By TRAVIS CLARK
Arsenal must be glad to never have to take the trip to Manchester again this season after losing their second consecutive match. This time it was a 4-2 loss to City, leaving Arsene Wenger happy to see the Manchester skyline in the rear view mirror.
Overshadowing City's first victory over one of the big four was the play of former Arsenal man Emmanuel Adebayor. Two incidents — a vicious slash of Robin Van Persie's face and running over to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans — may see the big striker suspended. The player was clearly motivated and was dangerous when he saw time on the ball.
Adebayor's antics aside, the play of City has to be taken notice. Having Robinho and Carlos Tevez sidelined perhaps left them better off, as Mark Hughes was able to use defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong. Between him and Gareth Barry, City was able to hold together in the face of a solid Arsenal attack. They weathered the storm well and hit back on the counter to win at home.
If you're an Arsenal fan, the defensive breakdowns returned again, with Gael Clichy caught out of position on three of the City goals, while Manuel Almunia was less than convincing in goal. It is a wake-up call for Arsenal that ran rampant in it's first two games, only to drop their second in a row.
Manchester United 3, Tottenham 1
Bolton 3, Portsmouth 2
If this match were in April, it would likely be known as a relegation six-pointer. Portsmouth has been awful thus far, and nothing changed over the weekend. They were close to snatching a point after erasing a one-goal deficit on two separate occasions. However, calamitous defending allowed Gary Cahill winner consigned Pompey to a fifth consecutive defeat.
Blackburn 3, Wolverhampton 1
Another glamorous match featuring two contenders for relegation. Wolves have yet to show much bite this season, and conceding three goals to a Blackburn side can't boost confidence in their return to the Premier League. Home form will have to be strong for Wolverhampton. Blackburn managed their first win behind goals from El-Hadji Diouf, Jason Roberts and David Dunn to coast to an easy win.
Liverpool 4, Burnley 0
Chelsea 2, Stoke City 1
Sunderland 4, Hull City 1
Darren Bent has announced his intentions to force his way onto the England World Cup side, and he certainly backed up his words against Hull. A brace against Phil Brown's side was more than enough to make up the difference. Michael Turner will be missed badly, and he managed to force an own goal against his old club.
Fulham 2, Everton 1
The dismal start to Everton's season continues. This time it was Damien Duff and Fulham inflicting the damage at Craven Cottage. Everton defenders vacated the premises, allowing Duff time at the top of the box to smash home the winner. The loss leaves Tim Howard's side languishing at the bottom of the table, while giving Fulham a much-needed boost.
Wigan 1, West Ham 0
Aston Villa 1, Birmingham 0
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City are very much the real deal. Given they were missing Robinho, Tevez, Santa Cruz, and Kompany (among others), they showed they’re a threat to any team. The interesting thing is they haven’t had much time to gel yet – if they can start talking to each other at the back and mark properly, they’re not going to lose many. Top four this season, and either Arsenal or Liverpool to make way.
Anyone see the end of the Fulham Everton game. Dempsey almost embarassed Howard sending a looper towards goal when Timmy was caught way off his line. It was easily cleared by a defender because it to a few touches to line up but if not for the defenders hustle Howard would have been up for gaffe of the week.
Give City a few months to play United, Chelsea and Liverpool and we’ll see how they do (as I said before while they have beaten Arsenal already, it was at home and they beat them 3-0 last season as well, and we all know how that season turned out for City). Still, they have been impressive so far…
City is just getting started. Give them a few months to gel, then we’ll see how they do.
Rory, look at the top of the article, it was written by Travis Clark.
The EPL is different every week. I feel sorry for Spurs. How do you not control the final half hour a man up?
Everton continues to be shocking. You should have mentioned Phil Neville carted off the field. He has knee ligament damage and will be out for a while. Poor Timmy, poor Moyes, poor Toffees. They have a long way to go to turn this year around.
Arsenal will still be in the top 4 at the end
There is no longer a top 4. It is now a top 2.
Then there are another 4 teams fighting for the last 2 spots to play in Champions League. I still think its still gonna be the same 4 as last couple of years but I am not as confident as I was before the season began.
“Vicious slash”? What? Do me a favor Ives, stand up, lean forward on one leg till you’ve lost your balance and as your foot is falling down imagine someone has rolled under you. Now try to move your foot somewhere else and not fall… quickly.
C-
I think that people are saying Citeh in the same way that most USMNT fans call Time Howard “Timmay”. Just having fun dotn take it so personal. I am a Chelsea fan and accept the fact that some people call them Chelski. Its all apart of being a great team. Lots of haters.
re Portsmouth relgation… the only way is if they have a massive January spending spree… and even then, they need to have at lest 8-10 points by then – can’t see it.
Does anyone think there’s any way Portsmouth will avoid relegation?
Didn’t expect Arse to get beat like that. MCFC seems to have purchased a lineup that will finally challenge the top 4. Will be interesting to see how they hold up over the long EPL season. Villa’s defensive acquistions (Dunne, Warnock, etc) seem to have shored up the defence, which has been shaky since Lionheart Laursen retired.
UP THE VILLA
I have been pretty impressed with City so far, I must say, but to be fair, City beat Arsenal 3-0 last season at home, so they actually did “worse” this time around. City was tough all season at home, so it’s hard to tell what their ambitions really are. As a United fan, I can’t wait to see how they stack up away from home against a team of proven quality. If United plays like it did this past weekend, City are going down. I don’t see City playing well against great teams away from home, which they have yet been given the opportunity to do. This weekend will be the first test…
… and yes, City (or the Blues or the Citizens, but never “Citeh”) are going to make a run, but time will tell if they have enough to break into the big four… we will see over the next few, without Ade, Robinho, Tevez, and RSC, and IReland also injured… could be tough going, especially next week at Old Trafford.
what’s with all the clowns who post on this blog referring to MCFC as “Citeh”… get with the program people. It’s Manchester City Football Club
CTID
Right now you have to wonder more about Arsenal than Citeh. Citeh certanily appear real at this point. It will be interesting to see how their seasons go.