Before a short international break and some European Championship qualifying matches all 20 teams took to the field for an exciting weekend of soccer.
If this weekend is anything to go by (43 yellows, 3 reds) I think we should be calling it the League of Cards rather than the Premier League. Either way we were treated to a very entertaining North London Derby and witnessed 31 goals.
Saturday
Southampton v Manchester United
1-1
Jannik Vestergaard scored his first goal in English football to deny Manchester United the three points, and earn 10-man Southampton a draw.
The Danish centre-back rose above Victor Lindelof to head the hosts level in the second half, moments after David de Gea had made a save on Danny Ings.
Daniel James had given the Red Devils an early lead with an arrowed finish into the top corner for his third league goal in four appearances. The 21-year-old Welshman was the biggest threat for Ole Gunnar Solskjær‘s side.
Saints defender Kevin Danso was shown a second yellow for a crude second half challenge on Scott McTominay, just minutes after assisting Vestergaard‘s goal. Luckily for him his teammates held on for the point.
Home keeper Angus Gunn made a string of superb saves to keep his side in the affair. United came close with Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, whilst Jesse Lingaard and Ashley Young‘s efforts were just off target.
The draw leaves the Manchester club with just their opening day victory over Chelsea as their only win in four league games – a draw here, one at Wolves and the home loss to Crystal Palace.
Up Next:
Sheffield v Southampton – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Man United v Leicester – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Chelsea v Sheffield United
2-2
Newly promoted Sheffield United battled back from two goals down to steal a point after Kurt Zouma‘s late own goal at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were 2-0 up at half time after Tammy Abraham struck twice for his third and fourth goals of the season.
The visitors pulled a goal back just after the break when Callum Robinson, who had missed from close range earlier in the game, scored his first since joining the Blades in the summer.
They pulled level in the 89th minute when Robinson‘s cross towards Lys Mousset was diverted into his own net by Zouma, leaving Frank Lampard still searching for a first home win since becoming Chelsea manager.
Chelsea struggled to threaten in the second half, with Sheffield keeper Dean Henderson making a brilliant save to deny Abraham a hat-trick.
The result puts the visitors into tenth, one place above their hosts.
Up Next:
Sheffield v Southampton – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Wolves v Chelsea – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
1-0
Jordan Ayew‘s instinctive finish helped the hosts secure back-to-back Premier League wins with a narrow victory over 10-man Aston Villa.
Midfielder Trézéguet was sent off for a second bookable offense – a late challenge on Wilfried Zaha, leaving Villa to fend off a string of attacks for 36 minutes. Referee Kevin Friend had dished out a total of seven bookings by the end of the meeting.
As if the visitors’ afternoon wasn’t already bad enough, they were left incensed by a late disallowed goal for Henri Lansbury in the sixth added minute. Friend had already blown the whilst in order to book Jack Grealish for simulation in the build-up.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker tweeted, “The disallowed goal for @AVFCOfficial in the last minute has to be seen to be believed. Why VAR didn’t correct what appeared to be an awful refereeing error is beyond me.”
That “awful referring error” saved Roy Hodgson‘s side from ending a game which they had dominated in embarrassment, with the Eagles having 22 shots on Tom Heaton‘s goal.
Cheikhou Kouyate was among the most wasteful for the home side, with just one of six shots being on target. Captain Luka Milivojevic also came close, seeing his effort from distance pushed away right after the dismissal of Trézéguet, and it was yet another frustrating match day for Zaha, who has scored just once in his last 17 home league appearances.
Up Next:
Spurs v Palace – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Villa v West Ham – Monday, September 16 (3pm)
Leicester City v AFC Bournemouth
3-1
Jamie Vardy scored twice and assisted the third as an impressive Leicester maintained their unbeaten Premier League start by easing past their south coast opponents.
Brendan Rodgers‘ side have won two, drawn two of their opening games, showcasing their early ambitions of a repeat of their title winning 2015/16 season.
Vardy opened the scoring with a stunning, lobbed shot. Adding his second by slotting home from close range. The Englishman’s hard work for Youri Tieleman‘s goal epitomized his display – rolling the ball across the six-yard box for the Belgian to tuck home from a yard out.
The Cherries were lackluster at best with Callum Wilson‘s equalizer their only real chance of note.
In this early stage of the season the Foxes look well set in third position, whilst Bournemouth drop to 15th.
Up Next:
Man United v Leicester – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Bournemouth v Everton – Sunday, September 15 (9am)
Manchester City v Brighton & Hove Albion
4-0
Manchester City cruised to victory over Brighton as Sergio Aguero netted twice to continue his record of scoring in all four league games this season.
Kevin de Bruyne set the reigning champions on course when he poked home David Silva‘s low cross after just 68 seconds.
Aguero then finished off a free-flowing move to double the hosts’ lead before producing a stunning curling effort from the edge of the box just after the break.
Bernardo Silva came off the bench for D. Silva and completed the scoring with just his second touch.
It wasn’t all good news for the home team, they lost Frenchman Aymeric Laporte to injury, having to be carried off on a stretch after a collision with Adam Webster before being taken to the hospital.
Up Next:
Norwich v Man City – Saturday, September 14 (12:30pm)
Brighton v Burnley – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Newcastle United v Watford
1-1
Will Hughes‘ early goal helped Watford secure their first point of the season with a hard fought draw at St James’ Park.
The Hornets, who remain bottom of the table, put in a spirited performance to end a run of three consecutive league defeats this campaign.
In a game of few clear-cut opportunities, Hughes steered the opening goal into the bottom left corner from 10 yards after just 78 seconds, following a deflected Tom Cleverley shot.
Magpies defender Fabian Schar equalized four minutes before half time, guiding a 10-yard shot past Ben Foster.
The point sees Steve Bruce‘s Newcastle move up to 14th heading into the international break.
Up Next:
Liverpool v Newcastle – Saturday, September 14 (7:30am)
Watford v Arsenal – Sunday, September 15 (11:30am)
West Ham United v Norwich City
2-0
Sebastian Haller scored his third goal in two games for the Hammers as they beat Norwich City 2-0 at London Stadium.
The Frenchman gave the hosts the lead with a simple finish from close range, before Andriy Yarmolenko doubled their advantage with a left footed volley.
The Canaries were close to scoring when Todd Cantwell struck the crossbar from close range, but the flag was raised for offside.
Cantwell came close to scoring once again after Max Aarons put a fine run into the box, beating several West Ham markers, delivered a chip ball to Cantwell, only for the midfielder to head over the bar from close range.
The visitors’ afternoon was made harder when captain Christoph Zimmermann was forced off through injury following a tackle from Haller.
The hosts’ victory sees them sit seventh, whilst Norwich, who have now conceded more goals (10) than anyone else in the league this season, suffered their third defeat in four league games leaving them two points off bottom spot.
Up Next:
Villa v West Ham – Monday, September 16 (3pm)
Norwich v Man City – Saturday, September 14 (12:30pm)
Burnley v Liverpool
0-3
Goals by Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, accompanied by an own goal helped Liverpool see off Burnley at Turf Moor and maintain their 100% start to the Premier League campaign.
The hosts had fought toe-to-toe with the Champions League champions until the 33rd minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s seemly intended cross to the back post brushed off Chris Wood and sailed over the head of stranded goalie Nick Pope.
There were few chances after the break, but the Reds converted with Firmino firing one in from the edge of the box after being teed up by Mohamed Salah.
The Clarets, who have won just two of their last 17 games against Liverpool in all competitions drop to 12th, whilst the Reds go into the international break with as many points and in the same position as this time last season.
Up Next:
Brighton v Burnley – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Liverpool v Newcastle – Saturday, September 14 (7:30am)
Sunday
Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers
3-2
Home striker Richarlison was described by manager Marco Silva as “the spirit inside our dressing room” after the Brazilian scored twice, helping to seal a 3-2 victory over Wolves in an entertaining game at Goodison Park, which saw three goals in 11 minutes.
The Brazilian scored either side of Alex Iwobi to give the Toffees a hard-fought three points. He opened the scoring in the fifth minute, converting from 16 yards after a defensive miscommunication between Conor Coady and goalie Rui Patricio.
Romain Saiss pulled one back for the visitor from close range, but Iowbi converted Gylfi Sigurdsson‘s cross to restore the Toffee’s lead all before 12 minutes had passed.
Wolves thought they’d done enough to earn a point when Raul Jimenez headed home in the 78th minute, only for the Man of the Match to show his aerial prowess two minutes later giving Everton all three points.
Willy Body capped a disappointing day for the visitors by getting sent off in the closing stages for a second bookable offense, a foul on Richarlison.
With only four league games played Everton are an impressive sixth in the league, whilst Wolves remain 17th without a win this Premier League campaign.
Up Next:
Bournemouth v Everton – Sunday, September 15 (9am)
Wolves v Chelsea – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur
2-2
The Gunners staged a stirring comeback to earn a point in a chaotic, thrilling North London derby against Tottenham.
Spurs looked to be in complete control when Christian Eriksen put them in the lead after Bernd Leno pushed out Erik Lamela‘s shot.
The home goalie then produced a fine save from Son Heung-min before the South Korean was hacked down in the area by Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka, allowing Harry Kane to score from the spot with his 10th goal in 11 derby games.
The hosts’ revival started with Alexandre Lacazette pulling one back on the stroke of half time before Arsenal hammered their visitors’ goal after the break.
Hugo Lloris saved wonderfully from Matteo Guenzdoi‘s low shot and then again from Dani Ceballos before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang turned in an equalizer with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Kane struck the inside of the post and Arsenal’s Sokratis had a goal ruled out for offside. Neither side could find a breakthrough for the remainder of the entertaining encounter, with the game ending in equal honors.
The result sees Arsenal move in to fifth with seven points from four games, whilst Spurs head in to the international break four places behind their rivals in ninth with five points.
Up Next:
Spurs v Palace – Saturday, September 14 (10am)
Watford v Arsenal – Sunday, September 15 (11:30am)
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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