PL MATCHDAY 11 REVIEW: Guardiola learns losing hobby, Maresca and Arteta share the spoils
By Esosa Osa
It was a weekend of firsts as Wolves and Ipswich Town picked up their first wins of the campaign, and Pep Guardiola lost a fourth consecutive game, for the first time in his managerial career.
Brentford were quick to forget their last-minute defeat last Monday with a 3-2 home win against in-form Bournemouth. The Bees went behind after Evanlison pounched on Seep van den Berg’s mistake. Yoane Wissa equalised with his 7th league goal but Justin Kluivert restored Bournemouth’s lead straight after half-time. Mikkel Damsgaard and a second from Wissa left Thomas Frank smiling at the final whistle.
Wolves picked up their first win of the season with a 2-0 win over relegation buddies, Southampton. Pablo Sarabia opened the scoring for Wolves fastest Premier League Goal after 1 minute and 48 seconds as Matheus Cunha’s stunner sealed the win early in the second half. Emile Smith Rowe and Harry Wilson earned Fulham three deserved points away at Palace, a match brilliantly run by Alex Iwobi while West Ham and Everton played out the only goalless encounter at the weekend.
The biggest story of the weekend came at Amex Stadium where Brighton upset Manchester City, 2-1. The Citizens took the lead through part-time Viking, Erling Haaland in a first half dominated by the visitors. The second half was a different story as Brighton showed more intent in attack and controlled the middle of the park with help from Carlos Baleba. They were rewarded with two late goals from substitutes, Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley in his Premier League debut.
Liverpool extended their lead at the top to five points by beating Aston Villa 2-0 thanks to two counter-attacking goals from Darwin Nunez and the Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah. Forest tasted defeat only for second time in the league this season, this time at the hands of Newcastle. Murillo put his side ahead for his first goal for the club but three second-half goals by Alexander Isak, Joelinton and Harvey Barnes sent Forest out of an unfamiliar top four spot.
The Ruud van Nistelrooy era came to an end with a 3-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday afternoon. Goals from Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho and a Victor Kristiansen own goal calmed the storm in preparation for Ruben Amorim’s voyage. Ipswich Town went into the game at Tottenham’s Hotspur Stadium as the only team yet to win a league game but came out with their shoulders high.
The visitors were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap. Spurs dominated proceedings after the break and found a breakthrough in the 69th minute through Rodrigo Bentancur’s header from a Pedro Perro corner-kick. Fortunately for Kieran McKenna, his side were able to hold on for the club’s first Premier league win since April 2002.
In weekend’s most anticipated fixture Chelsea squared up against fierce London rivals, Arsenal. Both teams were wary of each other, keeping a mid-block but it was Arsenal who earned the first big chance game but Gabriel Martinelli failed to beat Robert Sanchez from close range. The Gunners thought they had the lead after a quick free-kick was finished off by former Chelsea man, Kai Havertz but the German was judged offside after a VAR review to the delight of the home crowd after he shushed them. The best chance of the half fell to Malo Gusto who failed to direct his header into an unguarded net.
After an hour, Martinelli fired the Gunners ahead with a powerful shot from a tight angle after a lovely pass from Martin Ødegaard. 10 minutes later Pedro Neto got Stamford Bridge bouncing with a superb finish from outside the box, the first goal Arsenal have conceded outside the penalty area this campaign. Mikel Arteta’s men fought hard for a winner but to no avail as they go into the November international break nine points from league leaders, Liverpool.
