English Premier League: Table Starting to Take Shape With Wins for Chelsea and Man Utd

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Five games into the English Premier League season and we are starting to see a rudimentary table taking shape. Chelsea lead the pack with Manchester United close behind, and newly-promoted Reading prop up the pile with 17^th place side just one place above. However the rest of the table makes for somewhat unfamiliar reading. Liverpool surprisingly find themselves languishing in 18^th place, while high-flyers Everton and West Brom make up the rest of the top four. Of course, there is plenty of time for such teams to rise or fall in the standings, but it is testament to some unexpected early-season results.
It was the Toffees who kicked the weekend off as they comprehensively defeated Swansea City 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium. Swansea have started the season well under new boss Michael Laudrup, but were ultimately outclassed by the visitors in a particularly exciting game. The task was made easier by Nathan Dyer’s second-half dismissal, but by that time his team were already 2-0 down after earlier goals from Victor Anichebe and Kevin Mirallas. Marouane Fellaini rounded off the win with a deserved goal, and based on this showing, Everton could well make a serious push for European football this season.

There were five other games contested on Saturday. Southampton earned their first points of the season, with Rickie Lambert scoring a brace in a dominant 4-1 home victory over Aston Villa. The Englishman’s second from the spot takes his perfect record to 26 goals from 26 penalty kicks; a truly commendable feat.
West Brom managed a 1-0 win over Reading courtesy of a Romelo Lukaku strike on what was the Belgian’s full home debut for the Baggies. Manager Steve Clarke maintains that staying in the Premier League is still his side’s main prerogative, though their form in the opening few games would suggest the west-midlanders could possibly afford to raise their aspirations.
Elsewhere, Wigan slipped to a 2-1 loss at home to Fulham. Hugo Rodallega and Damien Duff notched in each half before Arouna Kone’s consolation strike in the final minute, as the Cottagers finished the weekend in 6^th place. Sunderland maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign, but may be disappointed to have conceded a 90^th minute equalizer against West Ham, Kevin Nolan cancelling out Steven Fletcher’s fourth goal in three games.
The Saturday evening game saw Chelsea entertain Stoke City. Stoke’s woeful record at Stamford Bridge continued, though it was a more stubborn display than in previous years as the Blues stumbled to a 1-0 victory. Ashley Cole scored an 85^th minute winner but it was other developments that generated much debate. Stoke boss Tony Pulis was left outraged at David Luiz’s reckless lunge on Jonathan Walters, while he was also heavily critical of Chelsea’s alleged simulation throughout the contest (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19689117).

David Luiz tackles Jonathan Walters (Image via ESPN.co.uk)

Given that Saturday’s match program somewhat depleted, we saw four big games saved for Sunday afternoon. First, Liverpool hosted old rivals Manchester United. The match itself was particularly poor, as United scraped an undeserving 2-1 win. But the encounter will be remembered for more positive reasons, as Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez put the past behind them and shook hands before the game. Further respect was shown by both sets of fans, as the pre-match tribute to the 96 who died at Hillsborough in 1989 was immaculately observed. A refreshing instance of off-the-field events overshadowing those on the field for all the right reasons.
Newcastle were also in action, looking to push on after an indifferent start to the season. Demba Ba was restored to the starting line up after his midweek rant (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/sep/18/demba-ba-newcastle-united?newsfeed=true) and typically scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Norwich.
Another team yet to truly get into their stride this year are Tottenham. They also won by a single goal, coming from behind to defeat London neighbors QPR 2-1 and gather some much needed momentum. Jermain Defoe scored a minute after an Alejandro Faurlin own goal had nullified Bobby Zamora’s 33^rd minute opener. Spurs and Newcastle now find themselves in 8^th and 10^th place respectively, each on eight points.
Wrapping up the weekend’s action was Manchester City’s home clash with Arsenal. The Citizens opened the scoring through Joleon Lescott in the first half before Laurent Koscielny smashed home late on to secure a deserved point for the Gunners. The result spoke volumes of the improvements that Arsenal have made since last season, and they now look like real title contenders. The same can indeed be said of Manchester City, as they will no doubt be in the higher echelons of the table come the end of the season. But dropping points at home will surely be a dent to their aspirations nonetheless.