EPL Weekly Wrap | All the Premier League Headlines - Gameweek 2

I didn’t expect Gameweek 2 to be this chaotic. Chelsea and Brighton produced one of the craziest Premier League matches in recent memory, Bruno Fernandes reminded everyone why he was last season’s PFA Player of the Year, and Tottenham have now played 180 minutes of football without scoring. If you missed any of the Premier League news from this past week, I’ve got you covered. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest Gameweek 2 talking points.

Chelsea beat Brighton 4-3 at Stamford Bridge on Monday morning NZT in a game that should’ve been over by half-time. 

Chelsea raced into a 3-0 lead inside 32 minutes despite having just 25% of possession. Romeo Lavia scored inside four minutes before Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro extended the advantage. Brighton clawed it back to 3-2 through Malick Yalcouye and a Joao Pedro own goal, but Cole Palmer’s left-footed strike in the 74th minute restored order. Pascal Gross headed in a sixth-minute stoppage-time consolation. I reckon Brighton will regret giving Chelsea that much space in transition.

Alonso now has two wins from two as Chelsea manager, and I’m curious how far this counter-attacking approach can go against better opposition. Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge next weekend.

Manchester City are top after thumping Crystal Palace 4-1 on Saturday morning NZT. Erling Haaland’s looping 17th-minute header was City’s 2,000th Premier League goal. Rayan Cherki added a quickfire double after the break, the first a superb solo effort that cut through Palace’s defence. His second was a deflected strike from just outside the box. Haaland grabbed a late fourth. Crystal Palace are still searching for their first point under Pierre Sage.

Over at Old Trafford, Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick as Manchester United rallied to beat Ipswich Town 5-2. Leif Davis gave Ipswich an early lead, and Chuba Akpom added a stoppage-time second, but Fernandes drilled home an equaliser after Matheus Cunha teed him up, before adding a penalty and a third in the second half. A Jacob Greaves own goal and Bryan Mbeumo completed the rout. I wouldn’t read too much into a 5-2 win over a promoted side, though. 

United looked shaky before Ipswich tired, and there are tougher fixtures ahead. An away trip to Everton next weekend will be a better test.

Liverpool have drawn both their opening games. At Anfield on Saturday night NZT, Nottingham Forest twice took the lead through Dan Ndoye and a Morgan Gibbs-White penalty before Alexander Isak and Victor Munoz replied. Forest had the better chances across the 90 minutes, finishing with a higher xG of 2.30 to Liverpool’s 1.61. For anyone following football betting markets closely, Liverpool are already looking difficult to trust at home.

I expected more from Liverpool given the talent across their squad. Florian Wirtz assisted Munoz’s late equaliser, but it was a rescue act rather than a controlled performance. Forest were actually going for a third consecutive league win at Anfield, and based on this performance, you could see why.

Hull City are the story of the promoted clubs so far. After beating Manchester United 2-0 in their opener, they followed it up with a 1-0 win at Coventry and go second on six points alongside City and Chelsea. It’s early, obviously, but I haven’t seen a newly promoted team start this well in years.

Elsewhere, Sunderland ground out a 1-0 home win over Fulham to move to three points. Everton rescued a late draw at Bournemouth through a James Tarkowski stoppage-time finish and move to four points.

Tottenham are bottom of the Premier League. 

After a 3-0 defeat at Brentford to open the season, they lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle on Sunday morning NZT. Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa scored in a 10-minute second-half burst, and Tottenham could not manage a single response. Five goals conceded, none scored. That’s now the third time in their history they’ve opened a league campaign with back-to-back defeats without finding the net.

I’m not sure what Roberto De Zerbi does from here. 

Eight new signings arrived this summer and Sandro Tonali cost Tottenham £100m from Newcastle, but he was the one who switched off for Elanga’s opener against his former club. Omar Marmoush, on loan from Manchester City, went close but couldn’t convert. Tottenham had 58% of possession and nine corners but generated almost nothing from either.

Crystal Palace and Coventry are the other sides without a point so far, but neither was expected to contend. For NZ punters checking the best betting apps for early-season markets, Tottenham at 20th is already the strangest story of the campaign.

Aston Villa and Arsenal close out Gameweek 2 at 7:00am NZST on Tuesday when they meet at Villa Park. For fans tracking the Premier League on live betting sites, it’s the final fixture of a wild round.