Premier League Roundup: Week 7
In the Big Enchilada of match day 7, Manchester City traveled to North London on Sunday to face Tottenham Hotspur in the battle of the last 2 unbeatens. City, sitting atop the league table with 18 points, had been dominant in league play all season, starting their campaign unblemished at 6-0-0 and was averaging a Premier League high 3 goals per game. However, their match on Sunday couldn't have started any more disastrously as Aleksandar Kolarov buried a Danny Rose cross in the back of his own net to give 2nd place Spurs the 1-0 lead just 9 minutes into the match. City's defensive woes continued when star Spurs youngster Dele Alli found himself all alone in on goal after a Tottenham counter attack, which he promptly slid past keeper Claudio Bravo to double Spurs' advantage to 2-0 before the half. Spurs had a chance to extend their lead even further in the 65th minute after the home side were awarded a penalty on a rash challenge by Fernando on Alli in the box. However, Bravo guessed correctly and was able to keep out Erik Lamelas shot from the spot, and keep City's chances alive. Despite the brief glimmer of hope brought on by Bravo's save, Spurs were able to thwart City's prolific offense for the remainder of the game and hold their Mancunian challengers off the score sheet. With the win, Tottenham are now the lone remaining unbeaten side in the Premier League and will face West Brom after the international break. Even with the loss, City still hold the top spot in the league table, although their strangle hold has weakened to just a single point over Spurs. Pep will look to rebound after his first loss as City boss as they have another tough challenge from Everton when league games resume in 2 weeks.
Spurs' North London rivals, Arsenal, extended their Premier League winning streak to 5 in a row with a 1-0 win at Burnley on Sunday. Laurent Koscielny salvaged the win for the Gunners with a tap in goal in the 90+3rd minute. Arsenal's terrific run of form has given Arsene Wenger some much needed breathing room since his critics were calling for his head after his side's poor start to the season. The Gunners have now gained 3 points from every league game since a 0-0 draw against Leicester on match day 2. Arsenal now sit in 3rd place in the league table with 16 points, just a point behind rivals Spurs. After their heartbreaking defeat, in which they expected to steal a point until the very end, Burnley have dropped to 14th.
Liverpool extended their own Premier League win streak to 4 in a row over the weekend with a 2-1 win at Swansea City. Set piece defense continues to be the Achilles heel for this team as Leroy Fer was able to capitalize on a deflected corner to put the Swans up 1-0 in just the 8th minute. Roberto Firmino again displayed his brilliance as he headed home the equalizer in the 54th minute. Newly anointed starting left back James Milner scored the winner on a penalty kick in the 82nd minute, drawn by Firmino, for his 3rd penalty conversion in the last 2 games. The Reds have now gained 13 of a possible 15 points from their last 5 league fixtures since their shocking 2-0 defeat at Burnley. Jurgen Klopp's side currently sit 4th in the league table entering the international break, tied with Arsenal on points with 16 but trail by 1 in goal differential. Liverpool have a titanic tilt with bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield when league games resume in 2 weeks. With the loss, Swansea have fallen all the way down to 17th in the league table and haven't recorded a win since match day 1 against Burnley. Their brutal stretch continues when they travel to the Emirates to face red hot Arsenal on October 15th.
Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton kicked off the weekend with a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in the battle of big Belgian strikers. Romelu Lukaku gave Everton the lead in the 35th minute with a perfectly balanced free kick strike that curled over the wall and into the near post. Fellow Belgian forward Christian Benteke equalized for Palace in the 50th minute with a perfectly placed header from distance. The Toffees began the season with 13 out of a possible 15 points through their first 5 matches, but saw their 4 game league winning streak snapped last weekend by Bournemouth. Having gained just one point in their last 2 fixtures, Everton have slid to 5th in the league. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace had quietly climbed up to 7th in the league table on the back of their 3 game winning streak heading into last weekend's clash with Everton. The draw snapped their streak, but the Eagles are still unbeaten in their last 5 league matches and only dropped one place to 8th.
Similar to Everton, Manchester United's hot Premier League start has also cooled down in recent weeks. Eager to build on the momentum gained from their 4-1 drubbing of Leicester City last weekend, the Red Devils welcomed 19th place Stoke City to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. However, things did not go as planned for Jose Mourinho's side as the Potters were able to claim a much needed point from the match, which ended a 1-1 draw. Despite constant pressure on the Stoke defense, United were unable to find the back of the net until Anthony Martial curled a shot around Stoke keeper .... in the 69th minute to give the home side the lead. Former Liverpool man Joe Allen, aka Welsh Pirlo, cleaned up the garbage in the 82nd minute with a tap in rebound off the cross bar to draw even with the English giants. Paul Pogba blasted a header off the cross bar in the 89th minute, but when the final whistle sounded the lowly Potters had stunned the United faithful. The draw earned Stoke their 3rd point of the season, but they were unable to gain any ground on 18th placed West Ham or any separation from 20th placed Sunderland as both teams also drew. United now sit in 6th place, tied on points with Chelsea with 13, and just 1 behind 5th place Everton. They travel to Anfield after the international break to renew their rivalry with a streaking Liverpool side.
At the bottom of the League Table, 18th placed West Ham held serve as they drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough to earn just their 4th point of the season, which has been nothing short of catastrophic so far. 20th place Sunderland also matched their relegation partners with a draw, as they earned their 2nd point of the campaign and, like Stoke, are still searching for their elusive first league win.
Chelsea snapped their 2 game Premier League losing streak on Saturday by shutting out Hull City 2-0. Antonio Conte's side was desperate for 3 points after being outscored 5-1 in their previous two losses to Liverpool and Arsenal, respectively. Willian and Diego Costa each scored for the Blues during a 7 minute span, just after the hour mark, to give Chelsea their first league win since August. Chelsea now sit in 7th place with 13 points and will need another result, in two weeks, against a struggling Leicester City team to continue to move up the league table. Hull City were still licking their wounds following their 5-1 blowout loss at Anfield last weekend, and have now dropped to 15th in the league. They will be eager to end their current poor run of form after the international break when they face off against a stubborn Bournemouth side.
