Author: Soorya G
Man City – Nottingham – 2:0
The Premier League returned to action after the first set of European Cup matches, with reigning champions Manchester City extending their unbeaten run to six games by beating Nottingham Forest. Premier League giants Manchester United overcame a strong Burnley side with an uncharacteristic performance. Meanwhile, Luton Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers drew, as did Crystal Palace and Fulham, and Everton picked up a big win over Brentford.
For Manchester City, it was business as usual as they came into the home game on the back of a 3-1 win over
victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
. Pep Guardiola’s side went into full gear, with Phil Foden opening the scoring with a fine finish after receiving a fine assist from Rodri and Kyle Walker. Norwegian centre-forward Erling Haaland doubled the Cityzens’ lead minutes later when new signing Matheus Nines found the big man in space, who headed in powerfully.
In the second half, Rodri was sent off for violent conduct against Morgan Gibbs-White, after the defensive midfielder was seen grabbing the Englishman’s throat. Rodri will have to serve a three-match suspension for his infringement. The intervention of the video assistant referee also agreed with the decision on the pitch, confirming Rodri’s sending off. Haaland could have scored a second goal late on, but he missed the target completely with a weak shot.
Ederson didn’t get into the game very often, but he rose to the occasion at the right times, making three saves. In particular, the Brazilian saved in the 95th minute, parrying Willy Boly’s shot into the left corner of the goal.
Burnley – Manchester United – 0:1
Meanwhile, Manchester United got back to winning ways, although not in the way they would have liked, against an impressive Burnley side, who took control of the match, pushing forward and threatening United’s goal on more than one occasion. In the 17th minute, Amdouni could have given Burnley the lead, but he hit the post.
Playing on the counter-attack, United managed to score a goal through Jonny Evans, which was disallowed for offside (in the 25th minute). From then on, the match became a little more even, with Brazilian maestro Casemiro dictating the pace of the game. Towards the end of the first half, Evans played a beautiful ball through to Fernandes, who finished expertly to give United the decisive lead.
The lively first half was followed by a quieter second period in which both teams had their chances. However, United managed to find a way to survive Burnley’s scare and came away with the three points. Sofyan Amrabat made his first appearance in United colors in the final moments of the game as the team secured what they hope will be the first of a series of victories after a poor start.