The picture is becoming clearer in the English Premier League table after Matchday five. Teams are becoming their true selves as their A-teams have played the past couple of weeks, showing us how good, or bad, they really are.
What we’ve learned: Manchester United (Man U) is not back, like, at all, Arsenal might have found a way to win, Liverpool’s defense is worse than last year and that Southampton’s fire sale might have been a good move.
Let’s start with Manchester United. The super-rich, offensive-driven squad looked to be back into their famous winning grove after a 4-0 win against Queens Park Rangers last weekend. The only problem with their first win under their Dutch manager Louis van Gaal was that it was, in fact, over newly-promoted QPR. This Sunday, it looked to be just as easy a win for the Devils as they faced Leicester City on the road. With attackers like Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria and Wayne Rooney, Man U fans expected a win against the new guys. However, after a 3-1 lead 57 minutes in, the wheels fell off yet again. Two penalties and two more goals against Manchester’s god-awful defense in a span of 21 minutes proved to be too much for United as they lost three points yet again this season.
The 5-3 result goes to show that you can throw money at a problem on one half of the field all you want, but if you do not have a Falcao as a center-back, or a Di Maria as a fullback, you will not compete with the big guys in the EPL. Man U’s defense was improved only slightly, but van Gaal will have to figure something out quick if he wants to stay up in the EPL and not get relegated, because at this moment, his squad does not look like an EPL side.
Another big team with large defensive issues is Liverpool. If you remember last season, the Reds were able to outscore at will with their world-class striker Luis Suarez paired with Daniel Sturridge and their 52 total goals. Their offense flowed like a river as Coutinho, Gerrard and company would get them the ball with ease and expect them to score, which they usually did. This season they are sans Suarez and thus, sans free-flowing offense. Manager, Brendan Rodgers added the gifted Mario Balotelli, but his seasons away from the EPL has made it difficult for him to get back into the physical grind of the league. Liverpool’s 30 goals given up last season was the most of the top four teams so the Red’s tried to remedy that with the addition of Southampton’s solid defender Dejan Lovren, but it has not been enough so far. Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to West Ham Saturday is a sign that, like Manchester United, something needs to be done about the back four before they get carved like a Christmas ham out of the top four.
Matchday five showed the differences that a couple of days can make from Champions League soccer and EPL soccer. Liverpool squeaked out a 2-1 against Belgian side Ludogorets on Tuesday on a penalty goal from Steven Gerrard in the 93rd minute. Liverpool then went on to lose 3-1 on the weekend.
Arsenal lost 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in a game their defense could not have looked worse. The lethargic and uninterested Arsenal team then played Aston Villa. Arsenal won 3-0 against Villa in a convincing style. New signing Danny Welbeck also scored for Arsenal and if they can keep their offensive flow going and improve their defense against the better teams, Arsenal could make a serious run.
In the most entertaining game of the week, Chelsea visited Manchester City. The defending champions played host to league-leaders, Chelsea in the biggest game of the EPL season to date. Jose Mourinho led his blues to two wins last season over City and it looked to be another close game in the first half as it ended a not-very-interesting 0-0. In the second half, substitute, Andre Schurrle proved to be a positive addition in the match as he scored a tip-in goal from Eden Hazard to put the Blue’s up in the 71st minute. City then subbed on former Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard in the 78th minute. Lampard’s netted the tying goal just minutes later for a 1-1 tie.
Chelsea’s still a top of the league with 13 points, but the table has gotten a lot more exciting. Look out for Southampton, who won again this week 1-0 over Swansea City. The top teams all have things they can improve on, but the season is just getting started. There is no Champions League mid-week, so the Premier League players should be fresh and ready to go next Saturday in matchday six.