Premier League, Week 2: Manchester City thrash Liverpool

The first half was rather uneventful, though not devoid of quality. Both teams passed the ball around well and got into dangerous areas, but the defending was of an equally high standard and chances didn’t come easily for either side. Manchester City were the team that found the breakthrough, taking advantage of a lapse in concentration by new Liverpool signing Alberto Moreno.

It took less than 10 minutes of play in the second half for Jovetic to add a second, and in similar fashion. Just about the entire Liverpool midfield and defense were equally at fault on the second goal, with Jovetic starting the move, then getting on the end of a square ball by Samir Nasri and hitting another rocket into the back of the net. He was completely unmarked.

Key player - Sergio Agüero (Manchester City)

When at his best, Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero is probably the best striker in the entire league. He’s a perfect blend of pace, power and superb technique, and usually makes the most of any goalscoring chances. Too often over the last year he’s struggled with injury problems, though he’s reportedly fit to start against Liverpool, and will no doubt prove to be City’s biggest attacking threat.

United felt they’d won a penalty in the 62nd minute when Ashley Young went down on the left side of the box. The referee felt differently, giving Young a yellow card for diving. Your opinion on the play will likely be affected by your rooting interest, but what was clear is that there was no foul. As for a dive, probably not much of one either.

Sunderland: Mannone, Vergini, van Aanholt, Brown, O’Shea, Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell (Gómez 64’), Buckley (Bridcutt 79’), Wickham, S. Fletcher (Altidore 77’)

Hull were eventually rewarded for their impressive defending, taking the lead inside the final five minutes of the half. Tom Huddlestone’s long-range drive -- the very first shot on target of the match -- was weakly tipped into the path of his teammate Nikica Jelavić, who was left with a simple close-range tap-in.

However, they kept knocking on the door, and it finally broke down with less than 10 minutes remaining on the clock. A deep cross from Bojan was flicked against McGregor’s crossbar, before Shawcross tapped in the crucial equaliser from point-blank range.

If Queens Park Rangers were expecting to challenge Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, they were swiftly disabused of that notion as the hosts ran riot. QPR were completely incoherent, and Spurs took full advantage. Within a quarter of an hour they were ahead.

Christian Eriksen won the ball in midfield, the ball breaking to Nabil Bentaleb in the center circle. The Algeria international then drove upfield, picking out Emmanuel Adebayor with an incisive pass before the striker chipped to the back post. There lurked Nacer Chadli, who peeled off the hilariously ponderous Richard Dunne, controlled on his chest and poked past Robert Green for the lead.

Harry Redknapp returns once more to White Hart Lane, two years after being sacked by Spurs. It’s possible Redknapp left a curse behind, as Tottenham have rather flown through coaches since his exit.

But now they’ve found one that’s likely to stick, in Mauricio Pochettino. And out are the rather insane lineups fans became accustomed to under Tim Sherwood last season. Pochettino makes just two changes from last week’s win over Hull City, bringing in Jan Vertonghen in defense and replacing Aaron Lennon with Nacer Chadli.

Spurs’ capture of Roma winger Erik Lamela looked like one of the signings of the season last summer. The Argentine arrived having destroyed Serie A defences at will, and he was unquestionably a world class talent. Alas, his Premier League performances so far haven’t continued on the same trajectory. He struggled in his first season at White Hart Lane, with poor form and a string of injury problems restricting his appearances. Hopefully he can find his best once again this season.

Spurs’ best player is probably Christian Eriksen, who, unlike Lamela, has thrived since moving to the Premier League. His creative abilities have seen him carve out plenty of opportunities both through the middle and out wide, helping him to become one of the division’s most valuable assets. If QPR want to restrict Spurs’ chances, they’ll have to be sure to keep him quiet -- a role that will likely be assumed by their aggressive holding midfielder Joey Barton.

It’s not a particularly bold statement to say that United are a far better club with Robin van Persie in the starting lineup. The offense works better, the team scores goals, and more often than not, they get points when the Dutch striker is able to play. Not having van Persie last week hurt the Red Devils, and while it wasn’t directly responsible for their defeat at the hands of Swansea City, it certainly didn’t help. Van Persie is familiar with Louis van Gaal’s system, he knows what the head coach wants his attack to do, and it’s hard to believe that United won’t look better on Sunday with their striker back ... as long as he doesn’t suffer a setback.

Key Matchup: United defense vs. Sunderland ... and themselves

The Gunners remained on the front foot following that goal and eventually found their equalizer. In the 90th minute, Ramsey hit a bit of a poor cross, but Monreal did a brilliant job to chase it down and hit a perfect ball to the edge of the six-yard box. Giroud was in perfect position and headed the ball past Howard, who had no chance to make a save.

Everton: Howard, Baines, Distin, Jagielka, Coleman, Barry, McCarthy, Mirallas (Atsu 85’), Pienaar (Osman 10’), Naismith, Lukaku (McGeady 76’)

The second round of the Premier League season got underway on Saturday with six matches across England.

Here’s a rundown of the results from Saturday in the Premier League:

Chelsea defeated Leicester City on Saturday thanks in large part to two of the summer additions. Diego Costa scored the match winner midway through the second half and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was brilliant, keeping the Foxes from getting a point, or possibly more, from the match.

As the half went on, that early control from Chelsea eroded as the Foxes were able to frustrate Chelsea through the midfield, and even out the possession a bit. The key was the 50/50 balls, many of which were being won by Leicester players.

If you watched this game, we are sorry. If you played in this game, you should probably feel something approaching shame. Aston Villa and Newcastle drew 0-0 in Birmingham in a match which promised little and delivered with aplomb, leaving the hosts temporarily top of the table despite managing a grand total of one shot on target in their first two games.

A sleepy first half saw a few chances for both sides, but the finishing wasn’t good enough to see either goalkeeper particularly troubled. The visitors were particularly poor, with both Yoann Gouffran and Rémy Cabella spurned glorious opportunities to take the lead. The former completely whiffed on a half-volley at the far post and the latter, a €10 million summer signing from Montpellier, fell down mid-shot after a loose ball presented him with the whole goal to aim at from six yards. The resultant effort trickled sadly past Brad Guzan’s right-hand post.

Key Player: Siem de Jong (Newcastle)

After missing Newcastle’s opening weekend match with an injury, the Magpies’ big summer signing Siem de Jong appears ready to make his debut. Considering that Newcastle was able to generate chances against City, they have to feel good about their chances against a much weaker Aston Villa side. De Jong should hopefully provide the scoring touch they need to actually finish there chances, something they failed to do last weekend.

Key Matchup: Leicester City counter-attack vs. Chelsea defense

Chelsea injuries and suspensions

Everton and Arsenal are both expected to be somewhere near the top of the table come the end of the season, though neither found their opening Premier League game as easy as anticipated. Arsenal scraped past a plucky Crystal Palace 2-1, while Everton could only draw 2-2 with newly-promoted Leicester City. That makes their meeting at Goodison Park on Saturday all the more unpredictable, as both sides look to iron out the flaws they didn’t get around to in pre-season.

Key player - Romelu Lukaku (Everton)