More referee controversy, a late free kick goal to secure an important win for the champions, some surprising results for a manager under fire, and another loss for one time treble winners. So much happened this gameweek, so without any further ado, here are the winners and losers of gameweek 3.
Graham Potter is the only name that has consistently appeared in every edition of Winners And Losers so far. It would have been incredibly catastrophic if he found a way to appear in the Losers three times in a row, but somehow the West Ham manager has managed to pull off a desperately needed win. Everything went right for the Hammers against a Nottingham Forest side that has begun the season in impressive fashion. They scored three goals, kept a clean sheet, and Lucas Paqueta kissed the badge in front of the world to shut down all the rumours of a late exit from the club. I don't think there is a more relieved manager than Graham Potter heading into the international break.
Look, after losing to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, the last thing the fans of any serious club want to do is watch their team struggle to beat newly promoted Burnley, narrowly getting the job done via a 97th minute penalty. The first three points of the season are now on the board, yes. But the nature of the win suggests that the old problems are still there, nothing has really changed, and United might be in for a long struggle this season with Amorim at the helm if nothing changes. Also, we'd love to know why Benjamin Sesko isn't starting games yet. But maybe that's a conversation for another essay?
When you lose your best player after the season has already begun, all eyes immediately turn to your next game and naturally so too. Everyone wants to know if the team is going to suffer from the loss and if it will change the approach to the rest of the season. While the rest of us were pondering all these questions, Oliver Glasner and his boys kept their heads down, and on Sunday they put three past Aston Villa easily and called it a day. Now that's how you calm the nerves of fans who are worried about a fall off. Fans of the Eagles will be delighted by the performance, the message is loud and clear: Eberechi Eze might be gone but it's business as usual at Selhurst Park.
Unfortunately, the referees took center stage again this weekend. Cancelling Fulham's first goal for what was at best an inadvertent foul in the buildup was bad enough. But, what really had everyone fuming was when Rob Jones described the foul as a "careless challenge." With all due respect there's no universe in which a player spinning away with the ball at his feet and landing on a player who's not even in his line of vision is a reckless challenge. Football is still a contact sport.
More bad decisions followed, most notably in the Tottenham vs Bournemouth game, but Rob Jones made the worst mistake of the lot and Marco Silva was absolutely right to be fuming throughout the game. EPL referees do need to fix up because their reputation is at an all time low now.
Four assists in his last two starts for the Toffees will lead to scenes like this one.
You can't help but feel happy for Jack no matter your allegiance. He's playing regularly again, enjoying his football, and being productive again. His time at Manchester City seemed to offer him success at the expense of his soul at times. It's good to have that soul back.
Manchester City are, quite literally, losers for the second week in a row. Beaten quite comprehensively by Tottenham two gameweeks ago, they fell to Brighton last weekend in a 2-1 loss at the Amex. I think everyone expected City to struggle a bit this season as they continue to transition in the absence of key players like Rodri, the decline of others like Ederson, and the departure of some like Kevin De Bruyne. But certainly two defeats in a row not really raising eyebrows is not usual for Manchester City. It seems like the footballing world has just acclimated to their current mediocrity. Certainly not a good sign for the future of the club. We did get this rant from Pep about changing his principles out of the game so maybe it was all worth it.
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grealish at the double, referees take center stage again, the woes continue for pep guardiola at the etihad. all the winners and losers from gameweek 3 of the english premier league before we head into the first international break of the season!
cc: @kmacb.eth who was looking forward to this episode.