Game week 5 & 6

So I haven't done a blog on game week 5 and 6 and my ocd is kicking in so I've decided to do a quick review on two weeks wort of football, so if you've missed any of it, or just want read about the giant crushings and wonder goals over the past two weeks in the EPL, you're in the right place!

Game week 5

Everton vs Chelsea

The big story before this game was that Chelsea has only four pints in four games and they were hoping that John Stones would be playing for them rather then against them but the youngster remained at Everton over the summer and started the match. On the other side, John Terry made his return after suspension. Naismith scored in 17 minutes after coming off the bench because Besic had been injured earlier. And then Naismith doubled his and Evertons tally from outside the box with a great strike. But Matic got his own long distance strike and got one back for Chelsea. And then Naismith did the unthinkable and got his hat trick! Final score 3-1.

Manchester United vs Liverpool

Apart from a few blunders from Mignolet, the first half was absolutely boring! Second half saw Ashley young who won a freekick just outside the box which then Manchester took full advantage of by using a well practiced freekick which saw Daley Blind come up with a goal. Herrera won a penalty and made sure he put it in the back of the net. And then came Benteke with an overhead kick to remember! Anthony Martial didn't touch the ball for 13 minutes but when he did, he beat a few Liverpool defenders to make it 3-1 to Manchester! Welcome Martial to the premier league.

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City

2nd vs 1st. Aguero went down injured and had to go off a few minutes later, replaced by Kevin De Bruyne. And made an immediate impact on the game, even played in Navas who beat the keeper and managed to hit the side netting. On the 90th minute, number 72 Iheanacho scored a goal following up on Nasris shot to steal a victory for Manchester City. 

Arsenal vs Stoke City

It took arsenal a lot of attempts to beat Jack Butland and Walcott finally did it which was their first home goal this season. Giroud came on to head the ball in for a 2 nil win. 

Norwich vs Bournemouth

Brady started the match with a goal saving tackle for Norwich. Cameron Jerome finally got his first goal of the season in the premier league. Hoolahan who set up Jerome for his first goal, got his very own first goal as well. Then the ex West Hal man Matt Jarvis scored on his debut to make it 3 nil. Steve Cook got one back for Bournemouth. Norwich with a dominant game and got a deserved win. 

Watford vs Swansea

Ighalo out of nowhere scored an 83rd minute goal. But Behrami got a red card after stomping on Andre Ayew. Swansea pressed after that but Watford ended the game with their first win. 

West Brom vs Southampton

Disappointing 0-0 game. Steklenberg had a little blunder and that was as exciting as it got. 

Sunderland vs Tottenham

Both teams had not won a game so far in the league. Defoe hit the woodwork against his old team. Rodwell hit the woodwork once again but this was after Mason had put Spurs 1 nil up. So the North Londoners got their first win of the season as it finished 1-0.

Leicester vs Aston Villa

Jack Grealish got his first goal for Aston Villa to open the scoring. And Carles Gil with a deadly finish made it 0-2 to the Villian's. Then came the comeback! 71st minute De Laet with a header, 81st minute Vardy equalised and Nathan Dier won it for Leicester in the 88th minute but did also end up hurting himself in the process. Mahrez with another man of the match performance. 

West Ham vs Newcastle

Payet is making his mark at west ham and opened the scoring for his team. Then got his second after Moses hit the top woodwork and the match ended at 2-0 to the Homeside. 

Game week 6

Manchester City vs West Ham

City came in to this game with a perfect start to the league with 5 wins in 5, and West Ham came into with wins at both Liverpool and Arsenal. Victor Moses started the scoring with a goal out of nowhere in the 5th minute with a long distance strike right at the bottom corner. That was Manchester City's first goal conceded this season. West Ham took advantage of some bad defending at a corner that shouldn't have been given but Sakho took full advantage and made it 2 nil. Watching the game, the ball just would not go in for Aguero so he decided to play his new team mate Kevin De Bruyne in who took a great shot to make it 2-1 at half time and Kevin De Bruyne would easily be man of the match (Winston Reid fans would argue this) as he controlled the whole game as was everywhere but it wasn't enough as West Ham have now beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. 

Chelsea vs Arsenal

Chelsea came into this game being the only English team to win in midweek in the champions league while Arsenal had a shock defeat to recover from. Match started cagey with a forced handshake between the two managers, then it was the Diego Costa show. Who elbowed, slapped and bumped Konscielny which aggravated team mate Gabriel who ended up getting a red card because of some terrible decision making from the referee. To be fair, I'm all for smart play, and that's what Costa does, he gets into players heads, and he did that splendidly well but then he takes it a step too far, hence why he'll be serving a three match ban while Gabriel won his red card appeal. The youngster Gabriel will need to make sure he matures a bit more and keeps a cool head because Arsenal were under the cosh from there and Chelsea's Kurt Zouma got in at the back post from a well placed free kick to put Chelsea ahead. The Mike Dean (referee) show continued as he showed Carzola a red card for his second yellow and only his second foul in the game. Then he goes ahead a blatantly ignored Costa's shove on Ox without the ball after Ox had out muscled the Spaniard off the ball and won it cleanly. Moirinho realised it and subbed Costa off before he did any more damage but still amuses me how Mike Dean did not see that or did not react to it. Hazard then finished off Arsenal in the 90th minute which was going off target but it takes a big deflection off Chambers. For me, I like Costa, but he crossed the line in this match. 

Newcastle vs Watford

Watford striker on form Ighalo started the scoring after some great pressing from the Watford attackers. Then he made it 2-0 to make Newcastle fans even more furious! After halftime Daryl Janmaat got one back for Newcastle. But that wasn't enough for Steve Mclarens team who are looking like they are in big trouble already.

Stoke City vs Leicester City

The ex Barcelona man Bojan got played in by Arnautovic and opened the scoring. Walters took advantage of Wes Morgan's error and made it 2 nil to the home side. Leicester were looking like they needed half time to come sooner. Mahrez put away a penalty in the second half and then Jamie Vardy tied things up at the Britannia. Another comeback from Leicester. 2-2 full time.

Bournemouth vs Sunderland

It was a quick started by Wilson who scored inside four minutes. And then Ritchie scored a potential goal of the season volley when he bought it down with his chest and struck it perfectly. All game Sunderland just seemed like they did not have any luck on their side. Captain Kaboul got red carded after his second yellow and it finished 2 nil to the Homeside. 

Aston Villa vs West Brom

Berahino (the west broms very own Villian) broke the deadlock with a little touch from a team mates shot which Brad Guzan could do nothing about. West Brom took their first win at Villa Park since 2011. 

Swansea vs Everton

This was a game to look forward too. Two teams playing very well this season. Mirallas was on the pitch for less then 3 minutes when he came on only to be sent off with a stomp on a Swansea player and he knew he did as soon as the incident happened. The game was exciting but no goals. 0-0. 

Tottenham vs Crystal Palace

Spurs played well and Heung-Min Son came up with a goal that was the winner with individual skill and struck it low and hard to get it through the legs of the keeper. Crystal Palace very unlucky being denied by not only Lloris but also the post in numerous occasions! Game finished 1-0.

Southampton vs Manchester United

Pelle started off the scoring with a tap in after De Gea saved the first shot. Martial made it 1-1. Lucky as Mata was offside in the play leading to the goal. Southamptons Yoshida played it back to his keeper but it was a weak pass and Martial slotted it in for his second. Juan Mata made it three after Depay hit the post. Pelle got his second wit a great header but it finished 2-3. 

Liverpool vs Norwich City

Liverpool put in the early pressure and it paid off early in the second half when Danny Ings made it 1-0 but Russell Martin the Norwich captain made it 1-1 12 minutes later. The game would've had a lot more goals if it wasn't for Ruddy in goal for Norwich. 

Flop 

This has to go to Diego Costa for me. 

Top 

This has to go to west ham. Two wins over two weeks, both over Newcastle and Manchester City. Payet looks like he'll be a hero for a long time. Honourable mentions go to Watford for also getting two wins over the two weeks. 

Best Goal over the two weeks:

This was tough so I've split this award into two this time. Game week 5 goes to Benteke.

Game week 6 has to go to Ritchie against Sunderland. 

EPL overview

Manchester teams leading the way with City 2 points ahead of United. West Ham and Leicester equal on 12 points with Leicester the only undefeated team left in the league. Arsenal in 5th alone with 10 points. Mid table is crowded with 5 teams on 9 points, Everton, Swansea, Palace, Spurs and Watford and Norwich, West Brom and Liverpool on 8 points. Bournemouth and defending champions are 14th and 15th in the league. Southampton and Aston villa below them with 6 and 4 points respectively. The bottom 3 comprise of Stoke on 3 points and Newcsstle at Sunderland on 2. 

Matches to watch out for this coming game week: Spurs and City kick things off. Leicester and Arsenal play a 4th vs 5th match, while Watford in 10th play Palace in 8th with only a solitary goal separating them on goal difference. 

Game week 4

Newcastle vs Arsenal

Arsenal started with pace in this match and having Walcott lead the charge definitely didn't slow things down for the gunners. Arsenal had around 73% possession when Andre Marriner gave Mitrovic a red card after his tackle on Coquelin and he did go in studs showing but it probably should've been a yellow card. Arsenals dominance continued but Tim Krul made sure things stayed even for quite a while as Walcott had the best chance to put Arsenal up but he failed to capitalise on a spill by Tim Krul when he kicked it over only a few yards out with nothing but the net to aim for. It took a strong strike from Ox which was on its way out but took a deflection from Coloccini which put the ball at the back of the net. Arsenals finishing woes continued, while Tim Krul shined in goal, especially with his save right at the end against substitute Giroud. Arsenal will be hosting Stoke City who they haven't lost to at home since 1981. Newcastle go to West Ham and last year both teams won away from home so Newcastle will be hoping that pattern continues ..... Atleast just for this match. 

Bournemouth vs Leicester

Leicester are known for their big starts and Bournemouth is my feel good story in the premier league so I was definitely looking forward to this match. Mahrez was the top scorer before the game started with 4 while Wilson the Bournemouth striker was last matchday's hero with the EPL's first hat-trick of the season and Bournemouth's first ever EPL win. He got things started again by getting the first goal on home soil for Bournemouth in the EPL with a over the head bicycle kick from close range. Bournemouth should've also had a penalty in the first half but the ref incorrectly judged the foul to be just outside the box but to his credit, he didn't have the luxury of instant replay. Also Robert Huth had a bizzare moment which he should've been sent off for when he mistimed his shoulder shove on Wilson so he tried again and took him out and then in frustration kicked the ball at Wilson's face and only got a yellow for it. It didn't sem like things were going Bournemouth's way and then Leicester's Vardy made it worse for them when he dribbled in and out and in between players and got into the box only to be taken out by Cook. Penalty Leicester, Vardy stepped up and made it 1-1 in the 8th minute and thats how it finished.

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace came into this match having not won at Chelsea since 1982 but they needed to get something from this game as it begins a stretch of tough games against big sides. Game started slowly and the first good chance came to Pedro who created space for himself but curled in far post but just wide of the left post. Kurt Zouma had a shout for a penalty but it wasn't called by the referee which was a good call because both players had hands on each other. Palace didn't just sit back, Sako and Cabaye both forced saves from Courtois and Cabaye should really have scored. Sako finally got the breakthrough in the second half and Mourinhos 200th league game took a bad turn as far as he was concerned. Chelsea did not sit back, they made 3 changes, Falcao being one of them, who was at the end of a low cross from Pedro and Falcaos diving header found the near post and at the back of the net. Mourinhos known for not losing home game and this was his 100th home league game for Chelsea so it seemed like Chelsea would steal it or take the draw but that wasn't to be, two minutes after Falcaos first goal for Chelsea, Bolasie played a dangerous ball to the far post which Sako played back in for Joel Ward who headed it in and Crystal Palace get a famous victory at Stamford Bridge. Alan Pardews men now sit 2nd in the league with 3 wins out of 4 will host top of the table Manchester City and it'll be a great second vs first match. Can palace upset the favourites? Chelsea have 4 points in 4 games and go to Everton and will try to get their season kick started because it's definitely at a halt at the moment.

Liverpool vs West Ham

Coming into this game, West Ham had already beaten Arsenal but apart from that, they did not have any other results go their way. Liverpool had not lost a game prior to this match with 2 wins and a draw. I was happy to watch this match as I knew Carl Jenkinson would be suspended and Tomkins was his replacement. I cannot stand horrendous defending. I did not know who Manuel Lanzini was before this game but found out he was West Ham's new signing and he made his mark first in this game. Cresswell collected Skrtel's headed clearance and sent it across the box which caught Gomez flat footed and Lanzini scored his first goal for the Hammers with a smart finish. One of Liverpools new signings almost did the same, Firminho from about 25 yards out struck the bar with a brilliant shot. It stayed 1-0 to West Ham, and that was actually Liverpool's first goal that they had conceded this season. Lovren with almost no pressure on him, caused himself to give the ball away to Lanzini who couldn't find his strike partner but the the deflection of Lucas fell to Noble and Mr West Ham made it 2 nil. Coutinho got himself booked needlessly at the end of the first half because he didn't retrieve 10 yards on a free-kick. And that came back to bite him as he went in for a slide tackle on Payet but the midfielder out manoeuvred him with a brilliant turn which caused him to be taken out and the ref produced another yellow to Coutinho which meant his night was over. In my opinion, wrong call by the ref as Coutinho had already gone to ground and could not pull out of the challenge. The ref goes and makes another horrendous decision when he blows the whistle for a foul on Mark Noble who had carried on with the play and dived into a challenge, with his toe and no studs, and the ref sent him off for a early shower anyway. Another terrible call this weekend. Sakho who had everything off the field go bad for him during the week when he was arrested and then released on bail and then pulled his groin during train was a doubt to even play but ended the game for west ham with a great solo goal and spectacular finish in the bottom corner to end the match 3-0 and hand Liverpool their first loss and just before they face Manchester United.  

Stoke City vs West Brom

With each side having two big signings, Shaqiri and Rondon respectively, they both had a great start to the match but Morrison had the best chance to begin with but once again Butland with another fabulous save to keep it 0-0. Affelay showed a bit of temper when he was shoved into the sponsorship board and then again when he was taken down from the back in the middle of the field, and this time he reacted with his hands and slapped the tackler and was sent for an early shower straight away, right call from the referee. And then Charlie Adam lost his cool after his leg got tangled into a Dawson after he made the tackle but he then stamped Dawnson and was also shown a red, Stoke left with 9 men. Tony Pulis made his first return to face his old team Stoke and his new side took advantage of the numbers and Rondon headed the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-0 just before half time. And that's how it stayed for the second half. West Brom get their first win of the season while Stoke still search for theirs. Stoke will try to get it at the Emirates while West Brom will host Southampton knowing that they did not lose to Southampton last season and will take that as a confidence boost into the game. 

Spurs vs Everton

Both teams came into this game desperate for a win, Spurs especially but a lack of finishing from Harry Kane and brilliant goal keeping by Tim Howard kept the game at 0-0 and that left Spurs with only 3 points from 4 games and Everton 5 points from 4 games. Everton now host a fired up Chelsea looking for blood while Spurs go to the Sunderland and Spurs have not lost to them since April 2010 so Spurs might just their first win next weekend.

Aston Villa vs Sunderland

M'Villa wow! Son I take my hat off to you. M'Villa scored a spectacular free kick with the right power, bend, curl and dip. Simply Superb. Then Cattermole decided to try steal Scott Sinclair as he literally grabbed him in the penalty box and the referee decided to call a penalty. (rightly) and Scott Sinclair did not miss from the spot. Game back on. Gana started a great move for Aston Villa and Scott Sinclair made it 2-1 which meant he got 5 goals in his last two games, the other 3 being against Notts County midweek. Lens made sure that Sunderland were rewarded with their best performance of the season so far when he made it 2-2 which did take a deflection of Micah Richards but then afterwards Richards had a chance to steal it for the Villians but he was too quick for the play and from 1 yard out he got too far ahead of the ball and couldn't turn a great low cross into a goal. Villains go up against a tough Leicester side who sit 3rd in the Premier League while West Ham host a terrible Newcastle.

Manchester City vs Watford

Manchester City came into this looking for their 10th league win in a row for the first time in the EPL in the clubs history while Watford had a chance to make it their first ever 4 draws in a row. Sterling had numerous chances to get his first Manchester City goal in an official game but couldn't get it done but he did manage it early in the first half after Sagna provided a lovely ball which Raheem Sterling tucked in within two minutes of the second half. Silva added to his assists tally for the season when he found Fernandinho with a simple pass that was finished off by the Brazilian. Manchester City continue their dominance in the premier league, they probably did not want a international break but they got one and they now also have the signature of Kevin De Bruyne who will most likely be making his debut at Crystal Palace. Watford seriously need to stop trying to get draws and start winning, they will get their chance to do so against Swansea at home which will be a difficult task.

Southampton vs Norwich

Southampton has been one of the disappointing teams in the premier league this season as a lot was expected of them due to the brilliant season they had last year. Coming into this game they were looking for their first win, and they did get one, a 3 nil victory to be exact. So pretty much things started off bad for Norwich, especially when 30 minutes into the match, Whittaker got sent off for his second yellow. For me the southampton player went into him looking for something knowing Whittaker was on a yellow, and the ref went with the smaller player and that adds to the list of terrible red cards given over the weekend. Pelle got his and Southampton's first goal of the season in the first half, Tadic got two in 5 minutes in the second half, one with his weak foot and a great finish and the second was when he followed up on Ruddy's save from Pelle's header. Match finished 3-0. Will Southampton carry on this form against West Brom, Ronald Koeman hopes so. Norwich will host AFC Bournemouth who they haven't lost too since 1959.

Swansea vs Manchester United

This was definitely a game that I was looking forward to before the weekend kicked off, and it started with a good pace. Gomis came the closest to score when he out muscled himself into the Manchester 18 yard box and with some skill kept the ball away from a few red shirt defenders, only to hit the bar with his outside foot while going down. So it stayed 0-0 until Luke Shaw found himself getting a lucky bounce off a 50 50 challenge and he sped down the left and played a teasing ball into the box which Rooney left wisely for Juan Mata to smash it into the back off net even though he knew he was going to clattered by Ashley Williams who should've done much better defensively. But Swansea have a new hero and his name is Andre Ayew, the ex Marseille man levelled things when he headed in Sigurdsson's inviting ball when Swansea hit the red devils on the counter. With 30 minutes left, all signs were pointing Swansea repeating their February win against United where they also came down from being 1 nil down. Swansea didn't need the whole 30 minutes, they got another goal within 5 minutes with Andre Ayew playing a sublime ball into Gomis who made it 4 goals in 4 games. The panther struck again! Andre Ayew became the Barclays Player of the month and the future looks very bright. Manchester United have signed Anthony Martial from Monaco and for those who don't know him, clearly haven't played enough career mode in the recent additions of Fifa because he is one of the players that always becomes a breakout star. Will it happen under LVG? Questions are still being asked of LVG's transfer dealings so when Manchester host Liverpool they will be hoping to repeat their double against their red rivals as they did last season. David De Gea and his new contract means that Romero will most likely be seen on the bench from now.

Goal of the week 

This was a close call this week, but M'Villa's free kick takes it out for me but honourable mention goes to Ward for his goal that sunk Chelsea.

Top of the week

Player of the Month Andre Ayew gets it for this week for his goal and assist that got Swansea the win over Manchester United. Honourable mentions go to Tim Krul, Crystal Palace and another goal keeper master class from Tim Howard.

Flop of the week

Chelsea - I think Chelsea's loss lost its leverage as Manchester United and Liverpool lost as well but still this is not how Chelsea will defend their title. Sergio Romero also gets a mention and I don't see him starting ahead of David De Gea after that transfer saga lietrally went on for too long.