Man City blink first as Ki-Jana Hoever debuts in topsy-turvy Premier League weekend

September 30, 2020
Joanna Durkan

While Liverpool joined two other teams with a 100 percent record, Man City were the first to blink in 2020/21 in yet another topsy-turvy week of Premier League action.

Jurgen Klopp’s side closed out the latest round of fixtures with a dominant display over Arsenal to send out another statement of intent.

The goals were shared around as Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and Diogo Jota all got in on the action to see Liverpool maintain their winning start to the season, joining Leicester and Everton.

The former were the orchestrators of Man City’s stumble having emphatically slotted five goals at the Etihad, and it was the first time in Pep Guardiola’s managerial career that a side of his shipped five in a single game.

A rash defensive performance saw Liverpool’s title challengers concede three penalties in a game where Jamie Vardy collected a hat-trick.

It was only the second league outing of City’s season having had a delayed start but an early misstep can only be seen as a positive for those on the red half of Merseyside.

On the blue half, meanwhile, the Toffees continued to build momentum after seeing off Crystal Palace, a result which meant they opened the campaign with three wins for the first time since 1993/94.

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The game was the first over the weekend to see the handball law hit the headlines after VAR was consulted to award Everton a late penalty, which was then followed up at Tottenham.

Spurs had led Newcastle for the majority of the clash only for Eric Dier to have been deemed guilty of handball at the death, which saw Callum Wilson rescue a point from the spot.

Both events have led to widespread debates over the interpretation of the law and how it is ‘ruining’ the game for many, with defenders put into an all but impossible position to avoid such decisions.

On the south coast, the meeting between Man United and Brighton presented another talking point after a penalty was awarded after the full-time whistle had blown to see the former steal all three points at the death and condemn the impressive Seagulls to defeat.

Not to be outdone in the headline department, Chelsea went three goals behind at West Brom after a series of defensive errors before hitting three of their own in the second half to rescue a point – being coined title challengers may have been a bit premature.

Elsewhere, Ki-Jana Hoever made his Wolves debut off the bench in a defeat to West Ham, Danny Ings continued his rich vein of form to see Southampton overcome Burnley, Leeds kept Sheffield United both pointless and goalless and our next league opponents in Aston Villa clinched another confidence-boosting win having hit three beyond Fulham.

At the end of matchday three, three teams remain pointless (Burnley, Sheffield United, Fulham), three have a full complement of points (Leicester, Liverpool, Everton), and a total of 20 penalties have been awarded.