Author: Amrit Santlani
Two goals from Heung-min Son salvage a point for Spurs
Arsenal – Tottenham – 2:2
The 194th north London derby got off to a promising start for the hosts when Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus’ shot from a narrow angle was saved by Guglielmo Vicario. The Italian denied Eddie Nketia again, but could do nothing when Bukayo Saka shot with his left foot and the ball deflected off Romero to give Arsenal the lead. Jesus picked the ball out of James Maddison’s pocket, but couldn’t make it 2-0, before David Raya denied Brennan Johnson twice with point-blank shots.
Maddison helped Spurs draw level when he beat Saka, beat him on the by-line and cut back for Son to make it 1-1. Arsenal appealed for a handball on Cristian Romero at a corner, after Ben White’s shot on goal was blocked. VAR duly obliged and awarded the hosts a penalty, which Saka slotted home to make it 2-1. The lead only lasted 60 seconds, however, as Son finished off a quick Spurs counter-attack to level the scores once again.
Brazilian defender Gabriel lost some of his aerial duels, but put in a good performance as he played the whole game, while his countryman Jesus missed a good chance, but did all the defensive work before being replaced in the 77th minute by Reiss Nelson. Richarlison came on in the 77th minute, but failed to make any significant contribution.
Salah leads Liverpool to victory over West Ham
Liverpool – West Ham – 3:1
Mohamed Salah was the center of attention in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over West Ham. Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson denied Tomáš Souček early on, before Salah conceded a penalty and took it to give his side a 1-0 lead. The Egyptian’s goal was cancelled out by a header from Jarrod Bowen and the score was 1-1 at half-time.
Darwin Nunez missed a great chance created by Salah before the striker buried a long ball from Alexis Mac Allister to put Liverpool ahead. Diogo Jota scored the third goal from close range after Virgil Van Djik had scored the winner and Jurgen Klopp’s side continued their promising start to the season.
Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson didn’t have much to do, but he was excellent whenever called upon. He played the whole match, while his countryman Lucas Pacqueta couldn’t offer much and had a poor performance before being substituted in the 87th minute.
Chelsea continue to sink under Mauricio Pochettino
Chelsea – Aston Villa – 0:1
In 14th place with just one win in six games, Chelsea have had a difficult start to the season, which continued with a 0-1 home defeat to Aston Villa. Malo Gusto was shown the red card just before the hour mark, while Ollie Watkins sealed the three points for the visitors with a fine goal from a narrow angle.
Chelsea had to thank Robert Sanchez, who made many world-class saves, Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling, all of whom were denied by another masterclass from Dibu Martinez. Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva was reliable until his mistake allowed Villa to take the lead, but he played the whole match. His fellow countryman Douglas Luiz was supreme in the midfield battle and his team’s best player.