Best matches from this week’s Premier League matches.

It was a weekend of great football that saw big teams lose and lots of incredible back and forth action. But, as always with the Premier League the games were all entertaining.

Chelsea vs Leicester City:

Maresca takes on his old team in Leicester following a hot streak from Chelsea which has left them 3rd in the Premier League and if results go their way they could push higher. Leicester will be hoping they can stay up after missing out on some key points such as against Forest, Palace and Southampton.

The early part of the game was, for the majority, Chelsea’s. They attacked well, building up all too familiarly through midfield and the wings troubling the Leicester defence who were fouling to stop the Blues with ex-Spurs man Winks going off injured due to a poor challenge he put in. Chelsea dominated possession until an excellent chance from the perennial scorer Nicolas Jackson saw him battle for the ball with Wout Faes after a poor goal kick. Enzo helped Jackson by tapping the ball to the Senegalese striker who slotted it home into the opposite side of the net.

The first half was physical but dominated by Chelsea, tackles flew in from Leicester but players like Felix, Madueke, Palmer, Jackson and Enzo were able to lift them above Leicester in the first half. They were also strong defensively with Vardy having only a few touches in the opposition half. Leicester weren’t without chances though, with one close chance coming from McAteer in his first Premier League start, they began to take grip in the last 10 minutes but were unable to get a goal back.

The second-half began well with lots of chances for Chelsea, one chance left Cole Palmer beautifully through on goal with a tap-in in front of him. However, Madueke’s attempt to avoid the ball wasn’t enough; blocking his teammates shot. Leicester, however, succumbed to the pressure after keeping out Jackson’s header but it was picked up by Fernandez who was able to smash it home, capping off a performance where he was visible all game after returning from not starting multiple matches.

The game was looking to finish like this after a dominant performance from Chelsea, but, Leicester got a penalty in extra-time after Lavia fouled in the box leading to the referee pointing to the spot and the veteran Ayew slotted home.

Chelsea continue to revive their team under Maresca this season sitting 7 spots higher than they did in the previous season at this point. For Leicester they need to keep fighting if they are going to avoid relegation and although they lost they showed a lot of fight, potentially should of had a penalty and if they continue they could fight their way up the table against bigger clubs.

Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal:

This is one of the biggest games of the game week, Nottingham Forest have had an incredible few years since returning to the Premier League after dropping out in 98/99. This season has been incredible for them and they sit on the brink of the top 4, if they can beat Arsenal who they are currently tied on points with, they would again prove themselves as a top team this season. Arsenal have been worse this year than they have in the last three seasons at this point, last year they were leading the Premier League and a series of injuries and a poor streak of form without Odegaard has left them in a compellingly different situation, but, his return marked a victory that puts them back on the right path to competing for the title.

The chances began to come early when Odegaard whipped in a cross from a free kick that was perfectly placed on Merino’s head but a save from the keeper eventually left it in the path of Jurien Timber, who couldn’t score the first after being called offside.

Saka and Odegaard’s beautiful link up play began to guide Arsenal and it led to the first goal; with Saka skipping past a defender and slapping it across the keeper into the back of the net. Arsenal have needed this win after being winless in their last 4 Premier League games. The return of Odegaard was essential in build up play. Their time spent without him has highlighted exactly how integral he is to their creative process and having him back strengthens what has been a poor run for the title so far. Saka was also important in the first minutes of the game, as he always is, and is showing that he is no longer Arsenal’s boy but Arsenal’s man. The chances kept coming with great chances created by Saka and Trossard who shone through as top performers.

A second goal came from Partey who, off of Saka’s pass, hammered a shot in from outside the box with one of the classiest goals of the game week. Despite Arsenal leading, Nottingham Forest were creative and missed out on some good chances, they aren’t so high up the table for no reason.

Star boy Nwaneri is truly starting to come into his own in the first team for Arsenal and his rise is similar to another man who rose through their academy a few years ago in Saka. After being incredible after coming on, he created multiple chances until he found himself on the end of a perfect pass and slotted it home for Arsenal’s third and final goal.

For Arsenal, the winless streak in the Premier League is over and they can start to fight their way towards league leaders Liverpool. The return of Odegaard and incredible play of Bukayo Saka is what guided them to what was an incredible win over a team that they are fighting for a position with currently. Forest will be disappointed that such a good streak of form has come to an end. But, they are still exceeding expectations and to return to where they were is not impossible.

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur:

Manchester City’s weakness has often been Tottenham Hotspur but the walloping given out was hardly expected. Manchester City have not been on top form this season compared to what we expect from them, being plagued by injuries and the longest losing streak under Guardiola. Spurs capitalised on this in an incredible game.

The game started with early dominance from Spurs when, within 15 minutes, James Maddison was able to provide the first goal after being beautifully picked out by Kulusevski allowing for Maddison to simply tap it home. A second game not long after when again Maddison scored, grabbing a brace against one of the best teams in the Premier League is no small feat and Maddison joins a small crowd to have done so against City. After a beautiful piece of play from Son and Maddison after the latter picked up a loose ball; leaving Maddison to finish. This was already the game lost for City as they seemed very much out of the game for the rest of the second half and the likelihood of their losing streak running on to 5 seemed high.

A goal game within 10 minutes of the restart for Pedro Porro, a man who has become quite the scorer from right back and since his debut has the most goal involvements of any defender in the Premier League. He was picked out by Solanke who has proved to be one of Tottenham’s hardest working players and Porro curled the ball home. Manchester City’s crowed silenced and a dominant lead for Spurs. A final goal game from Brennan Johnson who has come alight since facing criticism early on in the season. Werner found Johnson not long after he had coke on, again with a beautifully made change that left the net open for Johnson. Angeball seems to have driven Spurs to a new level where they have become one of the most intimidating teams on attack in the Premier League.

Spurs were dominant in attack and that’s all that can really be said for the game. Their wingers, midfield and strikers have shown they can be a cohesive unit that drives for goals as a team. This is a new style for a team that for so long was stuck playing around Harry Kane and in his absence have been just as potent. Manchester City will be highly disappointed to have fallen to Spurs again for the second time this season and lose their streak of 724 days without losing at home. City haven’t experienced losing like this for years and Guardiola never had; which is crazy to say after only a 5 game losing streak and truly portrays the dominance of Guardiola’s men.

Southampton vs Liverpool:

Southampton have been poor this season and Liverpool lead the league. What should have been a dominant win ended up being a dog fight that saw Southampton arguably deserve to beat Liverpool in a tight game.

Southampton began to attack what was a horrendous defence for Liverpool. Southampton should have had a penalty early on when Konate dropped Armstrong in the box and Liverpool were given the decision again this season following lots of dubious VAR decisions going their way and were given another today with what was a clear penalty and not the only speculative decision. However, Liverpool got the first after bad defensive play from Southampton that left the ball at the Hungarian Szobozlai’s feet and he curled it into the goal to give Liverpool the lead.

It didn’t take long before Liverpool’s weak defence made another mistake though, with Dibling charging into the box and being taken down by Robertson on the line of the penalty box. Armstrong couldn’t finish the penalty but tapped in the rebound. Another great chance was made by Dibling and Armstrong, with Fernandes capitalising off of Armstrong’s pass.

In the second half Mo Salah began to take control of the game creating chances until Gravenberch found him and Salah touched it past the keeper with it rolling home. Both of these men have been integral to Arne Slot’s dominant start to his new job with the emergence of Gravenberch in midfield providing them with a jack of all trades midfielder who helps to run the game for them. Mohamed Salah continued to create curling a ball into the box that led to a harsh handball call on Sugawara and the perennial penalty scorer in Salah slotted it home.

It was an incredible game filled with back and forth action and it leaves Liverpool dominantly clear at the top of the table. Southampton fans should be happy with the performance and some tough calls left them missing out on any points after their incredible first half, but, they still showed that they have fight in them and if they can continue to do well they can be better than they have been so far.

Newcastle vs West Ham:

West Ham haven’t capitalised on the signings they made in the off-season and will hope that they can beat a competitor in Newcastle who have managed to take down some big teams this season.

The chances came early when Isak slotted home but was called offside. Despite Newcastle attacking West Ham got the first when Thomas Soucek capitalised on a corner within 10 hammering his head through the ball and there was no doubt about the finish. West Ham needed this goal and it was essential in assuring they can get over the hump of a new system they have been struggling to adjust too. When they can capitalise on easy chances they can worry less about having to fit into the system attacking wise as they already have the lead.

However, Newcastle aren’t a team that’s easily submitted and did continue to attack through Isak, Guimaraes, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon who are the usual suspects in making them tick as a team. Joe Willock was also creative early on missing out on an incredible chance set up for him by Joelinton. The first half finished like this despite multiple equalising chances from Newcastle.

After the restart, Wan-Bissaka was able to score off of Jarrod Bowen’s assist. Paqueta picked up a loose ball in midfield, driving it forward to Bowen who was able to lead Bissaka with the ball who drilled it into the back of the net to bring West Ham to only 2 wins in 9 away games in the Premier League.

The game finished with a West Ham win and it will be a disappointment for Newcastle who were excellent on the attacking side of the ball, however, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Hammers who were excellent on both sides of the ball and created more direct chances with more shots on target but less chances created. West Ham finally pick up form and sit in 14th hoping to improve before pressure piles on to perform towards the end of the season.

This week of Premier League football showed us the calibre of attacking football in the Premier League with multiple high scoring games. The top of the table was shook up and there are 3 points between second and third and sets up a competitive week of football in next week’s games.

Wolves vs Fulham:

This wasn’t the biggest game of the weekend but it saw a dominant victory and an entertaining game for everyone other than Fulham fans. Wolves extended their steak securing back to back wins.

Wolves were able to dominate them in a 4-1 victory that saw Matheus Cunha grab a brace. However, the first goal came for Fulham when ex-Arsenal and Everton man Alex Iwobi curled an outside of the box effort into the side of the net. Since joining Fulham the winger has improved his form and is one of the best players at Craven Cottage. However, this lead didn’t last long after a beautifully pinged pass from Mario Jr found afore mentioned Cunha who was able to take a touch and flick it over the keeper into the back of the net. Wolves were strong attacking and this was the start of a dominant attacking show from the Wanderers.

The Wolverhampton boys soon picked up the lead when Cunha’s link up play led the ball perfectly into the path of Gomes who was able to slide it past the keeper and reminded Fulham that just because you were able to get on the front foot early it doesn’t mean you will have the lead for the rest of the game; capitalising on a defence that began to fall apart. But, they weren’t completely out of the game and managed to compete with Iwobi and Wilson being some of the key players in the game attacking wise.

Wolverhampton’s duo of Gomes and Cunha linked up for the third goal that saw an outlandish strike from Cunha who curled the ball effortlessly from the outside of the box into the corner of the net. This weekend was a game week that saw some excellent goals and this goal is easily in the argument for the best. The final goal came from Guedes who finished a 4 on one attack easily; putting the cherry on the cake of an excellent game.