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The second round of Premier League fixtures produced another week of high-quality football, reiterating why it is the most entertaining league in the world. Liverpool and Arsenal secured victories, to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, whereas Chelsea and Manchester City dropped points at home to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers produced another tense encounter, with the game ending as a draw.
All of these games featured some top-class individual performances, with Kevin De Bruyne exhibiting a masterclass against Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, Frank Lampard's Chelsea were denied their first win of the season as they were thwarted by a scintillating performance from Leicester City midfielder, James Maddison. After getting dominated by Chelsea in the first half, the energy and drive displayed by the Englishman galvanized his team to fight back and earn a point at Stamford Bridge.
There were many other impressive performances at the weekend. Players like Ruben Neves, Mason Mount, and Lucas Moura also created an impact for their teams.
Here are the top 3 performances from the 2nd round of the Premier League.
#3 Teemu Pukki (Norwich City)
The champions of English football's second division, Norwich City got off to a poor start as they were dismantled by Liverpool on the opening day of the Premier League. However, they bounced back from the defeat to secure a convincing 3-1 victory against Newcastle United on Saturday with Finnish striker, Teemu Pukki leading the charge.
This is Pukki's first season in the top flight and he certainly showed that he belongs in the Premier League courtesy a stunning hat-trick against the Magpies.
All of his goals were of immense quality which included a thunderbolt from the edge of the box. Pukki is a striker who made scoring goals look easy in the Championship, and he has carried that form into the Premier League.
If he continues in a similar scoring vein, Norwich could look forward to a successful season ahead.
#2 Dani Ceballos (Arsenal)
Arsenal continued their promising start to the season with their second consecutive victory in the league. After securing a 1-0 victory away at Newcastle on the opening weekend, the Gunners beat Burnley at the Emirates and were powered by a brilliant individual performance by the recently acquired Dani Ceballos.
Dani Ceballos, making his first Premier League start, was in inspired form and the quality he demonstrated reminded us why he was so sought after, in the summer.
Following the departure of Alexis Sanchez and the abrupt decline of Mesut Ozil, Arsenal have been craving for a creative and ball-playing midfielder. Ceballos, with his performance against Burnley on Saturday, showed that he could take up that particular mantle.
Throughout the game, the Spaniard captivated the fans with his technical ability. His twinkling feet and passing skills were a joy to watch as he kept running at defenders, dribbling past them and in the process, created numerous goalscoring chances for his teammates, including providing the assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal.
If Ceballos can demonstrate such class and quality throughout the season for the Gunners, Arsenal would fancy their chances of returning to the Champions League next season.
#1 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne was in superlative form at the weekend and conjured the best individual performance during game-week 2. Manchester City squared off against Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad and the game was an entertaining affair with both teams eventually splitting points.
The star of the game was City's Belgian magician, who was in vintage form, as he demonstrated all the qualities that saw him being dubbed the best midfielder in the world, a couple of seasons back.
De Bruyne tormented Spurs' defence throughout the game, with defence-splitting through balls and accurate crosses, owing to his extraordinary vision and passing skills.
The Belgian missed a major chunk of last season but looks reinvigorated for this term and he bagged a couple of assists against Tottenham. The aforementioned tally might have even ensured three points for his side but they were denied a victory courtesy a late VAR call.
