Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend
SillySeason mulls over the main talking points from the latest round of matches in the Premier League.
Chelsea bounced back from defeat against Everton last week with a 2-0 win against London rivals Arsenal whilst West Ham further cemented their claim as giant killers with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad during yesterday’s action.
Today, Tottenham entertained Crystal Palace in the early kick-off, whilst Norwich and Manchester United travelled to Liverpool and Southampton respectively.
Below are five of SillySeason’s highlights from the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
5) Sunderland and Newcastle yet to win
The two North-East clubs are still in search of their first victories this season as Newcastle were beaten 2-1 at home to Watford whilst Sunderland supporters made the 700 mile round trip to Bournemouth and were treated to a 2-0 defeat.
Much has been made of the Black Cats defence this season, and Younès Kaboul’s sending off only compounded their woes – the Frenchman has been dismissed a total of six times in the Premier League.
The absence of John O’Shea through illness forced Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat to pair Kaboul and Sebastian Coates in the heart of defence.
They last played together during Sunderland’s opening two matches and conceded seven goals in the process.
Going forward, they didn’t test Arthur Boruc once after the 40th minute and subsequently prop up the Premier League table with two points.
Also on two points are Steve McClaren’s Newcastle who lacked the cutting edge to carve Watford open at St James’ Park.
The former England manager admitted before the game that the task of rebuilding the club after narrowly avoiding relegation last season was “a little bit like a car crash”.
Their attempts to break the Hornets down proved fruitless in the first-half and the withdrawal of Papiss Cisse at half-time left them fresh out of ideas going forward.
Defender Daryl Janmaat’s goal temporarily boosted the Mapgies, but the it was largely a stroll in the park for the Watford defence.
The thought of relegation for either side is unimaginable and it must surely be just a matter of time before one manager is shown the door.
