Premier League Roundup: Week 9
Match day 9 of the Premier League Season was capped off with the biggest match up of the weekend as Manchester United traveled to London to face Chelsea. The Blues eliminated all doubt of who would be victorious in this one early as Pedro got the home side on the score sheet just a minute into the game. Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard, and even N'Golo Kante all added their names to the score sheet as Chelsea spanked United 4-0 to win their third consecutive Premier League shutout. Chelsea leaped to 4th in the league table with the win and travel to Southampton next weekend to try and extend their winning streak. United have looked out of sorts after their hot start to the season, having gained just 2 points in their last 3 league fixtures. The Red Devils remain in 7th place and will attempt to get back to their winning ways this weekend against Burnley.
League leaders Manchester City fared slightly better than their cross-city rivals, as they drew Southampton 1-1. City hoped to rebound from a 4-0 mid-week embarrassment to Barcelona, but that was not the case as Nathan Redmond gave the Saints a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Starlet striker Kelechi Iheanacho equalized for City in the 55th minute, but the Southampton defense stood strong and secured a point for the Saints. After starting the season 6-0-0, City have now gone winless in their past 3 league matches. They still sit atop the league standings thanks to their goal differential, but Arsenal and Liverpool have both crept up behind them and they are all now tied with 20 points a piece. City will look to rekindle their early season swagger on Saturday when they face West Brom. With the tie, Southampton are currently in 8th place with 12 points, but will face a big challenge this weekend against a hot Chelsea side.
City's second consecutive league draw opened the door for Arsenal to take the top spot in the standings with a win, but the Gunners inexplicably botched their chance by tying lowly Middlsebrough 0-0. The North Londoners had been the hottest team in the Premier League, riding a 6 game league winning streak into their match against 16th place Boro. Despite controlling a whopping 75% of the possession and throwing 6 shots on target, Arsenal were unable to find the back of the net. The good news for the Gunners is that they still earned a point from the draw and are tied atop the table with 20 points, but Arsene Wenger will surely see the tie as a missed opportunity, against a bottom table side, to jump into first place. Arsenal face last place, and winless, Sunderland this weekend and anything but a win will be a tremendous disappointment. 17th place Middlesbrough will try to distance themselves from the relegation zone this weekend when they take on Bournemouth.
While Arsenal may not have taken advantage of City's draw, Liverpool certainly did as the Reds beat West Brom 2-1 to tie City and the Gunners atop the table with 20 points. Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho each scored in the first half for Liverpool, who thoroughly outplayed West Brom. Liverpool controlled 67% of the possession and looked dangerous in the final third, but were unable to capitalize on several scoring chances. West Brom keeper Ben Foster was the only reason this scoreline didn't get out of control as he made several big saves to give his side a chance. The Reds are currently on an 8 game league unbeaten streak and will look to leap City and Arsenal for first place this weekend when they travel to London to face their former striker Christian Benteke and Crystal Palace. 13th place West Brom's road doesn't get any easier as the Baggies take on an increasingly desperate Manchester City team who need a win.
Tottenham Hotspur remain the lone unbeaten club in the Premier League after match day 9 as they drew 0-0 with Bournemouth. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will be disappointed with his side's missed opportunity to claim first place with a win, but going unbeaten through his first 9 league matches is still quite impressive, especially without the services of star striker Harry Kane the last few weeks. Despite being the lone unbeaten side in the league, Spurs sit 5th in the league table, although just 1 point out from the top spot. After drawing their last 2 league matches, Spurs will try to gain all 3 points this Saturday when they welcome defending champions Leicester to White Hart Lane as they hope to secure their place atop the standings.
In the upset of the weekend, Burnley added its second team from Liverpool to its kill list as the Clarets defeated Everton 2-1. Sam Vokes opened the scoring for Burnley in the 39th minute before Yannick Bolasie equalized for the Toffees in the 58th minute. It looked like the game would end in a draw before Scott Arfield scored in the 90th minute to steal all 3 points from the match and hand Everton their second loss of the season. After beginning their campaign with a 5 match unbeaten streak, Everton have now gained just 2 points from their previous 4 league matches. The Toffees currently sit in 5th place with 15 points and face an unpredictable West Ham side on Sunday.
While Everton have struggled to find a win recently, it has been just the opposite for Stoke City, who won their second straight league match after going winless through their first 7 games. Xherdan Shaqiri finally played to his potential last Saturday as he netted both goals for the Potters in their 2-0 win over a plummeting Hull City side. Early in the season, Stoke was regularly conceding 4 goals to their opponents, but have now posted back to back shutouts to climb their way out of the relegation zone. The Potters are currently riding a 4 match league unbeaten streak and will look to build on their momentum this weekend when they face 19th place Swansea City.
At the bottom of the table, last place Sunderland simply cannot buy a win as their winless streak continued last Saturday with a late 1-0 loss to West Ham. The Black Cats have yet to establish any sort of footing this season as they have earned just 2 points from their first 9 league matches. Sunderland hoped last Saturday would be the day that they got the monkey off their back as West Ham have been a shell of their former selves this year, but it wasn't to be. Hammers' center back Winston Reid buried the late winner in the 90+4 minute to add another tally in the loss column for the Black Cats. The loss solidified Sunderland's place at the bottom of the standings as they face second place Arsenal on Saturday in a match that is unlikely to end favorably for them. West Ham jumped to 15th in the league table with the win in a season that has been disappointing thus far. The Hammers will attempt to clear themselves further from the relegation zone on Sunday when they travel to Liverpool to take on 5th place Everton.
