Premier League Matchday 2: Leeds off the mark and Everton leads the pack
After two weeks of playing and already a quarter way through Matchday 2 in the Premier League, the other Merseyside outfit sits at the summit of the table.
Everton and Arsenal are off to a flying start in their Premier League campaigns with the pair sitting in first and second, respectively, after two straight victories. The difference between the two? A single goal.
The day started on a thrilling note with Leeds involved in the highest-scoring game once again, sharing the honours this time with Everton and West Brom, who were the other 7-goal entertainer. Fulham displayed the properties of a team seeking instant relegation from the Top Flight.
With them, getting comfortable in the other relegation slot is West Brom. They’ve been both unlucky and poor in their opening two fixtures.
After 24 matches played, there still hasn’t been a match where two teams have shared the points, and we don’t look like we will get any soon. Only four games contested but there were a plethora of goals spread across all four encounters.
Premier League matchday 2 fixtures
Everton 5-2 West Brom
Leeds United 4-3 Fulham
Manchester United 1-3 Crystal Palace
Arsenal 2-1 West Ham
No game saw a clean sheet while Crystal Palace, so far, has pulled off the result of the weekend. Since Project Restart last season, United only lost in their cup fixtures, being named one of the best teams post-pandemic while enjoying an unbeaten run.
Roy and his captain handed the Manchester club their first EPL loss post-pandemic thanks to a Zaha brace. The London derby where North entertained East failed at disappointing. Late drama in both halves kept us all on the edge of our seats, waiting to see if this will be the one where Mikel Arteta stumbles in his progress.
Here are the best facts from Saturday’s Premier League Matchday 2 clashes;
Saturday’s best bit
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- Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his first EPL hat-trick for the Toffees, finding life under Carlo Carlo Ancelotti pretty rewarding
- DCL’s treble of goals was the first Everton hat-trick since Wayne Rooney’s against West Ham back in 2017
- After Saturday’s fixtures, all of Fulham, West Ham, and West Brom have lost their opening two fixtures, conceding a combined total of 14 goals while they only managed to have a collective total of six goals over two matchdays
- Crystal Palace made history against United when they beat them 3-1 at Old Trafford. They won their first-ever game at Old Trafford
- Adding to the remarkable victory, they have never won both opening games an EPL season. They’ve now collected six points from the six available. They’ve conceded the least number of goals (two goals conceded) over the two-game stretch
- Leeds signalled their first three Premier League points since 2014. It took them 180 minutes of top-flight football to achieve this feat.
- Adding to this, the Elland Road side has now been involved in 14 goals, seven conceded and seven scored. Scoring seven in total sounds normal but conceding four and three, not their usual best. They were the best defensive side in the Championship last season
- The most amazing stat coming from Elland Road, Marcelo Bielsa has now won a match in 10 different major competitions that include the World Cup, Olympics, Europa League, La Liga, and others. It is only the Champions League still to be accomplished.
- The only good thing United can take from their dismal performance, Donny van de Beek scored on his English top flight debut for the Manchester club
Super Sunday’s fixtures
Southampton vs. Tottenham
Newcastle vs. Brighton
Chelsea vs. Liverpool
Leicester City vs. Burnley
Best Performers
Crystal Palace and Everton were the best performing teams on Saturday, with Crystal Palace taking the most shocking and best result. Everton’s two goals conceded puts them behind the Eagles. If they’d put in a clean sheet showing, we would be jotting down a different write-up altogether.
Best individual performances
Calvert-Lewin was the best player on the day while Palace’s Wilfried Zaha comes in at second. The former is just taking advantage of better quality in the side while the latter’s brace helped secure their second three points of the season and did it after being handed the captain’s armband for the first time.
Up next… Sunday’s supplement! We all know what one we waiting for, Liverpool’s trip to Stamford Bridge where they will challenge Chelsea in what is looking a more heated affair after their last meeting at Anfield Stadium.
The busiest team in the transfer market who has spent the most money takes on the Premier League champions.