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The curtains closed on the third week of the Premier League, with the football fraternity treated to top-class action snowballed with goals, spectacular saves, crucial results and an awful lot of stories. From Jose Mourinho's catastrophes on and off the field, Watford's dream start and Emery's first win to Chelsea's dominant performance and Wolves' character, the nerve-wracking league didn't fail to impress.
The feature game of the weekend, Manchester United vs. Spurs, ended in a massive 3-0 victory for the North London club, who put forth a huge statement of intent to the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
The Hornets, Reds and Blues continued their 100% winning start by beating Crystal Palace, Brighton and Newcastle respectively, whereas Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by the optimistic Wolverhampton Wanderers.
While the Gunners registered their first points in the Unai Emery era, Bournemouth came back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against Everton. Elsewhere, Leicester City made it two out of two when they beat the Saints. Craven Cottage erupted when Fulham put four past a struggling Burnley side.
Here, we list out players who under-performed and contributed to their respective teams' problems over the weekend. Here are the 5 worst performing players from the third round of fixtures.
#5 Vincent Kompany
Vincent Kompany put on a horror show at the back. Starting with his display with the ball at his feet, the former Belgium skipper looked rather nervous playing out from the back. He often lost possession in dangerous areas, which led to new Wolves attacks.
His poor positioning also brought about a sense of confusion with his partner Laporte, who couldn't sort himself out at the back. Kompany also failed to clear his lines on certain occasions. Aerially too, he was uncharacteristically beaten by Raul Jimenez and the opposition center-backs.
It seems as though Guardiola will consider giving the nod to Stones next weekend after the 32-year-old's failure against newly promoted Wolves.
#4 Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere sucked the pace out of proceedings against his former side when they met on Saturday. Whenever the midfielder picked up the ball in the middle of the park, he slowed down the tempo of the game and took a couple of seconds extra to pick his pass.
While his passes were too safe and conservative on one side, he lost the ball way too many times on other occasions. He could have released Felipe Anderson for an almost certain West Ham goal, but he messed it up.
Defensively too, Wilshere was awful. He laid down a clumsy challenge on Guendouzi, which could have been worse. He was caught out many a time and struggled to keep up with the pace and precision of the Arsenal midfield.
#3 David Luiz
Chelsea were made to work hard against a well-drilled Newcastle side, who defended with ten men at the back. After a long wait of 76 minutes, Eden Hazard converted a spot-kick to give his side the lead.
David Luiz's horrendous mistake then put Newcastle back on level terms with the Blues. Yedlin had apparently elbowed Giroud before crossing the ball to Joselu, but instead of playing for the referee's whistle, the entire Chelsea defence switched off.
Despite being in the middle of the six-yard box, Joselu attacked the cross all the way to the near post area and beat Luiz to score the header. The Brazilian stood still and ball-watched carelessly.
Had the visitors not scored again, it would have been one of the toughest days in the office for Maurizio Sarri - primarily due to David Luiz's error.
#2 Richarlison
Richarlison, who is proving to be a poster boy at Goodison Park, saw himself dismissed before half-time due to a needless challenge on Smith. He pushed his head towards Bournemouth's right back and gave the referee no option but to brandish a red.
Having come into this fixture in prime form, the Brazilian occupied the left flank but provided no creativity to his side's game. Neither did he drift away to make something happen, nor did he express himself by running at the Cherries' back line.
Apart from one real chance where he tried to cut through Bournemouth's defence, Richarlison was a passenger. Due to his immaturity and recklessness, the Toffees were down to ten men even before half-time.
#1 Romelu Lukaku
Once again, Romelu Lukaku struggled to inspire his side against a top-six opponent. Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Paul Pogba and Fred all let their manager and Manchester United down, but Lukaku's contribution or lack thereof was probably the main reason for United's defeat.
Almost invisible on the pitch, Lukaku struggled to hold the ball up or buy time for his midfielders even for a few seconds. Secondly, Spurs' center-backs snatched the ball off him and out-muscled him with ease.
The striker also offered no movement in attack. It almost seemed like there was no hunger from his side. When he finally did have a chance to score, the Belgian missed an open goal.
Had he involved himself more, shown more desire and finished off his chances, Mourinho's side could have found a way back in the game.
