EPL 2016-17: 5 talking points from game week 7

Fewer goals were scored in week seven of the Premier League, as defences appear to be gathering stability. Spurs caused the biggest surprise of the weekend in their win over Manchester City on Sunday, while Chelsea and Liverpool were the big winners on Saturday. The bottom six teams are all winless in their last six matches at least, with Stoke and Sunderland yet to grab their first win of the season.

Meanwhile, only five points separate the top seven teams now as the title race begins to take shape. North-London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham remain the in-form teams at the moment and will look to continue their run following the international break.

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#1 Spurs humble Manchester City

Pep Guardiola’s high-flying Manchester City were given a reality check when they visited Tottenham. The Sky Blues started the slower of the two teams, with Tottenham pressing the ball with high intensity. The pressure paid off as the hosts took the lead when Danny Rose’s cross found Aleksandar Kolarov, who awkwardly turned it into his own net.

The league leaders had no response to the Spurs pressure and it was only a matter of time before they conceded a second. The goal did come just 10 minutes before half-time when Dele Alli finished off a slick counter-attack that ultimately inflicted the first defeat of the Guardiola era.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side also reduced the gap between themselves and City to only a point ay the top of the table. Spurs are on a great run and have now won each of their last four league games.

#2 Liverpool and Arsenal show Champions’ mettle

James Milner has been crucial for Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool displayed Championship winning spirit when they edged past Swansea 2-1 at The Liberty Stadium. After going a goal down, The Reds fought back to overturn the score line 2-1, thanks to a goal from Roberto Firmino and a James Milner penalty.

Liverpool suffered an early blow when they lost Adam Lallana to injury but held their nerve till the very end to come away victors. Klopp’s team have now won four games on the trot and have moved closer to league leaders Manchester City, following the Manchester club’s loss to Spurs.

Leroy Fer got on the score sheet for The Swans for the fourth time this season but it did nothing to help prevent Swansea’s disastrous run. Francesco Guidolin who only took the job at the Welsh club in January this year is already facing the axe.

Arsenal wrapped up the week with a hard-earned 1-0 victory at Burnley. The Clarets looked set to see out a point after an outstanding defensive performance, only to be left heart-broken when Laurent Koscielny bundled the ball over the line in controversial fashion with the very last touch of the game.

The Gunners moved up to third on the table, after winning all of their last five games.

#3 New system showing positive signs for Chelsea

Chelsea ended a frustrating last few weeks with a confidence boosting win over Hull City. Antonio Conte chose to alter his strategy by moving to a 3-4-3 formation for the trip to The KCOM Stadium. Defensive lapses in the past weeks forced the Italian to try a new approach and it paid off, with the team looking much sharper and well organised.

Willan and Diego Costa got on the scoresheet with two well-taken goals. The Spanish striker has been in red-hot form and has now scored six goals in the seven league games that he has played this season. Conte will want his team to improve further and with John Terry and Kurt Zouma back soon, things are starting to look better for The Blues.

#4 Slight improvement from bottom teams

Payet’s form will be vital to West Ham’s hope for a resurgence

Despite managing to avoid defeat this week, West Ham, Stoke City and Sunderland still remain in the bottom three after week seven. All three teams have started the season in poor fashion but are gradually beginning to step up the pace. Sunderland and Stoke City grabbed late equalisers against West Brom and Manchester United, respectively, to claim a vital point.

Patrick van Aanholt struck late for The Black Cats in a 1-1 draw to avoid their fourth straight defeat. Stoke garnered a crucial point at Old Trafford thanks to a late Joe Allen equaliser after Anthony Martial came off the bench to open the scoring with a brilliant effort. Jose Mourinho’s side have now dropped points in three of their last four games.

West Ham’s Dimitri Payet scored a superb individual goal to gift his side a draw against Middlesbrough at The London Stadium. The Frenchman beat the entire Boro defence to calmly slot in his first league goal of the season.

#5 Quality finishing throughout the league

It was a week dominated by great finishing

The 2016/17 campaign has not only seen an upsurge in the number of goals being scored but has also witnessed some spectacular efforts in the process. This week was no different and we were treated to quite a few stunning strikes.

Classy finishing was the theme set early on when Romelu Lukaku scored a fine free-kick against Crystal Palace. The same match saw Christian Benteke guide a pin-point accurate header from a fair distance, to level the game.

Both of Chelsea’s goals were scored with similar finesse as Willian and Costa curled in their efforts from just inside the box in The Blues’ victory. Sunday’s early game produced one of the goals of the week, as Martial used power and precision to score from just inside the edge of the box.

Results:

Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace

Swansea City 1-2 Liverpool

Hull City 0-2 Chelsea

Sunderland 1-1 West Brom

Watford 2-2 Bournemouth

West Ham United 1-1 Middlesbrough

Manchester United 1-1 Stoke City

Leicester City 0-0 Southampton

Tottenham 2-0 Manchester City

Burnley 0-1 Arsenal