After a riveting commencement of the season, the second week of the English Premier League continued to amaze us to no end. Liverpool, who outclassed Arsenal last week, succumbed to the newcomers Burnley as they had no reply to the goals scored by Sean Dyche’s men and it was unarguably the biggest upset of the week. The two powerhouses from Manchester bulldozed their opponents with relative ease, whereas the top two teams from last season, Leicester City and Arsenal, were involved in a goalless stalemate at the King Power Stadium.
Antonio Conte had the last laugh when he came up against his rival from the Serie A days in the shape of Walter Mazzarri in a nervy clash between Chelsea and Watford, whereas Tottenham Hotspur produced a convincing 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the White Hart Lane. Everton, Middlesbrough and West Ham United had a decent weekend, whereas Hull City must be elated with their 2-0 win over the Baggies to hand themselves the second win in as many games in the top tier, considering the dressing room chaos they are in at the moment.
In a week that was blessed with scintillating goals, resilient defensive displays and magical artistry, we have plucked our five best performers of the week.
Sergio Agüero
Sergio Agüero was in an ultimate goal scoring mood, netting a brace against Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium. The Argentine poacher was a livewire both inside and outside of the box, converted the penalty with sheer calmness (after missing two penalties in the midweek fixture against Steaua Bucureşti in the UEFA Champions League play-off first leg) and headed a perfect finish for his second of the game to sum up a perfect day at the office.
Zlatan Ibrahimović
A day that was deemed to be a monumental one for Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimović took away the limelight from the French international as the genius had put up his world-class finishing abilities on display in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Southampton at the Old Trafford. A brilliant header from 12 yards followed by the successful conversion of the penalty kick has made it three goals in four appearances and he definitely looks like a man on a mission to take the Premier League by storm.
George Boyd
The Clarets managed to pull off a stupendous win over Jürgen Klopp’s comrades, courtesy of Sam Vokes and Andre Grey’s goals but it was George Boyd who kept things under control at the centre of the pitch at Turf Moor. He dealt tremendously well to curtail the offensive darting runs from Nathaniel Clyne, covered every blade of the grass, won the ball back 10 times and made more sprints than anyone else on the pitch against Liverpool.
Laurent Koscielny
Arsenal fans aren’t a contented bunch of supporters at this point of time after a goalless draw against the reigning champions who looked severely off-coloured. Neither the transfer window nor the results are going in their favour, but Laurent Koscielny’s return in a formidable manner was the silver lining that was derived from their trip to the King Power Stadium. The Frenchman set himself as an example, throwing himself everywhere to ensure Petr Čech remains untroubled and registered 3 interceptions, 1 block and 7 clearances from his first outing of the season.
Christian Stuani
It is said that the first impression is the last impression, and Christian Stuani’s has done enough to leave a lasting impression on his Premier League debut. The Uruguayan attacking midfielder set forth an absolutely thunderous strike to open the scoring and doubled it with another neat finish to ensure Middlesbrough bag all three points against Sunderland.
Statistics Credits- squawka.com
