Talking points from Premier League Gameweek 4

Another exciting round of Premier League matches concluded with Monday night’s enthralling 2-2 draw between Swansea and Liverpool. Whilst Manchester United and Arsenal won convincingly against Crystal Palace and Sunderland, Manchester City stumbled to a dour 0-0 draw against Stoke. Chelsea on the other hand, narrowly lost 1-0 to Everton as they were unable to make the most of their chances. So, let us look at the five major talking points from the weekend’s Premier League games.

Jonjo Shelvey has a game he will not forget anytime soon

Jonjo Shelvey

Few footballers will have the sort of game Jonjo Shelvey had on Monday night against his former club as he had a hand in all four goals in the 2-2 draw.

After the game, Shelvey apologized and admitted that ‘I feel I’ve given Liverpool a draw really‘ and few would disagree with him on that. But few would have predicted that as he got off to the perfect start, having opened the scoring with just two mins on the clock.

He then went from hero to zero in a matter of couple of mins, as he, trying to shepherd the ball to his keeper, gifted the ball back to Sturridge, who made no mistake and continued his free scoring start to the season.

And little over half an hour later, Shelvey again gave the ball away, this time to Moses, in the middle of the park and the Nigerian made no mistake as he scored on debut. Just when it seemed as though all was lost, in the second half, the England international had the final laugh, as he assisted in Michu’s first home goal since March. One goal and three assists (although only one was for his side) were Shelvey’s contribution to an enthralling encounter.

Pellegrini still has a lot to learn

Manuel Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini might have spent over £100 million on players over the summer, he still has a long way to go, before convincing the blue side of Manchester that he is the right man for the job. Although he started his season with a thumping of a hapless Newcastle outfit, City don’t really look threatening and for all the money spent, are still reliant on brawn, rather than brain, to grab a goal.

It says a lot about the City squad, when, for all the money spent, they still look no better than a conference side, when defending without their captain Kompany. Pellegrini’s insistence on playing Javi Garcia in defence, whilst he had Joleon Lescott on the bench, seemed like a risky move. And whilst victory in the Champions League might take some gloss away from that decision, he still has to learn how to balance both domestic and foreign endeavors, something he hasn’t had much experience of till date.

Chelsea’s signings might be more of a bane than a boon

Eden Hazard

Towards the end of last season, the trio of Mata, Oscar and Hazard had all played over 60 games and the Stamford Bridge faithful wondered whether their workload should be alleviated. Over the summer, this was addressed with the acquisition of André Schürrle, Willian, as well as the return of Kevin De Bruyne from Werder Bremen on loan.

But, Mourinho is now posed with a bigger problem – getting the best out of all of them, when so many of them want to play in the same position. Whilst Schürrle, Willian and Hazard hope for the sole left winger spot, he has Mata, Oscar and De Bruyne who prefer to operate in the center with no real right winger. And despite the array of talents at his disposal, Mourinho might find it difficult to mould them into a cohesive attacking unit.

Aston Villa might be in for a long season yet again

Paul Lambert

Whilst they started their season with games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and were unlucky to come away with just three points, it looks like that early season optimism is fading away as soon as it came. Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Newcastle was a new low as they were booed off the pitch by their own fans.

If it wasn’t for Benteke’s goals, they might well have gone down last year. With a midfield unable to create chances and a defense unable to stop leaking goals, they might well do that this time around. Although these are early days, Lambert has been unable to settle on a firm base as the Midlands club haven’t kept a clean sheet in 26 matches, and if that record isn’t corrected, they will have a difficult time staying up.

West Ham sorely miss their attacking trio

Andy Carroll

West Ham’s game against Southampton was hardly a ringing endorsement for the Premier League as both sides scrapped their way to a dull nil-nil draw. Whilst Southampton are still getting accustomed to their new signings, you can hardly put the blame on West Ham, as they started the match with the trio of Andy Carroll, Joe Cole and Stewart Downing in attack.

West Ham’s defense looks resolute and in Jussi Jaaskelainen, they have one of the Premier League’s finest custodians in goal and the Finn was a major reason why the Hammers walked away with anything from the game.

Although there were a few flowing moves, all of it broke down near the attacking third and it seems as though, reinforcements are in order, at least until the aforementioned trio return. Until then, West Ham will likely be happy with a point here and there, and with their defense, it is not too unlikely.