After taking a break for World Cup qualifiers, the English Premiership resumed on Saturday as Chelsea traveled north to hammer Middlesbrough 5–0 in the early game. On Sunday, Hull beat West Ham 1–0 to reclaim third place in the table.
Arsenal and Liverpool had to come from behind to win and Manchester United finally got their first big win of the season.
Chelsea and Liverpool are tied atop the standings (Chelsea is given first place due to their superior goal differential).
The concern for managers after the World Cup qualifiers break is the health of their star players. Players often return to their clubs injured and tired or jet-lagged from their lengthy travels.
Chelsea was without Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, and Petr Cech but with a squad as deep and as talented as they have, it didn’t really matter.
Fullback Juliano Belletti was instrumental in the first goal and he scored the second goal with a long-range strike. Salomon Kalou had two goals while attacking midfielders Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda scored the others.
Hull’s Cinderella start to the season continued as Michael Turner headed home from a corner in the first half. Hull hung on as West Ham could only come as close as hitting the crossbar.
“Clean sheets win games. We’ve got enough quality…to cause teams problems,” said Hull manager Phil Brown after the game. Brown was named manager of the month for September.
Liverpool came back to win their second straight Premiership game 3–2. Two weeks ago they had beaten Manchester City after going down two goals. On Saturday, Wigan’s Amr Zaki, the league’s leading scorer, scored two goals with the second one putting Wigan up 2–1.
Then Antonio Valencia was sent off in the 75th minute after a second yellow card for a crude tackle on Xabi Alonso and the tide turned. Alberto Riera and Dirk Kuyt scored to give Liverpool the win.
“The referee’s got it wrong. I can’t see what Valencia has done wrong to warrant the card,” said Wigan manager Steve Bruce after the game about the big turning point.
“It’s cost us the game.”
Arsenal’s youthful squad went down a goal to Everton at the Emirates on Saturday but the introduction of Theo Walcott in the second half changed everything.
Arsenal looked very poor in the first half as Robin van Persie wasted a couple of good opportunities and Everton played with a lot of confidence.
With Walcott on the pitch, the Everton defense seemed intimidated as the speedy winger ran them ragged down the right wing. Samir Nasri’s slightly deflected shot evaded American keeper Tim Howard, who had an excellent game.
Then Robin van Persie put the Gunners ahead 2–1, heading home a rebound from a Cesc Fabregas shot. To make sure of the three points, Walcott scored in the 90th minute after a nice combination with Abou Diaby, who played his first game of the season for Arsenal.
In Saturday’s late game, Manchester United crushed newly promoted West Brom 4–0. The win marked the first time United scored more than two goals in a Premier League game this season.
Wayne Rooney got things started in the 56th minute, firing a shot to the nearside of goal. Then Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov scored in a two-minute span while Nani added a late one. Nani celebrated with a one-legged flip, which can’t make manager Sir Alex Ferguson too pleased!
No stopping Wayne Rooney these days. He has now scored in four straight games (in all competitions).
The three other games on Saturday ended in scoreless draws—Aston Villa–Portsmouth, Bolton–Blackburn, and Fulham–Sunderland.
Tottenham lost 2–1 to Stoke on Sunday marking their worst start ever to a season. To make matters worse, Gareth Bale and Michael Dawson were both sent off. Spurs have only managed two draws in eight games and sit at the bottom of the table.
Almost as dreadful as Spurs have been, Newcastle gave up a late goal to “nouveau-riche” Manchester City and had to settle for a 2–2 draw. Newcastle lies in second-last place, four points ahead of Tottenham.
