There was a lot more buzz than usual ahead of last weekend’s matches, namely with many observers looking forward to seeing Cristiano Ronaldo’s heralded return to Old Trafford. And Manchester United’s clash with Newcastle did not disappoint, as the five-time Ballon d’Or marked his return in style. Elsewhere, there were other interesting results, with Chelsea keeping pace at the top of the table, but it wasn’t the best day for Tottenham fans.
Here’s all you need to know following this weekend’s Premier League action.
Top five teams in the Premier League up to September 13
Here’s how the Premier League table looks so far after four rounds
Who are the top three scorers in the Premier League?
Here are the three top goalscorers in the Premier League
1. Michail Antonio – West Ham, 4 goals
2. Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, 3 goals
3. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton, 3 goals
Top Premier League headlines
Arsenal finally win a game (and score some goals): After an embarrassing start, the Gunners have finally gotten three points on the board, which has now ended an awful streak that saw them not only lose their first three matches but also fail to score in any of them. Still, it was hardly an impressive performance from Mikel Arteta’s men, who only narrowly beat Norwich City thanks to a second half goal from Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. Nonetheless, one can be sure that Gunners fans will take whatever they can get as now the real work begins – to start digging themselves out of trouble and climbing back up the table.
Cristiano Ronaldo sets new records with return to Old Trafford: Records always seem to fall when Cristiano Ronaldo is on the pitch, and this weekend was certainly no exception. Showing that age really is nothing but a number, the 36-year-old had a fantastic outing in his “second debut” at Old Trafford and marked it with scoring a well-deserved brace. In doing so, he broke several records: one is the longest time between Premier League appearances. The last time he featured in England’s top tier was back in May 2009, before securing a then-record breaking move to Real Madrid, meaning that it’s been over 12 years since he last played in England. To put that in perspective, youngsters like Mason Greenwood were still in primary school the last time Ronaldo was a Manchester United player.
Romelu Lukaku continues fine start on his Chelsea comeback: Not to be outdone, Belgian star Romelu Lukaku also grabbed a brace at the weekend to help fire Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa. It’s going to be very interesting this season, with both Lukaku and Ronaldo making their respective returns to Chelsea and Manchester United after a stint in Serie A, where Lukaku was part of Inter’s Scudetto winning side, but lost out on the Capocannoniere to Ronaldo, then in his last term with Juventus.
Tottenham suffer shock loss: Spurs, who prior to the international break were the only side with a perfect record, were brought crashing back down to earth as they slumped to a 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace. It’s often said that these international interruptions sometimes can derail a team’s momentum, and Nuno’s side now appear to be the latest example of this. They’ll be obviously looking to bounce back as they face Chelsea in one of the biggest matches of the upcoming round this coming weekend.
Top Premier League matches: September 17 to September 19, 2021
Manchester City vs Southampton: The reigning Premier League champions started off their title defense with a loss on opening day, but have since regained some of that lost ground thanks to wins from their last three games. That includes a hard-fought 1-0 win over Leicester at the weekend, and now Pep Guardiola’s men will aim to make it a fourth consecutive victory in order to start putting pressure on Manchester United and Chelsea, who sit ahead of them in the table.
West Ham vs Manchester United: West Ham have slowed down a bit after a frenetic start, but the Hammers are still unbeaten so far this season. With eight points, and being inspired by Michail Antonio, who has four goals so far, the Hammers will be doing their utmost best to spoil any planned celebrations by Manchester United’s traveling fans in this match.
Tottenham vs Chelsea: After seeing their winning streak snapped abruptly during a shock 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace, Spurs will again face yet another London-based side, with Chelsea arriving for a mouth-watering clash on Sunday at 16:30 local time. The Blues, meanwhile, are joint-tied for top in the table and are only behind Manchester United because the Red Devils have scored 11 goals versus their three. Will Tottenham be able to shake that bad result off and get back to winning ways, or will the Blues continue onwards and upwards, spearheaded by the impressive return of Romelu Lukaku?
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