TopNaija’s Premier League Matchday 5 Wrap-up

Two words to describe matchday 5 of the Premier League weekend—a draw-fest.

Match week 5 ended with everything perfectly balanced between all 20 teams that played each other on the weekend; 5 wins from the 10-games played,  5 draws between them and 5-teams on the losing end of the 20-teams that traded hostilities for a chance to improve their points tally.

To put it succinctly, Matchday 5 was an arithmetic of coincidence and thrill, starting with the West London Blues Chelsea who surprisingly traveled away to foes West Ham United at 12:30 pm lunch time kickoff. Enzo Maresca’s team put in the shift thanks to a Nicolas Jackson brace to walk out of the London Stadium with all 3-points in the bag and quieten the criticisms that were on him a weekend prior.

Read More:

Premier League Predictions for Matchday 5 Weekend

Arsenal need to master the fear tactics to beat Manchester City

Nicolas Jackson should thank Mikel Obi for His current form

Following the West Ham versus Chelsea tie, were the 3 pm kickoffs, with Liverpool seeing off AFC Bournemouth with a 3-0 statement win at Anfield thanks to a Luis Diaz brace and a Darwin Nunez stunner that left both fans and the player emotional.

Aston Villa versus Wolverhampton Wanderers started as quite a nervy game for Villa after Wolves raced into a lead that looked very threatening of a win for Unai Emery’s side, thanks to a 25th minute Matheus Cunha strike. However, goals from Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and a 90th minute winner by substitute Jhon Durán gave the Birmingham club the comeback they wanted.

The game however made itself infamous with a number of yellow card calls that amounted to 10, including Aston Villa manager, Unai Emery.

Fulham versus Newcastle United was all Fulham though, with Raul Jimenez and former Arsenal player Emile Smith Rowe putting the Cottagers ahead after 22-minutes. The Magpies threatened to pull a comeback themselves on return from half-time in the 46th minute courtesy of a Harvey Barnes strike, but the Englishman’s goal was only a consolation after another former Arsenal star, Reiss Nelson scored a third for Fulham in the closing stages of the game.

Leicester City versus Everton was perhaps one of the first draws of the weekend, with the Toffees suffering for a fifth weekend running the misfortune of having a poor defence. It appears a tale that keeps repeating itself as the Merseyside club took the lead yet again only to risk the Foxes coming behind to level the score for a 1-1 full-time result.

Stephy Mavididi had himself on the score board for the home team, while Everton had Iliman Ndiaye as the one who opened the scoring.

Southampton and Ipswich Town decided to leave points shared between themselves after the Tractor Boys left things to late before netting an agonizing equalizer against the Saints thanks to Sam Morsy who Southampton’s Tyler Dibling will hold grudges against for ruining what could have been his day. It was the second draw of the Saturday weekend games.

Tottenham Hotspur took on fellow London side, Brentford in a 3-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but that wasn’t without a fight for Spurs. The North London team had to come from behind after the Bees had yet again took the lead within the first 5-minutes of the game thanks to Bryan Mbeumo. However, a resilient effort from Ange Postecoglou’s men forced heroics from the likes of Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison to make Spurs fifth premier league matchday a delight after last weekend’s derby defeat.

Manchester United after back to back humbling of Southampton and Barnsley in mid-week, decided this weekend was a no victor no vanquished matchday as they played out the only 0-0 draw versus hosts Crystal Palace.

The Sunday fixtures were where the excitement was, starting with Brighton and Hove Albion‘s versus Nottingham Forest. The Seagulls already thought they had stolen all 3-points when Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck both combined to put Brighton ahead after Chris Wood had opened the scoring with his well-played penalty kick.

However, the Seagulls were handed a shocker when Forest man Ramón Sosa leveled the tie in the 70th minute upon his introduction into the game. But the referee found himself busy with the cards as he handed out 9-yellow cards and 3 reds that included the sending off of a player and the two managers after things turned sour on pitch.

Fabien Hürzeler and Nuno Espirito Santo of Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively were sent to the stands, likely to miss the next premier league weekend, while Nottingham Forest player Morgan Gibbs-White received a second yellow that leaves him out for the next game.

The excitement didn’t die with the Seagulls and Forest however, with Manchester City versus Arsenal giving us a premier league tie filled with thrills and also boredom. The two title rivals fought tooth and neck to salvage a 2-2 draw at the Etihad after both teams at intervals had taken the lead.

The sending off of Leandro Trossard by referee Michael Oliver however ruined the evening for the Gunners who had to defend a 2-1 slender lead with 10-men behind the ball for a large portion of the game until substitute John Stones leveled the tie at the 90th minute to leave Arsenal and Mikel Arteta with déjà vu.

And now, the media is left asking; will Manchester City go on to win a fifth consecutive premier league title yet again? The signs already point toward it.