Premier League in a nutshell: Antonio the Demon, Lukaku’s comeback and Norwich’s demolition at the Etihad

The English league has finished the 2nd round. West Ham took the lead in the Premier League after a crushing win over Leicester, Lukaku returned to the scene of the crime and delivered another hard direct to Arsenal, Citizens shot with gusto against the newcomer from Norwich. There was no shortage of surprise losses for the favourite either. That befell Manchester United, who took just a point at Southampton’s ground. Who is this week’s hero and who is this week’s renegade? What does the ideal line-up for Round 2 look like?

The offensive whirlwind of the Hammers was caught this time by the Foxes

This London club looks set to continue to cause fear this season. West Ham beat Newcastle 4-2 in a crazy shootout in Round 1 and followed that up on Monday against Leicester. In the best game of the round, they clearly outplayed their opponents and won 4: 1. This clear win put him right at the top.

This is only the second time West Ham have reached the top spot in their history, the first time being exactly 15 years ago. West Ham’s offensive line has shone at the start of the new season. Averaging 4 goals a game, the best attack in the league. The main driving force is Antonio (3 goals + 2 assists), ably supported by the productive Benrahma (2 goals + 2 assists).

Hero of the round: Michail Antonio

Already last season, the Jamaican cannonballer showed great potential. And he is building on that in the current one. Antonio was the player of the match against Leicester. 2 goals, 1 assist, threatening from every action, battling, unstoppable. He secured 3 points for his team and also reached a great historical milestone. With 2 shots against Leicester, he became West Ham’s top scorer in Premier League history. If Antonio avoids frequent injuries, he will be extremely dangerous for many opponents.

The successful return of Romelu Lukaku

9 years old. That’s how much time has passed since the Belgian’s last game in a Chelsea jersey. Back then, he left the Blues in damnation and in the hope that they would give him a chance somewhere else. However, his debut as an old man was about something else entirely. He scored a goal in the 15th minute and was a huge part of the 2-0 win against Arsenal.

He is almost undefendable for the opposing defence. He showed how much he has progressed as a player and confirmed that he is one of the best strikers in the world at the moment.

The Belgian cannonballer is a great asset for Chelsea and could be a key link in the Blues’ title battle. Arsenal, on the other hand, have suffered another KO and are experiencing a failed start to the season. They are in the relegation zone and need to start scoring. They will face Manchester City in the next round, not a pleasant prospect.

The defending champion takes on a newcomer

The aforementioned Citizens needed to make up for their 1st round wobble against Tottenham (1: 0). The game against Norwich was the perfect opportunity. The defending champion fulfilled the role of the favourite, inflicted a debacle on the opponent and won 5: 0. The team was still missing De Bruyne, but it didn’t affect the team’s performance at all. Jack Grealish filled in perfectly, the most expensive player in the league made his first appearance in his new job.

Gabriel Jesus was also productive with 2 goal assists. It seems that productivity won’t be a problem this season either, although the team lacks a typical finisher and the arrival of Harry Kane doesn’t look like much.

Loser of the round:: Manchester United

The Red Devils have had a fantastic start to the season. In the opening game they destroyed Leeds 5-1 and moved up to 1st place in the table. Pogba shone the most, while Fernandes was also productive. Manchester United went into the match against Southampton as big favourites. Coach Solsjaker left his star signings out of the starting lineup, which was probably a mistake.

Fernandes and co. couldn’t cope with the opponent and only managed a draw. The big title contender suffered its first embarrassing loss and proved that there is no easy opponent in the Premier League.

Interesting stats of the 2nd round::

• Only 4 teams have not received any goals this season. Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Brentford remain without a goal scored.
• Only 2 Manchester United players scored more than 5 assists last season. Paul Pogba has 5 goal assists after 2 games of the current season.
• Ayoze Pérez received a red card for the first time in his career in the match against Leicester. His sending off came in his 274th start.
• Mikel Arteta has lost more home games in 20 months than Arsene Wenger has lost in 6 years.
• Arsenal are in the relegation zone for the first time since 1994.
• Romelu Lukaku scored his first goal for Chelsea in his 16th start. 9 years and 360 days after his debut.
• Only Chelsea and Manchester City (both 13) have kept more clean sheets than Brighton (10) in 2021.
• Virgil Van Dijk has started in the Reds’ starting line-up in 48 home league games. Liverpool have not lost any of them.

Line-up of the round according to WhoScored:

WhoScored, Livesport