Premier League 2017/18 - 5 talking points from gameweek 7

Week seven of the Premier League was an exciting affair. While teams like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur swept their opposition away, Chelsea could not get a crucial home victory in the weekend action. Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by the Magpies at St. James Park.

With a sensational victory against Chelsea in their own backyard, Manchester City easily was the standout club of the week.

Let us relook at their thumping victory against their London rivals, along with four other talking points from the weekend action:

#1. For Manchester United, 4-0 is the new 1-1

Fellaini scored a brace as United thrashed Palace

Premier League 2016-17 was a frustrating affair for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United. It was the manager’s first season with the Red Devils, and while he did manage to take them to a Europa League triumph, he could only take them as far as the sixth place when it came to the top division English League.

The team did not lose many matches. In fact, they tasted defeat in just 5 of the 38 games of the season – a stat that was on par with Chelsea, the champions that year.

However, the number of draws that United found themselves into went up to as high as 15 matches. They kept getting the 1-1 result against many oppositions and failed to close out matches from winning positions on many instances.

After a while, every time United drew a match, even though they gained a point, it felt like they dropped two.

The team has revamped itself this season and how. They have drawn just one out of seven games, winning the other six. Yesterday, they notched up another 4-0 victory against a hapless Crystal Palace line-up. They did so with ease, panache and confidence. It was their fourth 4-0 victory of the season, and it feels like Mourinho and his men have swapped the underwhelming 1-1 of last year for the unstoppable 4-0 this year.

Romelu Lukaku has been one of the signings of the season and is scoring in almost every game. Henrikh Mkhitaryan might not have been at his best against Palace, but has looked extremely controlled and collected in this season. He and Marouane Fellaini are not only creating chances but are grabbing onto some themselves.

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are outperforming each other in every match, and have a very healthy tussle going on for that coveted starting spot.

To sum it up, Mourinho’s team is looking extremely perilous this season and already is a serious contender to lift the trophy this summer.

#2. Manchester City with the performance of the season

Pep Guardiola was finally able to get the better of Chelsea

While Manchester United are stealing all the eyeballs with their strong presence on the field and extravagance off of it, their local rivals have quietly regained their top spot in the Premier League table. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City has been a force to reckon with this season and proved it with a clinical performance at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Sergio Aguero, City’s premier striker, who has been in imperious nick this season, met with a car accident last week. However, his absence did not deter City from creating a systematical havoc at the home of the defending champions. They went about their business with beautiful precision while ensuring that they press the Blues hard into their corner through the 90 minutes of the game.

City probed and pressed from the first minute of the game and looked increasingly daunting with every next minute. Their passing was slick and their pace was swift. It only looked like a matter of time before the men in purple would draw the first blood.

The inevitable strike came in the form of a sumptuous kick from former Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne from the edge of the box in the 67th minute of the game.

Guardiola and his team are tied for the top spot with United at the moment, but have had harder matches and have already beaten two elite clubs in their campaign so far. After the Chelsea victory, City definitely look like the ‘baddest’ fish in the ocean right now.

#3. Arsene Wenger breaks records with win over Brighton & Hove Albion

Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has broken yet another record in his longstanding term as the boss of Arsenal Football Club. With a comfortable 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Wenger has now beaten 45 different oppositions in the Premier League, overtaking Sir Alex Ferguson’s tally of 44.

The 67-year-old also completed 21 years at Arsenal this weekend and the celebrations were enhanced by the victory in the league.

The last time the league schedule segued into an international break, Arsenal were struggling big time. They barely scraped past Leicester City to win their opening game of the season at home before losing big in two back-to-back away encounters against Stoke City and Liverpool.

It was a forgettable period for the French manager, who is no longer the popular fan-favourite that he was amongst Gooners before.

Arsenal and Wenger bounced back after the international break though. They did not lose a single game across all competitions while displaying a tangible enhancement in their defence and overall coordination. They were placed 16th after the Liverpool game, but will now go into the next international break while sitting in a respectable position at Number 5.

#4. Everton sink to worrying lows

Everton spent close to £150m in the summer

Everton Football Club were a dynamite in the transfer window this season. They sold and bought players throughout the two months and made a statement with the kind of signings that they made in the time period.

It seemed as though the bridesmaid will finally be the bride this time around, and Everton would accomplish something substantial in this season. However, in spite of the huge flurry at the transfer market, they have sunk to the 16th position at the table right now. Far from being the bride, it seems like the club hasn’t even been invited to the wedding.

They succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against an inspired Burnley attack at home on Sunday. The team looked hollow, their spirit looked shaken and their drive was insipid.

Ronald Koeman is now under herculean amounts of pressure. If he does not come up with the goods at the end of the international break, there is a real chance of the man losing his job.

#5. Harry-Unstoppable-Kane

Hurricane

It wasn’t just Manchester United who won 4-0 in the weekend’s action. Tottenham Hotspur, riding on the back of two thumping strikes from Harry Kane, annihilated Huddersfield Town AFC to clinch a 4-0 victory.

The two goals of Kane came in the 9th and the 23rd minute of the match and were both beautiful yet powerful. The beauty made the world take notice of him yet again, while the power made a statement to all the opponents. A statement, which said that both Tottenham and Kane would show no mercy to anyone who stands in their way this time around.

Kane now has 84 goals from 123 Premier League appearances. The 24-year-old has started this season right where he left off in last year. With 29 goals in 38 games, he was the top-scorer of the league in the previous season.

He now has 13 goals in one month, equaling Leo Messi and Christiano Ronaldo’s for the same. When you have company like that, you know you’re definitely doing something right. The striker is still young and has a long and glittering career ahead. He has it in himself to make and break multiple records.

One recurring question remains – can he inspire the Spurs to take that final step end their title drought this season?