Chelsea draw at home again: All you need to know about today’s 3PM Premier League action
The Premier League continued on Saturday with 12 teams in action during the 3pm kick-offs, looking to go into the international break on a high.
Defending champions Manchester City welcomed Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad, knowing a win would see them go top of the table, at least until Liverpool played in the evening.
Sheffield United travelled to Chelsea with Frank Lampard’s side looking for a first home win under their new boss.
Newcastle United hosted Watford at St James’ Park, the latter looking for their first points of the season. Crystal Palace and Aston Villa faced off, looking to build on impressive victories last time out.
West Ham United faced Norwich City in what promised to be an exciting tie, while unbeaten Leicester City hosted Bournemouth.
But how did the games play out?
Chelsea 2-2 Sheffield United
The match summed up in one stat… Chelsea named their youngest ever Premier League starting XI, with an average age of 24 years and 158 days.
What does this mean for the Premier League? The draw at Stamford Bridge sees both Chelsea and Sheffield United move up the table, to eighth and seventh respectively.
Man of the match? Tammy Abraham, who scored two goals for the second game in a row.
Spare a thought for… Kurt Zouma. Chelsea’s defence has been weak this season, but the Blues looked like they were holding onto a tight 2-1 lead. That was until Zouma unfortunately got onto the end of Callum Robinson’s cross to hand Sheffield United a deserved point.
Crystal Palace 1-0 Aston Villa
The match summed up in one stat… No Crystal Palace player completed more passes than Luka Milivojevic (56) against Aston Villa.
What does this mean for the Premier League? Crystal Palace’s win sees them move up from 10th to fourth, while Villa drop to 18th.
Man of the match? Luka Milivojevic, who ran the midfield for Palace in their win over Villa.
Spare a thought for… Henri Lansbury. The midfielder thought he had scored an injury-time equaliser for Aston Villa, but saw it ruled out with referee Kevin Friend pulling play back and booking Jack Grealish for simulation.
Leicester City 3-1 Bournemouth
The match summed up in one stat… Jamie Vardy (15) has scored more Premier League goals in 2019 than any other Englishman.
What does this mean for the Premier League? Leicester have moved up one spot to third, while Bournemouth drop to 15th.
Man of the match? Jamie Vardy, who continued his fine scoring record under Brendan Rodgers with two goals.
Spare a thought for… Chris Mepham. The 21-year-old has received praise for his Bournemouth performances but will look back on the role he played in Vardy’s second goal, losing the ball inside his own box.
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Manchester City 4-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
The match summed up in one stat… Only three players have ever scored six Premier League goals in a single August: Chris Sutton (1997), Edin Džeko (2011) and Sergio Aguero (2019).
What does this mean for the Premier League? Man City leapfrogged Liverpool at the top of the Premier League for at least a few hours. Brighton drop down eight places to 16th.
Man of the match? Kevin De Bruyne, who continued his blistering start to the season with a goal and assist.
Kevin de Bruyne's game by number's vs. Brighton:
52 touches
34 passes attempted
33 passes completed
6 recoveries
4 shots
2 chances created
2 tackles
1 goal
1 assistAnother classic KDB display. 🎨 pic.twitter.com/Wt75DSBvq3
— Squawka (@Squawka) August 31, 2019
Spare a thought for… Aymeric Laporte. The centre-back went into the game off the back of his first senior call-up for France. But his debut dreams appear to be on hold after having to be taken off injured in the first half.
Newcastle United 1-1 Watford
The match summed up in one stat… Both sides had 13 shots on goal, with Newcastle hitting the target five times to Watford’s three.
What does this mean for the Premier League? Watford remain bottom of the table with Newcastle moving up to 14th.
Man of the match? Sean Longstaff, who created three chances in trying to unlock Watford’s defence.
Spare a thought for… Javi Gracia. There’s no playing down the work Gracia did at Watford last season, leading them to the FA Cup final. But if reports are to believed, the Spaniard could be on his way out of Vicarage Road after winning just one point from Watford’s opening four league games.
West Ham United 2-0 Norwich City
The match summed up in one stat… Arthur Masuaku won 100% of his six attempted tackles against Norwich City.
What does this mean for the Premier League? West Ham’s win sees them move up to fifth, while Norwich have dropped down to 19th.
Man of the match? Arthur Masuaku, who was a rock at the back and also provided the assist for Sebastien Haller’s opener.
Spare a thought for… Teemu Pukki. The Finnish striker was in hot form going into the game but his chances were limited thanks to West Ham’s good defending. Pukki only managed two shots, with just one hitting the target.
