Gameweek 2 was everything we thought it would be and more. The Newcastle vs Liverpool game was the perfect note to end a cracking weekend of football. Joelinton tried to murder someone, Gordon got sent off, and Liverpool looked extra shaky for 45 minutes playing against 10 men, it was glorious. But there was drama almost everywhere you looked this week, here are some winners and losers from a great weekend of football.
When Cole Palmer pulled up with an injury during warm up against West Ham, he handed Estêvão the opportunity of a lifetime. A Premier League debut for a promising young winger against struggling opponents. Estêvão, to his credit, took the opportunity with gusto. Nayef Aguerd and Malick Diouf on the left-side of West Ham's defence had a horrible time trying to keep up with the pacy, tricky 18 year old Brazilian. Chelsea fans will be hoping Palmer is back soon, but even if he isn't, I'm sure they wouldn't mind seeing more Estêvão on their screen for a while.
Aston Villa quietly had a stormy summer while everyone was distracted by the transfer sagas surrounding various clubs and players. Missing out on UCL football on the last day of the season has had adverse effects on their ability to compete financially and stay withing PSR guidelines, and it's showing. A lackluster showing against Newcastle on opening day was followed up by a loss to a Brentford team still finding their own footing. Given that their next 10 fixtures include Tottenham, Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Liverpool, and Bournemouth, Emery and Villa might have to brace for an incredibly rocky start to the season.
15 year old Max Dowman for Arsenal. 16 year old Rio Ngumoha for Liverpool. 18 year old Estêvão for Chelsea. 22 year old William Osula for Newcastle. This gameweek saw a couple of youngsters elevate their profile and help their clubs out in different gamestates. It seems pretty obvious to me that these guys are not ready to be stars right now, but just watching them makes you excited about the future of the Premier League. Each of these young men (and many more we aren't covering right now) have an interesting story ahead of them and I can't wait to see it play out.
Unfortunately, Graham Potter finds himself in the losers column for the second week in a row as both his team and his stock as a manager continue to take a beating. The problem with Potter's approach right now is that it doesn't make much sense to anyone. Why is your midfield pairing Ward-Prowse and Soucek against this young, physically able team? Why is the press so disjointed and lethargic? Why does Wan Bissaka still play football for you? David Sullivan was in attendance as Chelsea casually brushed West Ham aside, and even though he'd said before the game that Potter would get enough time to figure things out, no one would fault him for reconsidering after that display.
As one man's coaching reputation takes a tumble, another's rises and rises. Thomas Frank almost began life at Tottenham with a European trophy against PSG, a game in which no one gave them a chance. And they've carried that form into the season, dispatching Burnley with ease on opening day, and beating Manchester City the net week, all while keeping a clean sheet. Tottenham's victory against Man City really comes down to Thomas Frank's coaching acumen, because all the players on that pitch except Palhinha and Kudus were available for Ange last season. However, not once under Ange did they play with the kind of discipline, patience, and brilliant organisation that they had against Manchester City. I really love a manager who can take what seems like a bad group of players and put them in a system that brings out the best in them.
Fulham was a must win game for Manchester United, and given how good they were on opening day against Arsenal, they were expected to run Fulham over. But it was almost the reverse. Fulham generated the better chances, played the better football, and arguably should have been the ones walking away with a win. It is now 28 points from 29 games for Ruben Amorim in his Manchester United tenure. If performances like this one continue, it is safe to say that United will struggle again this season. At least last season you could look at Tottenham truggling as well and think, "well, United aren't the only big club going through it right now." But Tottenham have come flying out of the blocks this season and United are the only strugglers left. Will they figure things out in time to avoid another catastrophe? We'll see.
I'm committed to keeping this segment down to six entrants. Three winners and three losers. That means that we won't be able to capture the breadth of what's happened in any gameweek. It also means that we will disagree about who should be on the list and who should not be on it every other gameweek. But, this week I wanted to give a honourable mention to Jack Grealish. There must be people who thought he was no longer a fantastic player because of his time at City. Thankfully he has set about proving them all wrong by providing two assists in his first full Everton debut. He's definitely a winner this week.
gameweek 2 had everything. drama, bad blood, a red card, unexpected victories, some incredible goals, brilliant defending, youngsters scoring, heavy defeats and commanding victories. everything. as usual we look back on the gameweek and select three winners and three losers from all the action. today's edition includes a honourable to mention to a disliked winger who quietly had a great game. read to find out who it is. https://paragraph.com/@thefalsenine/epl-gw2-winners-and-losers
Love these small recaps of the game week. Especially as I can’t watch all the games 🤩