We’re back from after a two weeks of international football and what a way to restart the Premier League. In a weekend where the Manchester Derby stole the show, many other teams like Tottenham, Liverpool, Watford and Everton played some of the very best football the league has seen season. With Lukaku’s hat-trick, we conclude an action packed game week 4 that began with a Guardiola masterclass. Here are 10 things we learnt from game week 4.
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1) Manchester United’s defense exposed
After three games into the season, pretty much every pundit was surprised at how the Blind and Bailly pair had worked for Manchester United. However, as Paul Scholes said, it was only a matter of time before their weaknesses were exposed.
That is exactly what happened when Manchester City walked into Old Trafford and toyed around with Manchester United for the first 40 minutes of the game. While Daley Blind had a terrible night as he let De Bruyne through for the first goal and then played Iheanacho onside for the second, Eric Baily himself was below par and was also responsible for the first goal as he did not attempt to win the air ball against Iheanacho.
2) Kevin De Bruyne comes back to haunt Mourinho
Four years ago, Kevin De Bruyne was signed by Chelsea after impressing many with his game in Genk. After spending a season and a half out on loan De Bruyne returned to Chelsea to join incoming manager Jose Mourinho. However, things wouldn’t go his way as the youngster was sold to Wolfsburg after only six months with Mourinho.
Fast forward to August 2015 and Manchester City signed the midfielder for a whopping £55 million after two fantastic years at Wolfsburg. Under new manager Pep Guardiola, De Bruyne looks even more dangerous and has been used as both a central attacking midfielder who drops back to provide stability to the midfield and also moves up to support the striker. He finished the game as a striker on Saturday and scored one while he hit the post twice.
3) Liverpool looks clinical under Klopp
The Kop were singing at the top of their voices as Jurgen Klopp’s men were set to take on Champions Leicester City in their fourth game of the season. Roberto Firminio how has been having a great start to the season opened the scoring for Liverpool before adding a second in the 89th minute to take Liverpool up to four goals on the night.
Despite not scoring, Daniel Sturridge had a good game for Liverpool while Sadio Mane tormented the Leicester City defense. Adam Lallana also bagged a goal with a great finish. It was just a pretty day for the Liverpool attackers while it was not all good for the defense. Liverpool’s death-wish defending – that lead to Jamie Vardy’s goal would surely be a matter of concern to many.
4) Wilfried Zaha still has magic left in him
Wilfried Zaha was once of the most wanted players in England and Sir Alex Ferguson got his man in his last season with the Red Devils. However, things wouldn’t go according to plan for both Manchester United and Zaha as his time at United would be remembered to be a failure.
Crystal Palace managed to sign the winger, who has since been one of the important players for the club. However, the youngster showed the world that he still has the talent to win games single-handedly after setting up the first goal with a great cross while netting another himself. His discipline and creativity were some positives for Crystal Palace.
5) Diego Costa getting better under Conte
Before Chelsea took on Swansea, Diego Costa was given a clear warning by Antonio Conte to improve his discipline on the pitch. The striker had already scored two winning goals for Chelsea before the international break and made a solid start to the season.
Against Swansea, Diego Costa showed us why he could push aside Sergio Aguero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and prove to be Premier Leagues best striker. With a fantastic double, Costa salvaged a draw for Chelsea. What a race for the Golden boot this could turn out to be.
6) Snodgrass does it for Hull City... Again!
Robert Snodgrass has proven to be one of the most important players in the Premier League as he has been key to Hull City’s successful start to the campaign this year. In 2014, after signing for the Tigers from Norwich City, Snodgrass picked up an injury that would sideline him for 15 months. Hull City was relegated.
After winning back promotion with the Tigers, Robert Snodgrass is showing the Premier League what Hull City had missed in 2014. With a sensational free kick, Snodgrass yet again proved to be Hull City's saviour this weekend. Surely a player to watch out for this season!
7) Mustafi could be the answer to Arsenal's defensive problems
Arsenal lacked a good, consistent and composed defender to partner Koscielny for quite a while now and that was no secret. To the relief of many Arsenal fans around the world, Arsene Wenger managed to sign Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia after a lot of speculation surrounding the move for weeks.
While Arsenal did concede against Southampton on Saturday, The German centre-back had a good start to his career in England. Mustafi was composed and classy alongside Laurent Koscielny. His distribution of the ball was also fantastic and could be an important aspect for Arsenal as Wenger likes to build up and attack from the back.
8) Roberto Pereyra adds cutting edge to Watford side
After earning Promotion to the Premier League last season, Watford avoided relegation with a convincing display and finished 13th. Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo were absolutely fantastic for Watford last season but they were inconsistent.
However, with the introduction of Roberto Pereyra has changed the look of this Watford side who tore West Ham apart in the Olympic Stadium. The Argentine adds flair and composure to Watford and has been clinical in the attacking third.
9) Manchester City win the derby but don't let the win fool you
On Saturday, Manchester City made Old Trafford look like their training ground for the first forty minutes of the game. However, those of you already saying Pep’s City is ahead of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United must be warned. Manchester City wasn't clinical at times with the likes of Claudio Bravo, John Stones, and Bacary Sagna faltering. While Bravo distributed the ball well, it was his error that led to Zlatan's goal and almost conceded a penalty in the second half.
John Stones misplaced a few simple passes that almost threw away the game while teenager Marcus Rashford could end Sagna’s career next time around if the French right-back continues to be inconsistent. As Pep Guardiola said after the game, Manchester City needs to step up their game considerably if they want to win the war that is the Premier League. Manchester United may have lost but Marcus Rashford, Ander Herrera, and Antonio Valencia have given the Red Devils a lot to be positive about from the Derby loss.
10) Costa? Aguero? Ibra? Make way for Lukaku boys!
Everton’s new manager Ronald Koeman has had an incredible start to the 2016-17 season of the Premier League as Everton picked up 3 more points to now move into the third position on the table behind Chelsea nad Manchester City. And now, striker Romelu Lukaku’s hat-trick could give the Toffees hope of aiming for a top four finish.
While all the talk about the best striker in the Premier League has been coming from the City of Manchester and Chelsea, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku has surely stolen the show this weekend after their late game against Sunderland. Should the striker stay on top of his game for the rest of the season, it could mean great things for Everton and Koeman.
