The winners and duds after the EPL’s first month
West Ham are flying high, but Chelsea are still floundering despite splashing the cash
Lee U-Wen
FOUR games into the new English Premier League (EPL) season, and already we see a very familiar sight – that of Manchester City, winners of the last three campaigns, sitting pretty at the top of the table.
Down at the bottom, the three promoted teams – Sheffield United, Luton Town and Burnley – occupy 17th, 19th and 20th spots respectively, and it looks to be a long and challenging season ahead for them as they battle to avoid instant relegation.
Ahead of this weekend’s round of fixtures, BT Weekend looks at some of the teams and players who have caught our eye.
Most impressive – West Ham United
Manchester City are the only team with a perfect winning record, and perhaps that is to be expected of Pep Guardiola’s well-oiled machine.
But the club that has exceeded expectations so far is West Ham. After their captain Declan Rice departed in the summer to join London rivals Arsenal, many thought the Hammers would struggle. Instead, the Europa Conference League champions are fourth in the standings with 10 points, with the standout results being a pair of 3-1 wins over Chelsea and Brighton.
New signing James Ward-Prowse has blended in well, and manager David Moyes is easing another newbie, Mohammed Kudus, into the side after the Ghanaian’s £38 million (S$64.6 million) transfer from Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam.
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West Ham host Manchester City on Saturday (10 pm kickoff, Singapore time) in this weekend’s headline fixture.
Biggest flops – Chelsea
This dubious honour doesn’t go to any of the newly promoted teams, given how they were always likely to have a tough time in the top division. Instead, the worst club so far has to be Chelsea, and few would dispute that.
After a lowly 10th-place finish last season, the Blues brought in the experienced Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager and continued to splash the cash on players.
Ecuadorian Moises Caicedo arrived after a British record transfer fee of £115 million, alongside other big names like Senegal international Nicolas Jackson, Frenchmen Axel Disasi and Christopher Nkunku and Spanish goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
But money can’t buy wins, as Pochettino is slowly finding out. Chelsea’s last match, a meek 0-1 loss to Nottingham Forest at home, was so abject that the fans booed their own team out of the stadium after the final whistle.
The Blues will look to get their stuttering season back on track when they visit Bournemouth on Sunday.
Best new signing – James Maddison
The player who’s fast becoming the signing of the summer is Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison, the 26-year-old England midfielder who left Leicester City and is now lighting up the EPL with some brilliant performances for his new team.
Maddison is someone who checks all the boxes. He’s lightning quick, creative, scores goals and provides assists, and brings plenty of energy to the squad.
His return of two goals and two assists in four matches suggests he has what it takes to fit into new manager Ange Postecoglou’s style of play. From what he’s produced on the pitch so far, Maddison’s transfer fee £40 million appears to be an absolute bargain in today’s inflated transfer prices.
Tottenham are flying high in second place, two points behind the leaders Manchester City, and they will want to keep that momentum going with a win at home to Sheffield United on Saturday.
Most exciting game – Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool
Quite how Liverpool ended up winning this match – and with just 10 men on the pitch for more than an hour – is still one of the season’s biggest mysteries.
On Aug 27 at St James’ Park, Newcastle deservedly took the lead in the 25th minute after a neat finish by winger Anthony Gordon. The odds tilted sharply in favour of the Magpies just three minutes later when Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk received a straight red card for a reckless foul on Alexander Isak.
Liverpool had their goalkeeper Alisson to thank as the Brazilian kept his side in the match with a series of fine saves in the second half.
The stage was set for Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez – panned for his limp performances in pre-season – to steal the show with two late goals to gift the Reds all three points. His second goal deep into injury time was a beauty as he latched on to Mohamed Salah’s through pass and lashed the ball past the flailing arms of Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope.
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