The 2017/2018 EPL Weekend-Round 2

Manchester United continued their impressive start to the season with another 4-0 win at Swansea. Unlike last week's 4-0 rout of West Ham, they had to wait until the 82nd minute to secure the win as Swansea capitulated and let in 3 goals in a 4 minute spell. For long periods of the game Swansea defended stoically but eventually they gave in as United once again showed some ruthlessness in front of goal that was lacking last season.
Mourinho once again started with the same starting 11 meaning a 4-1-4-1 formation with Matic once again sitting in front of the defence with Pogba and Mkhitaryan dictating play ahead of him and Mata and Rashford providing support to Lukaku from the wings.
Tougher opposition await but this is a very good beginning to the season for United. Another ominous sign for United's rivals is the strength of the bench. With the likes of Herrera, Carrick, Fellaini, Darmian, Smalling, Lindelof, Lingard and Martial on the bench, United do look strong.
Lukaku has slotted into his role with so much ease and it's beginning to look like it was money well spent by United. His sense of awareness, power, speed and eye for goal have been evident so far in the 3 competitive games he has played for United so far. And with service coming from the likes of Mata, Rashford, Pogba and Mkhitaryan, Lukaku looks set to get past if not close to 30 league goals.

Arsenal's past ghosts at Stoke returned to haunt them in the 1 nil defeat. Arsenal had scraped through their first fixture against Leicester last weekend and their luck ran out. Arsene Wenger clearly still has a lot to do if he is to lead this Arsenal side back to the top four and even title contenders. The situation with Sanchez is not helping and the Gunners clearly miss his influence. Arsenal were wasteful in front of goal and when eventually Lacazette did find the net, the linesman's flag cut short his celebrations with a marginal offside decision. Arsene Wenger was left ruing the referee decisions but ultimately the problem lies with his squad. A lot of Arsenal fans were hoping that the squad will undergo a major strengthening this summer but so far only Kolasinic and Lacazette have arrived. It's a bit strange that Arsenal let Gabriel go when defence is one of the areas where they have been short. That Monreal has been playing as a center back so far is further that defence needs strengthening. It was therefore a big surprise that when asked about further signings, Wenger responded that in fact Arsenal need to sell more players as their squad was bloated. With no champion's league football this season, Wenger will need to ensure his side avoid slipping further behind this early as qualifying for the champions league will be the minimum requirement this season.

Chelsea looked almost like the side that won the league title last season with a smash and grab victory over Spurs at Wembley. With injuries and suspensions limiting the number of players available for Chelsea, Conte put out a defensive line up meant to contain Spurs and hit them on the counter. Chelsea employed similar tactics last season on a number of occasions with  lot of success. David Luiz was deployed in midfield meaning the Blues essentially had 3 defensive midfielders in Luiz, Bakayoko and Kante. The tactic worked as Spurs for all their possession were limited in the number of chances they carved out. Tottenham's creative engine Christian Erikssen was smothered and even the dangerous Delle Alli was hounded every time he got close to the ball. In Alonso, Chelsea have a consistent performer and it wasn't really a surprise when he delivered an unstoppable freekick to give Chelsea the lead. His second goal left the usually reliable Lloris embarrassed as he let the ball goal go through his legs.
Moratta for me still does not fit into Chelsea's counter attacking system. I would be looking to sign another striker to complement him. He is a different type of player to Costa. The system Chelsea play when playing against tougher opposition is one where they used to leave Costa as a lone striker and because of his strength and ball-holding qualities, he would retain possession and hold up play giving the likes of Hazard and Pedro time to join the attack. Moratta is more direct and used to playing in triangles of passes with players around him. That might not be the case at Chelsea and so he has a lot of adjusting to make.

Liverpool managed a hard earned win over Crystal Palace with Mane once again the key man. It might have been a long day for the Reds had their former striker Benteke brought his scoring boots as he spurned the Eagles best chance. Liverpool for me still look short up front. Yes they do have Firminho, Origi, Sturridge, Mane and Salah. But for me only Origi and Sturridge are really number 9s. The former is however inconsistent and Sturridge on his part always has the danger of injuries lurking. Liverpool need for Coutinho to stay because he is really the creative engine for the team not to mention his goals as well as set piece distribution. It however remains to be season if their resolve will be broken with Barcelona offering what is quite a crazy sum for his services. Liverpool of course could sell him and use the money to rebuild the team. It is no secret they need a goalkeeper as Mignolet can prove unreliable. In Robertson, they seem to have unearthed another wonderful fullback as the youngster has been peerless in his performances so far.  Liverpool's realistic target this season is a good run in the champions league as well as another top 4 position. A domestic cup triumph would bring back smiles at Anfield. They need to make a few signings before end of August if they are to achieve that.

Manchester City scraped a point in their highly charged fixture with Everton. Guardiola will be reasonably pleased by his team's fighting spirit having been a goal down and a man down by half time. City have outspent the rest of their rivals so far this summer and most of the new signings are still finding their feet. They will need to catch up fast. New keeper Ederson who has been brought in as number one choice was culpable for the goal scored by Rooney as the shot was straight at him. Danillo and Bernado Silva put in ok shifts but much is still expected of them.Jesus and Aguero started together for City but none really impressed. Most pundits have City as their favorites but on this evidence they still have much to do if they are to avoid  repeat of last season.



TEAM OF THE WEEK - Butland Alonso Baily Maguire Valencia Mooy Pogba Mkhitaryan Wilian Jese Mane
PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Alonso