PL MATCHDAY 7 REVIEW: Traore wasteful against City, Arsenal survive Southampton scare
By Esosa Osa
The weekend’s matches just before the international break left us wanting more. An eight-goal thriller, a feisty encounter at the Bridge and a highline derby to close out affairs.
In a game not enjoyed by neutrals, Liverpool set things in motion with a 1-0 away win against Crystal Palace. Konstantinos Tsimikas pierced the Palace defence with a lovely through ball to Cody Gakpo who set up Diogo Jota. The game had a kickabout feeling, with Liverpool dominating possession without much penetration and Palace failing to break from the counter.
The second half played out similarly but with Jota and Eberechi Eze missing glorious chances for their sides. In the end, Liverpool’s organised defence which has only conceded two goals this season did the job but will be gutted as they lost Alisson Becker to a nagging hamstring injury.
Arsenal survived a small scare at home to relegation contenders, Southampton. The Gunners made some changes to their lineup, the headliner being the introduction of Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling. The Gunners fought hard for the opener but to no avail in the first half, largely due to Jesus and Sterling’s ineffectiveness. 10 minutes into the second half, Cameron Archer put his low curled effort past David Raya to cause a possible upset.
Arsenal wasted no time, equalising through Kai Havertz three minutes later. Substitute Gabriel Martinelli made it two after a beautiful cross by Bukayo Saka for his 7th assist. In the 88 minute, Saka killed off any hope of a Saints comeback with an emphatic finish. The Kings of early goals struck again as Brentford struck inside two minutes for the fourth game in a row in their 5-3 victory against last-placed Wolves, this time through Nathan Collins.
Wolves quickly equalised through Matheus Cunha to set up a thrilling encounter. Bryan Mbeumo put his side back in the lead with a penalty reminiscent of former teammate, Ivan Toney. Jørgen Strand Larsen levelled matters with an intelligent stretched effort. It was all Brentford from then on with Christain Nørgaard, Ethan Pinnock and Fabio Carvalho all getting on the scoresheet. Rayan Ait Nouri pulled one back but it was mere consolation. The 5-3 defeat now throws Gary O’Neil’s future into further doubt and his team with one point in seven games.
Manchester City survived a scare of their own against Fulham. The visitors took the lead through Andreas Pereira after a superb backheel assist by Raul Jimenez, extending City’s streak to six league games without a clean sheet. A Mateo Kovacic double gave the Champions the lead and Jeremy Doku stunned the crowd with the goal of the game, a thunderous effort past Bernd Leno. Rodrigo Muniz made it 3-2 with two minutes to go but the scores remained the same at the final whistle.
However, the highlight of the game was Adama Traore’s despicable missed chances. The Fulham winger had three great opportunities to score for his side and took them woefully. After the final whistle, Pep Guardiola appeared to be coaching the Spaniard on his finishing.
Leicester claimed their first win with a solitary goal by Facundo Buonanotte. West Ham grabbed their first home win with a 4-1 thrashing of Ipswich. Michail Antonio’s opener was quickly cancelled out by Laim Delap but goals from Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta secured the victory. Newcastle settled for a goalless draw away at Everton with former Evertonian, Anthony Gordon missing from the spot.
Chelsea were held to a draw in Sunday’s matchup against improved Nottingham Forest. Forest headed into the game with the second-least conceded goals, five, also ranking 3rd for xGA (expected goals against/conceded) with a value of 5.4. Chelsea were decent in attack and were a bit unlucky to not be ahead with Matz Sels stopping the ball from crossing the line shortly before halftime. Chris Wood put the visitors ahead after the interval from a well-worked free-kick.
The challenge looked tougher for the Blues but Noni Madueke brilliantly curled his low effort into the bottom corner. The Blues looked more dangerous from there on. James Ward-Prowse ridiculously held on the ball during a Chelsea counter-attack and was sent off in the 78th minute. With Forest a man down, it was all Chelsea.
Close to the 90-minute mark, a brawl set off after Neco Williams brought down Marc Cucurella who then unintentionally tripped Enzo Maresca. Cole Palmer looked disinterested after just being denied a goal by a Sels double save which he created with one of the best first touches you’ll ever see. In stoppage time, Sanchez and Sels made fantastic saves to keep their teams in the game, with scores ending 1-1.
Aston Villa played out a goalless draw with Manchester United, with United lacking attacking intent throughout the game. In what was titled, the ‘highline’ derby, Brighton squared off against Tottenham. Brighton immediately looked susceptible with their highline and Tottenham took full advantage, Brennan Johnson scoring in his sixth straight game in all competitions and James Maddison’s tamed effort finding the back of the net.
The second half was an entirely different story. Brighton came out flying and scored through Yankuba Minteh, three minutes after the break. Georginio Rutter equalised after a lovely move through the middle by Kaoru Mitoma and in the 66th minute Danny Welbeck scored the winner after poor defending by the visitors, a spectacle for neutrals and a deserved ending before the October international break.