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Erik ten Hag’s woes worsened as Manchester United were humiliated by Brentford, while the Arsenal faithful did something Mikel Arteta had never before witnessed in their win over Leicester.
The major talking point came after the final whistle at Stamford Bridge as Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte were sent off in heated scenes.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.
Manchester United in deep trouble
This is extraordinary. @ManUtd 4 down in 35 minutes. Not sure this kit will see the light of day ever again.— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) August 13, 2022
It is hard to find any sort of silver lining for United fans right now. Perhaps, some pints-half-full supporters posited last week, the 2-1 season-opening loss to Brighton could be chalked up to Ten Hag’s teething pains. No one, however, could see Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing at Brentford as anything but cause for the club to at least hover a few fingers over the panic button, or at the very least kick-start some serious forensic analysis into which of the blame game’s many players might have a point actually worth pursuing. And, in yet more bad news for the Red Devils, a new study by Morning Consult revealed Liverpool have overtaken them as the most popular club in the United States.
Arteta has added resilience to his Arsenal
Sure, Arsenal ultimately walked away with all three points against Leicester at the Emirates, but that scoreline hardly told the whole story. All looked to be smooth sailing after Gabriel Jesus’ first competitive goals as a Gunner put his side 2-0 up in the first half, but an early second-half William Saliba own goal spelled danger. He bounced back beautifully, aided by fan support Arteta remarked was unlike anything he had ever seen, with Granit Xhaka restoring Arsenal’s advantage within two minutes and Gabriel Martinelli adding a fourth.
Erling Haaland is not unstoppable
Manchester City’s Premier League rivals could have been forgiven for breathing a small sigh of relief after Pep Guardiola’s £51million striker proved he could have a difficult outing. Haaland recorded just eight touches in City’s 4-0 victory over Bournemouth, although he did assist Ilkay Gundogan’s opener. Guardiola fully backed his Norwegian summer signing, suggesting it would take more time for him to adjust to the Premier League playing style.
Touchline tempers flare at Chelsea
There was plenty of drama on and off the pitch at Stamford Bridge as Harry Kane’s last-gasp equaliser earned Tottenham a 2-2 draw before Chelsea boss Tuchel and Spurs counterpart Conte locked horns on the touchline. The two coaches squared up following a niggling handshake and both were sent off, having already been booked for their parts in a dugout melee which followed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s disputed first equaliser for Spurs. A furious Tuchel did nothing to disguise his anger with referee Anthony Taylor after the game, claiming it would be better if he did not referee the Blues again, leaving the German likely to be in further hot water with the Football Association.
Fulham off to impressive start
Fulham’s opening two games of the season, at home to Liverpool and away at Wolves, represented a tough start to life back in the top flight, but Marco Silva’s men have come through both unbeaten. They led Liverpool twice and it took an 80th-minute equaliser to earn the Reds a point, while the Cottagers were a missed Aleksandar Mitrovic penalty away from winning at Molineux. It’s early, but two unlikely points could prove crucial down the line in the battle to stay up.
