For some reasons that have to do with the death of the Queen of England, some matches were postponed in the English Premier League this weekend. The postponement of those matches didn't stop the joy of seeing the league return after last weekend's matches weren't played to honor the passing away of Queen Elizabeth.
The matches that were played made a difference in my weekend because the last weekend was very boring due to the absence of the Premier League.
Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, and a few clubs now have outstanding matches since two of their fixtures were postponed.
The Premier League this weekend was great as the big boys gave us some entertaining performances. Arsenal increased the tempo of their catch-me if you can race they are into with other Premier League teams and that flawless victory against Brentford was all they needed to reclaim their spot from Manchester City who climbed to the top of the league after trashing Wolves away from the Etihad Stadium.
The Premier League started with the Aston Villa vs Southampton fixture. My expectations about the game were high but it turned out to be a disappointing performance for me who was expecting much and Southampton who lost the match.
It wasn't a bad performance for a side that held Manchester City in their last match and it was a much-needed victory for them. The two teams have two victories each this season and there isn't much to say about them, they are both performing below expectations and they have somehow made the league less competitive.
Two of the Premier League returnees went head to head on Friday night, the two teams have been doing their best but one is getting results and the other isn't.
Nottingham Forest is struggling since their return, the wave of the league is forcing them to move in the opposite direction of what they must have hoped for on their return to the league. I think the team is good but not just good enough for the league yet, if they improve then they might remain in the Premier League by the end of the season.
I must applaud Fulham for doing a great job, they are the best among the teams that returned to the league. They are sitting above the tenth position which is fair enough for a returnee. Nottingham Forest looked like a real threat to them when they got the first goal as early as the 11th minute of the match, they went into halftime with the lead and that was a huge thing for them.
Fulham came back into the game in the 54th minute with a fantastic strike and they scored three goals in 6 minutes. Nottingham Forest pulled one back but it wasn't enough to secure a point from the encounter, the team needs to understand that every minute counts in a match, and conceding three goals in a space of 7 minutes in matches will automatically hand them a ticket back to the championship.
I expected the Wolves vs Manchester City fixture to be a tough one because City played in the Uefa Champions and fatigue might slow them down a little. The rumor about Diego Costa having his debut match was trending and I thought it would make the match challenging but it went the other way around.
Surprisingly, Diego Costa wasn't even on the bench and I wonder why the coach did that, it must be for reasons best known to him.
Manchester City had a flawless victory, the first-minute goal from Jack Grealish made me conclude that Wolves would get the beating of their life but City stopped at three goals. Wolves got a red card which isn't an excuse for failure because they already conceded twice before the card.
Haaland clinched his eleventh goal of the season which is quite an impressive stat for 7 matches so far in the Premier League. The Norwegian International has been criticized by many for points that don't matter, Haaland was brought to the club to score goals and he is doing just that. He has contributed to the team's success so far and I think he is a boost for Manchester City as they challenge for bigger success this season. The team is getting everything right in all competitions and I am eager to see how well they will do in all competitions in 2022/23.
Phil Foden wasn't left out of the celebration, the young lad bags his second for of the season and Kevin De Bruyne never ceases to be the heart of the team, with six assists in 7 games is huge as he leads the assist race for the season.
Newcastle failed to take all three points against Bournemouth and this was one of the matches that didn't go as many expected over the weekend.
Bournemouth isn't a side that can be trampled on so easily but I still didn't see them as a threat to Newcastle and I was wrong.
Bournemouth almost got away with all three points in the match despite Newcastle's dominance and it was an electrifying match. The two teams had to split the points and it was indeed a fair result for both sides.
Tottenham Hotspur didn't go easy on Leicester City, a side that is up for relegation if nothing is done quickly. They have only managed to get a point from their last seven fixtures which is something we usually don't see with the team.
Leicester City came strong into the match, I wasn't expecting them to be that aggressive and on the other hand, I thought Tottenham might also be suffering from fatigue after their Uefa Champions League setback.
Leicester City took the lead as early as the sixth minute but they conceded too quickly which is one of the reasons why they have been trashed in and out this season. Spur took the lead and it was a 2-2 draw at half time, firstly I wasn't expecting that result and I doubt if anyone would have predicted four goals in the first 45 minutes.
The first half gave me high expectations for the second half and only Tottenham stepped up to keep the excitement running. Son finally came back to life, the forward has been struggling so far this season.
What he did last season was quite impressive and we all expected more, the presence of Richarlison became a threat to his performance but in that fixture, he has proven that his glory days aren't over.
The hat-trick he scored in the second half was enough to prove himself again, I hope he continues with the goal-scoring form we saw last season.
Arsenal has successfully maintained its position on the top of the table, they aren't letting go of that number one spot easily. I didn't believe they will get all three points with ease in that fixture but they did and it was a well-deserved victory.
They are sitting a point ahead of Manchester City and if the league ends today, they are surely taking the crown. Arsenal dominated all through the match, things could have been different if their Uefa Europa League fixture wasn't postponed.
The team has grown much stronger with the presence of Gabriel Jesus, Saliba, and many others. If they keep going at this rate, they might eventually break the title drought but it is still a long way to the end of the season and a lot is bound to happen between now and then. Mike Arteta has created a standard that earned him the Premier League coach of the previous month and he won't want to fall short of the expectations the fans are having in him, I expect a lot more Arsenal in all competitions this season.
Everton had their hearts in their hands until the final whistle was blown in that encounter against Westham. My prediction was a draw because Westham must have been stressed traveling for the Uefa Europa League match which they won, it turned out that Everton recorded their first win of the season. It didn't come as easy as I am writing it, Westham did scare them a lot but they were just unlucky not to have scored in the fixture.
My heart paused when Benrahma's shot hit the bar in the second half, I was like how didn't that end in the goal post? It would have been one of the best goals this weekend, the attempt reminded me of a recent goal scored by Valverde.
Westham are doing just like we saw last season, they sacrificed a lot in the league for the European challenge and I hope they can create the valance they need soon.
We won't be seeing Premier League matches until October and the action will definitely be missed. Stay tuned because there are a lot of sports content coming from me to you this week.