by No Premier League matchday is complete without drama. And fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), this weekend was full of questions, controversies and an avalanche of goals.
The ‘congratulations for participating’ award
Have you or your child ever returned home with a participation trophy after completely failing at a sporting event? Will Marcus Rashford show off his new hardware? This weekend, Rashford was largely a passenger for Manchester United in their 1-0 loss to Newcastle. During his 61 minutes on the pitch, Rashford took no shots, created no chances and did not have a single touch in the Newcastle penalty area.
The icing on the cake came eight minutes into the second half; After Tino Livramento passed him, Rashford began to walk instead of trying to make up for his mistake. Any idea that Erik ten Hag would install the fluid, high-pressure football he coached at Ajax has long been underestimated by a lack of urgency in his forward line and a disjointed structure in midfield. But the performance in Newcastle represented a new low for the Manchester United manager.
Related: Manchester City is vulnerable like it has not been in years | jonathan wilson
The blame is being shared. It was André Onana last week, Scott McTominay the week before. This week it is Rashford’s turn under the United bus. His body language and lazy work pace remain problems. But hey, at least he showed up.
Player of the week
Trent Alexander-Arnold has had a great couple of weeks. He won a Three Lions version of The Great British Bake Off (earning a Hollywood handshake in the process), scored last week’s equalizer against Manchester City and then dazzled on Sunday. His late goal earned Liverpool a 4-3 win over Fulham in a thriller at Anfield. Alexander-Arnold initially thought he had given Liverpool the first goal after his free kick went off the bar and over the goal line. However, it was credited as an own goal, as he hit the Fulham goalkeeper on the way in. Alexander-Arnold finally found the net after 88 minutes, a decisive shot that sealed the victory.
His impact in front of goal was obvious, but Alexander-Arnold was everything, everywhere, at once for Liverpool on Sunday. Only Virgil van Dijk finished the game with more touches than Liverpool’s defender-midfielder hybrid. After starting as an inverted right-back, Jürgen Klopp pushed Alexander-Arnold into midfield after Fulham took a 3-2 lead. Joe Gomez was placed at right back and Alexander-Arnold had a free role further up the pitch; He rewarded the coach with the winning goal from the edge of the area.
Liverpool’s reshaped midfield has brought more skill and balance to the team. But Alexander-Arnold remains Klopp’s creative point of support. They now sit second in the league, two points behind Arsenal. If nerdy metrics are your thing, Klopp’s team also sits above Arsenal in the expected points table. We have a real three-way title race.
The ‘ka-chow’ award
Jay Rodríguez recorded the fastest goal in the Premier League this season when he scored after 15 seconds. A sublime cross from Charlie Taylor found the Burnley striker, who headed the ball into the bottom right corner. The goal not only opened the floodgates for Burnley in their 5-0 victory over Sheffield United, but also helped the 34-year-old make Premier League history by becoming the first player to score in the first 15 seconds of two different parties. His previous accolade came in 2013, when he scored for Southampton after 13.68 seconds at Stamford Bridge. As Lightning McQueen would say: ka-chow!
Statistics of the week
Arsenal joined the coveted 100 club with their first goal in a 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. The Gunners got off to a good start at the Emirates when Bukayo Saka scored in the sixth minute. His elegant finish was Arsenal’s 100th goal of 2023 – they are the fifth team to reach that milestone in Europe’s top five leagues. Also on the list are Manchester City (137), Real Madrid (119), Bayern Münich (111) and Bayer Leverkusen (110). Saka’s goal was his 36th for the club in the Premier League, surpassing former Arsenal great Cesc Fàbregas.
The ‘I’m not angry, I’m disappointed’ award
You know that feeling. You’ve seen that look. They’re not angry, they’re just disappointed. You could see it in Pep Guardiola’s eye on Sunday. Despite scoring City’s crucial third goal against Tottenham, Jack Grealish received a yellow card for kicking the ball unnecessarily after a foul, ruling him out of a midweek match against Aston Villa. Grealish’s suspension poses a problem for Guardiola against Unai Emery’s high-flying Villa: Jérémy Doku was injured in the draw and is a doubt for Wednesday, meaning Guardiola will have to rejig his front line without his two best options in The left side .
But Grealish was not alone. Erling Haaland was less disappointed and simply angry with referee Simon Hooper. Hooper was one of the authors of the biggest refereeing mess this season in the match between Tottenham and Liverpool. That was a fallout from the opening week fiasco between Wolves and Manchester United. Their trilogy on Sunday was the latest entry in that refereeing franchise: late in the game, Hooper initially played a lead for a foul on Haaland, before calling off play to award a free kick despite Grealish ran. to goal without opposition. Haaland was outraged. Unlike most franchise shows, Hooper’s at least gets points for originality with it.
Goal of the week
Despite serious competition from Dwight McNeil and his teammate Alexander-Arnold, Alexis Mac Allister takes command. He scored a goal for Liverpool in their spectacular 4-3 victory over Fulham. He wasn’t as dazzling as Alejandro Garnacho’s wonderful goal from the previous week, but the finesse, control and power of his shot takes the prize this week.
The ‘hero to zero’ award
It’s not often that we see a player score on both sides of the field, much less in three minutes. Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Spurs with the team’s attack six minutes into the match against Manchester City. The visitors launched a counterattack down the right wing and Son made no mistake from close range. While his goal gave Tottenham an early lead over the reigning champions, his euphoria would not last long. Three minutes later, City’s free kick deflected off his shin and skimmed past his own goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. It was the first own goal of his career and he hopes it will be his last.
Heroic performance of the week.
In a weekend full of ups and downs, Everton’s 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest went unnoticed. Sean Dyche’s side have claimed their first win since being docked 10 Premier League points for breaching financial fair play rules. It’s hard not to see this as the beginning of her Cinderella story. For a club fighting a great battle, Everton played tight and resilient football. Against all odds, the team came together and put together a solid 1-0 performance with extra credit going to McNeil for an outstanding goal. Should they have scored a few more goals than they did? Probably. But now that hope has been revitalized, they could be the surprise losers of the season.
The VAR controversy of the week
No Premier League weekend goes by without a questionable VAR call. And this week we were able to enjoy real delights. Despite the plethora of calls to choose from, a baffling moment at the end of the Chelsea-Brighton match topped the list. Although Brighton trailed 2-3, they kept the momentum going after scoring in the second minute of added time. The ball then hit Levi Colwill’s face and bounced out of play behind the goal. The VAR referee advised the referee to check the pitch monitor. A penalty was initially awarded to Brighton, but the decision was reversed and Chelsea were awarded a drop ball. Confused? So were everyone on the ground. Brighton should have received a corner and had one last chance to get the ball into the area to try and score the equaliser.
