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1. Liverpool continues their winning streak, while Tottenham crumble:
Before coming into this match, Liverpool had won all of their first four games whereas Tottenham had won their first three before going down to Watford before the international break.
Liverpool started the match with a familiar 4-3-3 with the fearsome trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino upfront. Wijnaldum was starting this match ahead of the rested Jordan Henderson. Tottenham started with a 4-4-2 with Harry Kane and Lucas Moura leading the attack in the absence of Dele Alli.
Throughout the match, the wide array of combination play that we have witnessed Tottenham produce every match was missing. Liverpool capitalised on this and Wijnaldum scored from a corner. This highlighted another issue for Tottenham which has been defending set pieces. Firmino struck another goal in the second half to make it 2-0 and while Lamela did score a late goal in extra time, it was never going to be enough. In the end, Tottenham suffered consecutive losses in the Premier League for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Liverpool face French champions PSG at Anfield while Tottenham travels to Milan to face Inter in the UEFA Champions League mid-week fixtures.
2. The Sarri-ball is working at Chelsea:
When Chelsea had removed Antonio Conte at the end of last season, there were rumors already of how they were planning to replace him with Maurizio Sarri. The questions which many asked at the time was whether the squad who had been accustomed to playing a defensive 3-4-3 formation under Conte could adapt to Sarri's possession-based style of play.
Well, those questions have been answered now, Chelsea have not only managed to impress winning all of their first five games but they have also played some beautiful fast paced free flowing football. While Cardiff was never expected to win against the Chelsea side, Sol Bamba did cause a panic early on when he scored from close range.
The joy was however short-lived for the former Championship side, as Hazard showed some individual brilliance and scored a brace before halftime to make it 2-1. The Chelsea rampage continued in the second half as well with a Hazard penalty and a Willian strike making it 4-1. Next up for Chelsea is a trip away to Greece to face PAOK and they should be looking to test a few of their other players in the Europa League.
3. Manchester City defeats Fulham comprehensively:
Manchester City did not have the perfect start this season as they did drop points against Wolves. With four wins and a draw, City should be at the top of the table, if not for Liverpool and Chelsea's perfect record.
Leroy Sane started for the first time this season and combined well with David Silva and Barnardo to get the first goal for City. For Sane, it was an additional opportunity to prove his doubters wrong. Toni Kroos, his German teammate had explained to the media about Sane's careless attitude while playing and Guardiola had also dropped Sane from his squad amidst rumors of attitude issues. But the 22-year-old Premier League Young Player of the year held his own and scored to restore normalcy.
The next opponents for Manchester City are Lyon. Guardiola's men will have a sterner test this season as Liverpool and Chelsea will be title challengers in the Premier League and at the same time would be looking to improve on their Champions League performance as well.
4. Manchester United still a force to reckon with as they overpower Watford:
After four rounds of matches, Watford had won all of their matches and was sitting with the big boys Chelsea and Liverpool at 12 points, whereas United had a poor start with losses to Brighton and Tottenham.
Javi Gracia, the Premier League Manager for the month of August did not make any changes in the starting line-up for the fifth time in a row. United, meanwhile were without Rashford who was out with a red card and Luke Shaw with a head injury. Mourinho started the match with Fellaini, Matic, and Pogba in a 3 man midfield. This proved to be a decisive factor in the match as Fellaini proved to be a superb cover for both Smalling and Lindelof and allowed Matic and Pogba to play freely and attack.
Two goals from two set pieces with Lukaku and Smalling on the score sheet meant that United was cruising against Watford. But a familiar moment of panic play set in when Watford's Andre Gray struck their first. Ultimately though, United managed to finish on top with a Matic red card being a downer in the end. Mourinho's men will travel next to face Swiss opponents Young Boys.
5. Arsenal is back on track with 3 successive wins:
Arsenal had a poor start to the season under new coach Unai Emery as they lost to two of the big six rivals in Chelsea and Manchester City. Arsenal did start both Lacazette and Aubameyang, but the same old fears were restored with Petr Cech's mistakes.
Guendouzi was replaced by Torreira at the halfway mark which clearly showed who should have started in the first. The composure was much better in the second half. A Granit Xhaka goal from a free kick and an Ozil strike minutes later meant that Arsenal had done enough against a lackluster Newcastle side.
A late goal was not enough as Newcastle lost by a margin of 1-2 again this season.
Arsenal will travel to face Ukrainian side Vorksla in the UEFA Europa League in midweek which is a familiar competition for Arsenal boss Unai Emery.
