Football News: Matchday 3 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 3 Round Up

Saturday 30th August

Chelsea 2-0 Fulham

In the first half, Chelsea were poor and were in danger of losing the game but for the fact that, as bad as they were the referee was many times worse. He had a very poor game, particularly in his weakness in allowing VAR to overturn the goal. It was not a clear and obvious mistake, I am not even sure it was a mistake personally, so VAR should have stayed out of it and he should have told them so. This season VAR has been worse than ever before and is altering the results now, which goes beyond incompetence. Fulham have every right to feel aggrieved. Once Chelsea had scored in time added on to the added on time for the VAR check at the end of the first half, the game was effectively over. Fulham are struggling to create and score and that has cost them once again. They were the better team in terms of overall play in the first half, but in the second half Chelsea were much better. Fulham desperately need a boost via the transfer market, as good as Josh King is, they cannot rely on him for the entire season. Chelsea got the win, even when not playing well, which bodes well for them.

Starmen:
Fernandez - Enzo was surprisingly Chelsea's main defensive protection in this game. He broke up play well, as well as getting an assist and converting the penalty.
Pedro - so far Pedro is continuing his tradition of starting off like a house on fire at a new team. The big question is whether he can keep it up this time around or if he will do what he normally does and fade.
King - the best player on the pitch, the teenager was excellent and his goal which was ruled out ridiculously by VAR was very well taken.

Flops:
Caicedo - I know I will cop some flak for this, as no matter what he does or how badly he plays everyone raves about how great a player he is. However, he was dreadful in that first half, allowed King the freedom of the park and he was constantly chasing the play like a headless chicken. He did improve in the second half, but it was the first half that his skillset was needed and instead it was Enzo getting in and breaking up play. His reading of the game is not good.
George - came on as an early substitute for the injured Delap and struggled to get into the game at all. He was playing up front, which seems a strange choice when you have Pedro and Neto, who have played a lot of football in that position. It was a day for learning for the youngster.
Robert Jones - an awful refereeing performance. He was weak and got a lot of decisions wrong. How he has managed to con his way into professional refereeing is incredible, as he is an abysmal ref.
Berge - turning circle of an oil tanker. A decent midfielder to help out Lukic is badly needed by Fulham.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Bournemouth

It is good to see that, in a world of so much change, Spurs are still Spursy. They can go and beat Manchester City away and then come home the following week and lose to Bournemouth. A very well-managed Bournemouth, with Iraola working minor miracles again, but they are still a Bournemouth with an almost entirely new backline that is very shaky. Unfortunately, the main game here was Manchester United v Burnley, so I only got to see highlights of this one. I would have liked to see how Spurs got on under Frank deploying a back four, with their very weak defenders, after playing so well under him in competitive matches with a back three. It does seem an odd choice to change it, the four in there have already shown they have no ability to defend as a group.

Starman:
Iraola - he is once again getting his group to outperform their individual quality. How long until one of the big boys steal him?

Flop:
Frank - changed the formation and it failed him. It seems a strange thing to do after they had been playing so well this season in a back three.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-3 Everton

Another game I would have liked to have seen but was unable to watch fully. Wolves are in such a mess at the moment, their messiah from last season, Pereira, seems to have lost the plot this season and even their walkout music has been changed for the worse. When he came in, Pereira brought solidity to the team first and foremost, making them difficult to beat. Now he is trying to be the new Pep Guardiola and have that same backline pass it around, it is not working and the morale has been sapped from the players. They look like a team in serious danger of relegation. Everton, on the other hand, are improving as the season goes on. A little bit more football played, rather than just endless long balls up to a striker like they attempted in their opening game, and they look a much better team for it. They just need Moyes to be brave against the big boys and not come out with his 'knife to a gunfight' comments before parking the bus. This is not a team that can do that, but they do have an attacking threat now and will stand a chance of scoring in most games.

Starmen:
Dewsbury-Hall - he is revelling in being the central cog in the team once more, rather than a back up option.
Ndiaye - he may be raw, but he is still always a threat.
Grealish - a couple of assists for the loanee, who looks to be just happy to be playing regularly again.

Flops:
Toti - I am not sure how he gets into the team. He is incredibly error-prone and is forcing the rest of the defence to try and cover for him.
Munetsi - I really have no idea what he offers. He did get an assist for Wolves' opener, but other than that he is just a headless chicken running around aimlessly.
Mykolenko - cost Everton a goal.

Manchester United 3-2 Burnley

Man Utd finally get their first win of the season, but it was surprisingly difficult for them against a very average Burnley side. United did come out playing like a team that wanted to win for the coach, after all that has been done and said over the week after their humbling at the hands of lowly Grimsby Town in the League Cup. For the first half, it was looking like a matter of how many they would win by. But Burnley hung in there and kept going, each time they went behind, they fought back, managing to equalise twice. It was very tough on them to lose it to a debatable penalty. And it is debatable, especially the way Amad Diallo went down like he had been hacked down by a 1970s clogger the moment he got into the box, rather than a little shirt pull. Also, there is an argument that the offence began outside the box, so should have been a free kick rather than a penalty. However, while it is debatable, the fact remains that the shirt was pulled and that gave the referee a decision to make, the simple answer is, in Burnley's position do not pull the shirt! Burnley do not look a particularly good team, but they gave Man Utd a huge fright, which should worry United. That was a game there for the taking and they just lacked the quality to put it to bed. There are still huge question marks around the formation, with Burnley able to create chances and find gaps in the defence and midfield quite easily.

Starmen:
Mbeumo - always a threat, but he should have scored more.
Scott Parker - has made Burnley look capable of having a chance of winning their relegation battle, though he has yet to make them look good enough to avoid it altogether.

Flop:
Walker - even his long throws are just not good enough.

Sunderland 2-1 Brentford

Another of the games I was only able to watch highlights of. The Mackems took full advantage of Brentford's problems, despite going behind. After managing a surprising result, the Bees' issues caught up with them. They still look in real trouble for this season and I would not want to put money on them staying up.

Leeds United 0-0 Newcastle United

A very disappointing match, Leeds played like they did against Everton, chased everything, worked hard, but still lack quality in the final third. When you are bringing on Calvert-Lewin to get you a goal, then you know you have problems. Newcastle came out far too defensive, it feels like Howe is just trying to get as many tall men into the team as possible these days, hence the back three. They just seem to be relying on set pieces. If they want to get the best from new man Woltemade, they will need to be looking to use his feet, not his head.

Starmen:
Bogle - if Leeds had another few players of his quality, they would stay up with ease. He was the best player on the pitch by a margin.
Botman - he looked solid at the back for Newcastle.

Flops:
James - once again he was poor and offered nothing to the attack.
Gnonto - just looks like he is out of his depth at the moment.
Calvert-Lewin - ran around a lot but accomplished nothing. At least he is not injured so far!
Tonali - spends far too much time throwing himself to the floor under no challenge.
Guimaraes - the Leeds midfield gave him no time and space.
Livramento - had a poor game and made a number of errors.
Trippier - looks way off the pace, never the quickest anyway, but he does look like a player who is slowing down.

Sunday 31st August 2025

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham United

A game I did not get to see, but probably the biggest shock result of the weekend. The Hammers had looked dead and buried this season, a team set to sink without trace into the Championship, up against a team that had invested heavily in players after coming oh so close to qualifying for the Champions League last season. It seemed a certain 3 points for Forest, but once again they failed to perform in front of their home fans. Performances and results like this have done Nuno Espirito Santo no favours in his power struggle with Edu over signings. This game did have a feeling of a coach who was so busy moaning and whinging that he took his eye off the ball and get done because of it. As for West Ham, while the fans will be glad to have their first win on board, they will want it to be the start of a good run and not a one off.

Starmen:
Anderson - he is having an outstanding season for Forest and rightly got an England call up.
Paqueta - shows what he can do when he stops flopping around and actually plays.
Bowen - a class act who deserves a better team around him.
Wilson - if he can stay fit, he has the ability to score goals still.

Flops:
Nuno - got it all wrong and yet failed to change things. He needs to rethink his set up for home games as it is not working.
Gibbs-White - has not been at the races this season.
Sangare - gave away a needless penalty.
Forest defence - normally so solid but they had a disaster in this game.

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Manchester City

After the first 45 minutes, it looked like Citeh were back and Brighton looked dead and buried. However, a bunch of misses from Haaland kept the score down to just 0-1. The second half was completely different and the Seagulls gradually took charge and overran City in midfield once Fabian Hurzeler made his quadruple change after 60 minutes. Once again City just do not look good when put under pressure, they fold like a cheap suit and are wide open defensively. It does make you wonder how many Peps are too many at one team? Brighton are not even a particularly good side this season. Their defence is a shambles, with new man Cuyper really poor so far in particular and Dunk has never been particularly good. But add that to a, at best, half-fit Baleba and it is understandable why Brighton have been struggling so far this season. It does make you wonder if this summer was just a few sales too many, as Chelsea maxed out their store card once again in the BHA summer sales. The second half of this game showed that they can still mix it and they might still have another comparatively successful year in the Prem ahead.

Starmen:
Hurzeler - his quadruple substitution after 60 minutes won the game for Brighton.
Mitoma - ran himself into the ground for the team.
Minteh - similar to Mitoma.
Milner - have to include him for becoming the second oldest goalscorer in Premier League history as well as the second youngest. He is so calm on penalties.
Marmoush - was City's main threat until taken off. Looked full of pace and power.

Flops:
Cuyper - he is really struggling to adjust to the Premier League.
Hecke - got caught up in a battle with Haaland and lost sight of his job a few times.
Baleba - his lack of fitness after missing most of pre-season through injury really shows. He is a mile off the pace right now.
Silva - only really offered petulance in this game.

Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal

Once again the game that looked to be the most exciting on paper fails to live up to expectations. Slot's Liverpool always go out to feel their way into the game and he tweaks it as the game goes on to get the win, so you expect them to start slow. What was a surprise was Arsenal, the Gunners went out and played for a draw, even when losing Timber was still time wasting. It was very bizarre after Arteta finally got the striker he has needed for 5 years. Gyokeres may as well have stayed at home, the Gooners were not really trying to play to him they were mostly looking to win corners. Without Saka's delivery, and with Rice unusually off his game, they failed to really threaten from them as well. All in all, added to Liverpool's measured approach under Slot, it made for a game that will be quickly forgotten other than for the moment of magic when Szoboszlai scored.

Starmen:
Slot - he just finds ways to keep winning.
Szoboszlai - excelled at right-back again and his free-kick was special.
Gomez - came on and was excellent.
Gyokeres' Hair - those flicks are so much better than his football right now.

Flops:
Mac Allister - his lack of fitness is a real problem so far. Liverpool need him back to full fitness quickly.
Martinelli - another utterly brainless performance from him.
Zubimendi - a very strange buy for Arsenal as he is not really what they needed. He is a very good player when your team is dominating possession and looking to play the ball around, but he is utterly unsuited for this Stoke City-lite team that is trying to use physicality and set pieces to win games. He has almost no physicality and gets caught in behind far too easily for a deep lying midfielder.

Aston Villa 0-3 Crystal Palace

All is not well at Villa this season, they have started the season very slowly, in all respects, from their results to their style of play. They look a bit of a mess to be honest, with a defence that looks like it has never even met each other before. Palace were there to take full advantage of it, with Guehi stepping up to score a beauty that no one knew he even had in the locker! Villa really need to get up to speed fast or they can forget their ambitions of Europe this season. Palace, on the other hand, are looking a well-oiled machine under Glasner and look capable of beating anyone on their day.

Starmen:
Oliver Glasner - he has Palace playing as a team.
Guehi - despite hoping for a move away, the club captain still gave his all for the team, a clear indicator of the team spirit Glasner has fostered.
Kamada - hassled and harried all game, giving Villa players not a moment to settle on the ball.
Sarr - apart from his comical moment when he pulled up towards the end, clearly injured but looking like the world's worst dive, he was excellent.
Mitchell - gave Villa's right-side a torrid time.
Munoz - he was even better than Mitchell on the opposite flank.

Flops:
Unai Emery - he seems to caught up in his cat fight behind the scenes to focus on the game.
Mings - had a day to forget. To be fair, he was not helped by his defensive partners at all.
Malen - offers very little.
Rogers - looks a long way from the player who was young player of the season in the Prem last year.

Written by Tris Burke September 02 2025 13:43:05