Manchester City traveled to Wolves Saturday evening to try to keep their 100 percent record in the Premier League. So far this season Wolves are currently 14th place on the table, with Man City in fourth place after week 3.
Man City claimed victory in their opening two fixtures against Arsenal and Huddersfield comfortably but the Championship winners gave Pep Guardiola’s side with a much sterner test.
Wolves defender, Willy Boly, opened the scoring for the hosts in great fashion as he tapped the ball over the goal-line from Joao Moutinho’s cross shortly after halftime.
Aymeric Laporte equalized the score for Man City with a cracking header from Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick not long after Boly’s goal. Manchester City couldn’t find a winner despite the pressure they put on Rui Patricio’s goal in the closing stages.
Sergio Aguero came the closest to scoring a clincher for Manchester City, but his 95th-minute free-kick smashed off the crossbar. Wolves managed to hold off the Blues with a well-deserved 1-1 draw.
After the game, Pep Guardiola explained his thoughts on the game. “We always play at the same level, people will say how difficult it is to play good teams, but we tried and had many chances. We will improve because defensively today we were not solid like we normally are. We knew how strong Wolves were, but the reaction from the team was good. It is always complicated, but we created a lot of chances, so that’s why it is good.”
Arsenal Vs. West Ham 8/25/2018
Arsenal finally got off to a winning start to get a first Premier League win under new manager Unai Emery. The Gunners went a goal down to come back to beat West Ham 3-1 Saturday afternoon, with the help of an accidental own-goal.
West Ham opened the scoring after Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic linking up had some good passes down the left channel before striker Arnautovic unleashed a shot outside the box that beat Arsenal goalkeeper Peter Cech after the 25th minutes.
West Ham’s lead didn’t last too long after defender Hector Bellerin got around the Hammers’ defense and ran down the wing then whipping in a cross that flew by several Arsenal players right in front of goal. However, the ball fell to unmarked left-back Nacho Monreal who placed it past West Ham’s keeper Lukasz Fabianski in the 30th minute to bring the score to 1-1.
Arsenal got lucky around the 70th-minute mark when West Ham failed to get rid of the ball, and Aaron Ramsey headed it back into the box. The ball fell to substitute Alexandre Lacazette whose attempted cross hit off West Ham’s defender Issa Diop’s chest and in for an own-goal.
Substitute Danny Welbeck sealed the victory for the Gunners in stoppage time, when Bellerin found him unmarked in the area. Welbeck calmly finished the game after placing the ball in the back of the net giving Arsenal a 3-1 victory over the Hammers.
Arsenals’ new manager Unai Eemery had his first interview for the Gunners after the match, “I am very happy to come away with three points, I feel that we played pretty well and was in control of the ball the majority of the time. In the second half, we held possession very well and made some good chances. We were fortunate to get a lucky goal after halftime. I am happy to be in this position, and I am looking forward to winning more matches as the season progresses.”
Liverpool Vs. Brighton 8/25/2018
Liverpool’s savior Mohamed Salah added to his astonishing scoring run at Anfield Saturday afternoon when Liverpool beat Brighton 1-0 to go top of the table with three wins out of three without conceding so far in the Premier League.
Salah attempted a shot which crept inside the far post just after the 20th minute. The Egyptian has scored 29 goals at Anfield since joining Liverpool in 2017. Liverpool has an incredible home reputation scoring 20 goals without a reply from any team within the last 16 months.
On two occasions Liverpool’s goalkeeper was nearly caught in possession as he was pressurized by Brighton’s attackers. Early in the first half, the 25-year-old Brazilian came charging out for a through ball in which he failed to connect properly in a challenge with Brighton’s Solly March. Liverpool was lucky the Brighton players lost control and sent the ball out for a goal kick as the game ended 1-0 to the Reds.
Klopp spoke to the press after the game stating, “Nine points after three games, there’s never anything negative about that. But if you watch the games, you will see we have a lot of work to do. After halftime, we didn’t do exactly the same. We didn’t show the same patience anymore. The players are not exactly 100 percent fit. That’s how it is; we cannot give players a very short summer break then expects to be at the level. These games are the most important ‘session’ we can have.”
Chelsea Vs. Newcastle 8/26/18
Chelsea traveled to Saint James Park to take on Newcastle Sunday afternoon. An upset from Newcastle’s defender DeAndre Yedlin where he scored an own goal to make sure Chelsea continued their winning start to the season at Newcastle.
Chelsea’s star man Eden Hazard broke the deadlock after 14 minutes when Fabian Schar’s lunge on Marcos Alonso seemed reckless, and referee Paul Tierney had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, but replays indicated the Newcastle defender got a touch of the ball. Hazard calmly slotted home the penalty to put Chelsea on course for a third win from out of three.
Chelsea’s lead lasted just six minutes, and there was similar controversy to Newcastle’s goal. Olivier Giroud appeared to take an elbow in the face from Yedlin but no whistle was blown, and the Newcastle defender’s cross produced a beautiful header from Joselu that beat Kepa Arrizabalaga at his near post.
Chelsea managed to sneak in front again in the 87th minute when Yedlin diverted Alonso’s shot into his own net to give Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Newcastle.
