 4-3 victory for either side.
Manchester United 1-3 Crystal Palace
One of the shock results of this weekend – Roy Hodgson and his side managed an impressive victory against Manchester United on Saturday, the Red Devils’ first game of the season. The Eagles opened the scoring in the 7th minute with a goal from Andros Townsend, with the score staying 1-0 until the 74th minute after some frustrating VAR drama that saw Palace’s retaken penalty slotted home by Wilfried Zaha.
Debutant Donny van de Beek scored his first goal for the club taking them one goal away from a draw, but it was short-lived, with Zaha sealing the three points for the Eagles in the 85th minute with a fantastic finish. This win gave Palace a perfect start to their campaign and saw Ole Gunnar Solsjkaers side with 0 points from their first game – a big difference from my initial 2-1 prediction for United, with only 1% of Premier Picks users predicting them win.
Arsenal 2-1 West Ham
The Mikel Arteta revolution is in full effect after their second win from the same games this weekend, after beating a West Ham side that actually put up quite a fight, keeping the game at 1-1 until the 85th minute thanks to a winning goal from young Gunner Eddie Nketiah.
The Gunners showed real determination to secure the three points, with David Moyes’ side showing a lot more quality in comparison to their opening day loss against Newcastle.
The final result didn’t differ greatly from my prediction of 2-0, with the Hammers making a better showing this week.
Southampton 2-5 Tottenham
What a fantastic game this was, with Harry Kane and Heung-min Son showing Jose Mourinho how important they are to that Tottenham team after the pair contributed to all five of their goals, with four coming from Son and one from Kane, with the Englishman also assisting all for of the Korean’s goals.
With the recent return of Gareth Bale, Spurs’ front three could be one of the best in the league thanks to the aforementioned goalscoring prowess of Kane and Son, as well as Bale’s numbers from his last season at the club.
Southampton forward Danny Ings managed a brace during the game, but it wasn’t enough to form any sort of comeback, with Spurs coming out too strong for Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side – a complete contrast from my initial 1-1 prediction, so credit to Tottenham and Mourinho for a great performance.
Newcastle 0-3 Brighton
Only 6% of Premier Picks users went for a Brighton win, with me being one of them. I had initially predicted the Seagulls to win 2-1, expecting a greater performance from Newcastle after their opening day victory over West Ham – but Graham Potter’s side played some great football and were 2-0 up after just seven minutes thanks to a brace from French striker Neal Maupay, and the game was finished off by Aaron Connolly in the 83rd minute.
It seemed that would be the last of the action during the game, but a ridiculous action from Yves Bissouma resulted in a red card for the Malian, who somehow back-heeled Magpies left-back Jamal Lewis in the face. The results leave both clubs with one win from two.
Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp’s men made it two wins from two on Sunday after an impressive performance from Senegalese winger Sadio Mané, scoring a brace to give Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 win.
The game was full of impressive performances from the Reds’ individuals, with Fabinho having a strong game at centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk, as well as Spanish midfielder Thiago making his debut for the club in the second half, completing 75 passes – the most made by a player during one half of football in the Premier League, setting a new record.
Chelsea looked rather deflated throughout, only completing three shots on target all game and making 34 clearances compared to Liverpool’s three. Overall it was a game dominated by the Reds, making it two wins from two for the defending champions – with my prediction of 2-1 not far off at all.
Leicester 4-2 Burnley
Another high-scoring game this weekend came in the form of Leicester vs Burnley, with the Foxes coming out 4-2 victors at the King Power Stadium, with goals from Harvey Barnes, James Justin, and Dennis Praet, as well as an own goal from Erik Pieters giving Brendan Rodgers’ side the three points.
Burnley initially took the lead in the 10th minute thanks to Chris Wood, but Leicester fought back well to create a 3-1 lead with 20 minutes to go. Jimmy Dunne scored on his debut for the Clarets reducing the deficit to just one in the 73rd, but Belgian midfielder Praet scored a fourth, sealing the win for Leicester.
New boy Timothy Castagne had another strong game for Rodgers’ side, with a goal and an assist from his first two appearances. The final score was way off my 2-0 prediction in favour of Leicester, but nevertheless the result was correct.
Aston Villa 1-0 Sheffield United
It was a fine start for the Villans to their Premier League campaign, fighting for a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United, who have lost their first two league games of the season. The sole goalscorer came in the surprising form of defender Ezri Konsa, who scored a header from Tyrone Mings’ headed assists after a corner from Matt Targett.
It was a frustrating evening for the Blades, with John Egan being sent off early on for denying a goalscoring opportunity for Villa new boy Ollie Watkins – and then later on seeing a penalty saved by another Villa debutant in goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
It will be an evening to forget for Chris Wilder and his side, who face Leeds United at home in game week 3. My prediction of 1-1 wasn’t an awful one, but credit where it is due to Dean Smith and his side for grinding out a victory for their first three points of the season.
Wolves 1-3 Manchester City
Manchester City started their season in style with a 3-1 victory over a Wolves side that had impressed during their first game with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United. Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring with a penalty in the 20th minute after a silly challenge from Wolves defender Roman Saïss – and thinks continued from there.
Despite a consolation goal for Raul Jimenez, City carried on to win 3-1 after Gabriel Jesus scored his first goal of the season in the 95th minute. Pep Guardiola will be happy with the start his side has made after the club lost to Wolves twice last season – with their next fixture against Leicester, who have two wins from two so far this season.
Nuno Espirito Santo and his side face West Ham at the London Stadium.