Gameweek 5 meant the return of Premier League football after the first international break of the new season, and what a way to return it was. Plenty of games that were filled with goals, along with some truly crunching encounters between top sides.
Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season by beating Tottenham, who now have lost two games on the bounce. The game was very tightly contested, yet the away side started off the better of the two teams, and they were rewarded with a goal from Georginio Wijnaldum, as he headed it just across the line, with the referee needing goal-line technology to determine whether it should have stood or not, with the final decision being that it was a goal. Tottenham responded well in the second half, as after a good run of play, Lucas found some space but he could only hit the post. However, Liverpool doubled their lead with a very scrappy goal, as Lloris' replacement for the match, Michel Vorm, could not handle the ball, consequently leaving Roberto Firmino free for an easy goal. Very late on in the match, Spurs got a lifeline, as a loose ball fell to Erik Lamela, who volleyed it brilliantly past Allison, yet it was all to late.
Bournemouth 4-2 Leicester City
Bournemouth managed to continue their brilliant start to the season with a goal-fest against Leicester City. The Cherries had an outstanding first half, as they managed to score three goals in the first 45 minutes of the match. The first goal came from Ryan Fraser, with a cool finessed finish past Kasper Schmeichel. Fraser got his second goal after a ball from Callum Wilson found him free in the box, enough to poke it past the Danish goalkeeper and double the lead. The third came after Ricardo Periera handled the ball in his own box, giving away a penalty, which Callum Wilson dispatched brilliantly. Between the goals, Leicester hit the woodwork through James Maddison and also had a player sent off after the third goal, as Wes Morgan was handed a second yellow for a late tackle. Bournemouth started the second half as brightly as the first, with Adam Smith adding to the scoreline after he received a cut-back from Fraser. Leicester managed to grab two goals back before the end of the match though, as they were awarded a penalty, which Maddison blasted into the net, and they also scored just a minute after, with Kelechi Iheanacho crossing the ball towards Marc Albrighton, who headed it in.
Chelsea 4-1 Cardiff City
Chelsea shrugged Cardiff aside and retained their dominant start to the Premier League season, even though they were made to worry early on in the match. For all their dominance, Cardiff were the ones to open the scoring, as a freekick was whipped in the Chelsea box, with Sol Bamba connecting just enough for the ball to go into the net. However, after the goal, Chelsea hit back. They had plenty of chances before they could finally beat Neil Etheridge, with the Blues requiring some magic from Eden Hazard to level things up, as a fantastic move between Olivier Giroud and the Belgian freed him from the defenders, and he finished it brilliantly past the goalkeeper. The Belgian and the Frenchman connected once again for the second goal, as Hazard found some space in the box, and even though his shot was deflected, it still found the back of the net. Late in the second half, Chelsea added two more goals to the scoreline, after Willian was tripped in the box and Hazard finished the penalty in order to get himself a hat-trick, whilst Willian scored an outrageous finessed shot from outside the box, which is a contender for the goal of the month.
Huddersfield Town 0-1 Crystal Palace
Huddersfield were beaten by Crystal Palace, even though they controlled the majority of the play throughout the match, mustering several chances which they failed to convert. Some of the chances fell to Steve Mounie, yet he still could not score. However, once Palace got a rare break from defending, they struck quickly, as Wilfried Zaha skipped past the defenders and curled a beautiful shot past the goalkeeper and into the top corner, handing the Eagles a crucial win.
Manchester City 3-0 Fulham
Manchester City continued on with their winning form, as they took all of the points against a Fulham side that had started to gain some momentum. City got off to a perfect start, with Leroy Sane scoring in the first few minutes of the match, and from then on, the match continued with City dominating all of the play. City's relentless pressure did pay off, as David Silva doubled the advantage, after a piece of scrappy play resulted with the ball in the Spaniard's feet, as he lashed it past the goalkeeper. Fulham started to trouble Ederson a bit more as the game wore on, but it was all in vain as City went up the other end and scored another, this time through Raheem Sterling, from a perfect ball delivered by Sergio Aguero.
Newcastle United 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal kept their momentum going with a fine display against Newcastle, yet they needed some moments of magic to get the much-needed win. Newcastle were threatening on the break, yet Granit Xhaka was the one to give Arsenal the lead, with a perfectly curled free-kick into the top corner. Mesut Ozil managed to also get in on the goalscoring in his first ever match against Newcastle, as a loose ball fell to the German, and he calmly stroked the ball past the goalkeeper, leaving him with no chance. Newcastle still managed to get up the other end and trouble Petr Cech, forcing him into some saves. However, they managed to get a goal that sparked some form of hope for them, after Federico Fernandez whipped in a ball for his defensive partner Ciaran Clark to connect with, and he did so brilliantly to beat Cech, however it was not enough.
Watford 1-2 Manchester United
Manchester United needed the brilliance of David De Gea in order to get themselves another very important win, continuing their good form after their shaky start to the season. The game started off very even, with both sides troubling the opposing goalkeepers, as De Gea and Ben Foster were often called upon to save their sides. The breakthrough did eventually come through Romelu Lukaku, as a whipped cross from Ashley Young found the Belgian, who only needed to meet the ball with his stomach to stroke it into the net. It did not take long for United to double their lead, as Marouane Fellaini sent the ball into Watford's box, only for Chris Smalling to control the ball excellently, turn and volley it past Foster for an outrageous goal from the defender. In the second half, United's pressure died down, and Watford saw a route back into the game through a volley from Andre Gray, who rifled it into the top corner, leaving De Gea with no chance of getting a hand to it. As Watford continued to press, Nemanja Matic took down Will Hughes and consequently ended up earning a second yellow, earning a needless red card, yet United managed to hold on with De Gea making a miraculous save in the dying embers of the game.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Burnley
The newly-promoted side handed Burnley another loss for the season, continuing the Clarets extremely bad form in the start of the season. Wolves were utterly dominant throughout the whole match, forcing Joe Hart into making several saves, along with the defenders having to clear the ball off of the line countless times. Raul Jimenez skied a glorious chance over the bar in the second half, only to be handed another chance later on, which he took brilliantly with his right foot, giving Wolves a very important win.
Everton 1-3 West Ham United
West Ham got their first points of the season, as they dismantled Everton defensively. Andriy Yarmolenko got the Hammers off to a great start, whipping a ball into the net with his left foot, not once, but twice, as the Ukranian curled a second one into the top corner for a fabulous goal. Everton got themselves momentarily back in the game, right on the stroke of half-time, as a cross from Jonjoe Kenny was met by Gylfi Sigurdsson with a brilliant header, putting it past Fabianski, halfing West Ham's advantage. However, West Ham came out all guns blazing in the second half, and they restored their two goal advantage with Pedro Obiang slipping a ball for Marko Arnautovic to toepoke it past Jordan Pickford. Everton had a chance to get back into the match once again, but they could only hit the woodwork as Oumar Niasse blasted it onto the bar.
Southampton 2-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
Monday night football returned with a mid-table clash between two south-coast clubs, which eventually ended in a draw after some late drama. Southampton started off the better of the two sides, and after a few minutes, Pierre Hojbjerg blasted a thunderous shot from outside the box and into the net, leaving Mathew Ryan with absolutely no chance whatsoever. In the second half, Danny Ings was tripped and ended up being awarded a penalty, which he dispatched himself to double Southampton's lead. Brighton managed to bounce back after the goal, as they started to attack even more, and a free-kick from Anthony Knockaert found Shane Duffy in some space, as he managed to head it past the goalkeeper. Southampton looked like they could see out the match for a win, yet Brighton were controversially awarded a last minute penalty, after a player was pushed off of the ball inside the box. The ever-reliable Glenn Murray stepped up and scored the penalty, continuing his wonderful record against Southampton.
Which game did you enjoy the most from the weekend?
