пятница, 19 сентября 2014 г.

Premier League Review - United spark into life

Jose seems happy and why shouldn't he be?

The Premier League weekend saw Manchester United beat an over matched QPR, Arsenal couldn't hold on against Manchester City and some guy called Costa impressed once again. Alex Johnson rounds up all the action. 

The latest round of Premier League games saw Manchester United finally get going, but some other teams are still stuck in first gear.

After stalling in the opening weeks, Louis van Gaal unleashed his new-look United on QPR and they thrashed them 4-0 at Old Trafford to record their first win. It was a scintillating display from United, but as good as the hosts were, QPR were dreadful.

Van Gaal's side will face tougher challenges, but this was a confidence-boosting display from United as the Old Trafford faithful got glimpses of their new Galacticos. Angel Di Maria made his home debut, while Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo were also included from the start. And the Dutch boss even had the luxury of calling on a certain Radamel Falcao from the bench. The manager shifted from his 3-5-2 formation and played four at the back, while Di Maria was superb playing on left-hand side of a midfield diamond alongside Ander Herrera and Juan Mata, with Blind as the holding player.

Herrera got his first goal and played his best game yet in United's colours while Blind was also very impressive, but it was Di Maria who stole the show. For all United's luxuries going forward, the defence still appeared shaky as QPR were gifted a couple of decent chances. The next big test for Van Gaal will be when that weak defensive line gets a real test.

While it was a great weekend for United, it was a nightmare one for Alan Pardew as he watched his Newcastle side look inept as they were steamrollered 4-0 by Southampton. It was a shocking performance by Newcastle, who were all over the place at the back, and toothless going forward. The back line was guilty of several blatant lapses of concentration straight from the kick off and Newcastle essentially handed Southampton a couple of their goals. If the performance wasn't bad enough for Pardew, he had to see banners unfurled calling for him to be sacked as the suffering Newcastle fans decided they couldn't take any more ineptitude. And all this took place in front of owner Mike Ashley, who had made the 600-mile round trip to the South Coast.

Alan Irvine is also enduring a real headache at West Brom after his side went down 2-0 at home to Everton. His appointment during the summer was a real shock to begin with and Irvine hasn't enamoured himself to the Baggies fans with some stuttering early-season displays from his troops. It didn't help his cause that both goals were down to individual mistakes, as the usually reliable Jonas Olsson presented former Hawthorns favourite Romelu Lukaku with the first goal before Ben Foster made a hash of keeping out Kevin Mirallas' poor shot. The full-time whistle was met by a chorus of boos and Irvine has his work cut out to turn the ship around. West Brom brought in no fewer than 11 new players during the summer and things just aren't clicking yet.

As managers try in vain to get their season started, what would they give to have their team begin in a rich form like Jose Mourinho's Chelsea?

A 4-2 win over Swansea at Stamford Bridge preserved Chelsea's 100% record and sees them remain at the summit of the Premier League. Diego Costa stole all the headlines with a hat-trick that moved him to seven goals in four games, but overall it was an emphatic performance from Chelsea. They had to come from behind to beat Swansea but look capable of scoring at will whenever they come forward and are going to be really tough to beat this season.

There was a thrilling game between two of Chelsea's two main title rivals as Arsenal and Manchester City drew 2-2 at the Emirates in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off. Danny Welbeck made his debut for Arsenal and should have celebrated his first goal but struck the post early in the game, while Alexis Sanchez and Jack Wilshere - who both shone for the Gunners - brought them back from a goal down. However, a late header by Martin Demichelis ensured the points were shared, which did seem a fair result given how well both teams played.

While Arsenal and City might be satisfied with a point against one of their title rivals, it was a miserable day at Anfield as Aston Villa pulled off a shock 1-0 win over Liverpool. An early Gabriel Agbonlahor strike ensured Villa sit in the dizzy heights of second in the Premier League table and remain unbeaten.

Paul Lambert's side were well organised and frustrated Liverpool, using their strength and size to bully Mario Balotelli in particular. The Italian led the line, with Daniel Sturridge out injured, while Brendan Rodgers made the strange decision to rest Raheem Sterling. That left Liverpool lacking up front and Balotelli was anonymous. It's an early setback to Liverpool's title ambitions but Villa are enjoying their best start in 15 years.

The Monday night game between Hull and West Ham saw the round of fixtures end in explosive fashion, with stunning goals and debut delights as the teams drew 2-2. Hull's record-buy Abel Hernandez scored on his debut to put his new employers ahead before Enner Valencia netted a spectacular rocket of a strike from 25 yards. Mo Diame also scored on his Hull debut against his former employers before a Curtis Davies own goal denied the hosts the win. Fans of both teams should certainly be encouraged by seeing their new big-money strikers open their accounts for the season.

Elsewhere this weekend, Leicester continued their good start as a Leonardo Ulloa strike saw them beat Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. Nigel Pearson's side are showing they are a good fit in the Premier League, with Ulloa proving a real goal threat at this level.

Spurs were left frustrated at the Stadium of Light after a Harry Kane own goal ensured their game with Sunderland ended 2-2. The visitors dominated and Mauricio Pochettino admitted afterwards it was difficult to accept a draw given how many chances they created.

There weren't so many chances at Selhurst Park as Crystal Place and Burnley played out a goalless draw. However, the hosts were thankful to Julian Speroni as he pulled off a heroic penalty save from Scott Arfield late on to preserve a point for Palace. The draw leaves both Palace and Burnley still looking for their first Premier League wins of the season.

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