Brighton 3 v 0 Tottenham
Tottenham’s miserable week continued as they followed their 7-2 Champions League humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich with a damaging defeat at Brighton.
Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gifted Neal Maupay a bizarre opener, a long cross into the box, put Lloris on the back foot and instead of just tipping the ball over the crossbar, he tried to catch it and made a hash of it, dropping the ball invitingly for Maupay to head home. Unfortunately in the process Lloris fell awkwardly and dislocated his elbow and will be out for a while.
Aaron Connolly compounded Tottenham’s problems by doubling Brighton’s lead on his first Premier League start, Connolly then killed off any hope of Spurs launching a fightback as the 19-year-old Irish striker produced a well-taken strike for his second goal to seal Brighton’s first home win since March.
Tottenham have now failed to win in their last away 10 games in the Premier League, stretching back to a 2-1 victory at Fulham on 20 January, and have lost 17 in all competitions in 2019 – more than any other top-flight side.
Not only was it Brighton’s first win since the opening day but it was Graham Potter’s first win at home, lifting the Seagulls to 12th before the afternoon kick-offs, with Tottenham set to slip out of the top six.
Click here for the goals – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdguzyrVdWI
Burnley 1 v 0 Everton
Jeff Hendrick’s splendid volley ensured Burnley punished 10-man Everton and further increased the pressure on beleaguered Toffees manager Marco Silva.
Everton have lost their last four league games and find themselves just one place above the relegation zone, while Burnley moved into the top five by stretching their unbeaten run to four games, Midfielder Hendrick was the Clarets’ match-winner, thumping a first-time side-footed volley into the roof of the net at the far post following Ashley Westwood’s corner.
Everton had captain Seamus Coleman sent off for two yellow cards and was lucky not to get a straight red.
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ6oqvU9DUA
Liverpool 2 v 1 Leicester City
James Milner’s injury-time penalty earned a dramatic win over Leicester City and maintained Liverpool’s flawless start to the Premier League season.
Leicester looked to be on course for a hard-earned point after James Maddison’s low finish 10 minutes from time equalised Sadio Mane’s 40th-minute strike.
And then, with the clock ticking into stoppage time, a communication breakdown between Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel and substitute Marc Albrighton ended with the latter bringing down Mane.
The penalty was awarded after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR) and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrated wildly as Rodgers turned away in despair.
Click here for the goals – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8B9P7WAsbA
Norwich 1 v 5 Aston Villa
Wesley scored twice as Villa moved out of the bottom three and leapfrogged their opponents in the Premier League table.
Wesley opened the scoring with a neat control and finish, doubling the tally with a tap-in before missing a penalty.
Norwich continued to defend woefully after the restart, Jack Grealish allowed to sweep in a third to effectively end the home side’s hopes.
Conor Hourihane and Douglas Luiz added more as Canaries boss Daniel Farke’s 100th league game at the helm headed towards humiliation before Josip Drmic tucked in a meaningless consolation which few inside Carrow Road even celebrated.
Villa’s stunning win moved Smith’s side up to 14th, with Norwich sliding down to third from bottom with their fifth defeat in six games.
Click here for the goals – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4KxJvV0WOk
Watford 0 v 0 Sheffield United
This was the bore draw of the week, with Watford without a victory in their eight Premier League games this season, their longest winless start to a campaign since the 2006-07 season.
This was a Neither side was able to grab the game by the scruff of the neck in a first-half low on quality, although Gray should have given the hosts an early lead when he somehow lifted Roberto Pereyra’s low cross over the bar with the goal gaping.
Craig Cathcart almost diverted Chris Basham’s curling delivery into his own net soon afterwards, but Ben Foster spared his captain’s blushes with a magnificent fingertip save.
Watford improved marginally in the second half and Welbeck should have broken the deadlock after latching on to Gray’s flick-on, only for Dean Henderson to thwart the former Arsenal man with a smart stop.
Henderson was forced into action again in stoppage time, getting down low to his right to stop Dawson’s close-range header.
Watford moves on to three points but remains bottom of the table, while Chris Wilder’s side climbs to 12th place after stretching their unbeaten away run to four matches.
Sorry no highlights 🙂
West Ham United 1 v 2 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace snatched victory at West Ham as Jordan Ayew had an 87th-minute goal awarded by the video assistant referee at the London Stadium.
The strike was initially ruled offside by the linesman after Ayew stabbed in from Martin Kelly’s header but the decision was overturned after a lengthy VAR review.
Sebastien Haller had given West Ham the lead when he swept home.
But Palace equalised through Patrick van Aanholt’s penalty before Ayew’s goal secured all three points.
The win moved Roy Hodgson’s side into the top four of the Premier League while ending West Ham’s six-game unbeaten run.
Click here for the goals – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0gglGoKSRA
Arsenal 1 v 0 Bournemouth
David Luiz scored the only goal as Arsenal edged past Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium to move up to third in the Premier League.
Luiz glanced home Nicolas Pepe’s ninth-minute corner for his first goal since his summer arrival from Chelsea.
Bournemouth improved after the break and went close through Callum Wilson, but they rarely troubled Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal.
The Gunners move above Leicester, Burnley and Crystal Palace with the win, while Bournemouth stays 10th.
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqlzmMZ5mdM
Manchester City 0 v 2 Wolves
The shock of the week came at the Etihad Stadium where the champions Manchester City fell eight points behind Liverpool in the title race after suffering a defeat against Wolves.
Adama Traore scored twice in the final 10 minutes as Wolves won in the top flight at Manchester City for the first time since 1979.
Traore scored the first 10 minutes from time as the visitors capitalised on a mistake from Joao Cancelo. He added a second on the break deep into injury time.
City has now dropped five points in their opening four home games of the season, having dropped just three in the whole of last season and seven the year before that.
Click here for the goals – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7tqJ1-vqUw
Southampton 1 v 4 Chelsea
Tammy Abraham’s looping finish from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s pass gave the visitors the lead, before Mason Mount doubled Chelsea’s advantage from close range.
Danny Ings reduced the arrears from Yan Valery’s cut-back, but N’Golo Kante’s deflected effort off Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Michy Batshuayi’s neat finish put the seal on a comfortable victory for Lampard’s side.
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgpxDgwVNz8
Newcastle 1 v 0 Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer position is under question after Matty Longstaff, 19, capped an impressive debut for Newcastle with the winning goal, drilling home a low finish from outside the box to leave the Red Devils just two points above the bottom three and with two wins this season, Longstaff, playing in midfield alongside brother Sean, could have scored in the first half but rattled the crossbar with a thunderous 25-yard drive, while Fabian Schar flicked a header narrowly over from a corner.
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ZdacwGSw0
I had my worst week for a while in my predictions with only three correct results and one spot-on score, things can only get better 🙂
Please see following my predictions for week 9
Everton 2 v 1 West Ham United
Aston Villa 2 v 1 Brighton
Bournemouth 2 v 1 Norwich
Chelsea 3 v 1 Newcastle
Leicester City 2 v 1 Burnley
Spurs 4 v 1 Watford
Wolves 2 v 1 Southampton
Crystal Palace 1 v 3 Manchester City
Manchester United 1 v 2 Liverpool
Sheffield United 1 v 2 Arsenal
Have a good week,
Gary