Welcome back to Premier League round up’s on INMR, where this week I’ll be covering game week five. This game week saw a Liverpool return to winning ways, another assured Chelsea victory and a blockbuster Super Sunday. All that and more coming up – enjoy!
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What happened during match day five?
With all eyes on Sunday’s fixtures, particularly Manchester City vs Arsenal, plenty of great matches went under the radar on Saturday. Aston Villa completed a late comeback against Wolves which saw Nuno Espirito Santo’s side fall to the bottom of the league. Everton and Southampton got off the mark with 1-1 draws against Leicester and Ipswich respectively.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs all collected three points fairly easily but the surprise package of the weekend was Fulham who beat an in-form Newcastle side 3-1 at Craven Cottage. Hale End boys Emile Smith-Rowe and Reiss Nelson got on the score sheet to lead Fulham to victory. Saturday was concluded by a goalless draw between Crystal Palace and Manchester United, the Red Devils dominated with 67% possession and had five big chances but former goalkeeper Dean Henderson made seven saves to deny the away side three points.
Super Sunday begun at the Amex where Brighton faced Nottingham Forest; the battle of the unbeaten’s. In the end both sides remained unbeaten as the game finished 2-2 but it felt like two points dropped for the Albion who dominated the second half whilst 2-1 up. The headlines were stolen though by referee Rob Jones who showed three red cards in three minutes to Morgan Gibbs-White, Nuno Santo and Fabian Hurzeler. The weekend was concluded by an incredible 2-2 draw at the Etihad as 10 man Arsenal nearly held onto a 2-1 victory, but John Stones scored a 98th minute winner to spoil the party.
What did we learn?
Morgan Rogers inspires Villa comeback – Rogers has enjoyed an impressive start to the season despite not registering a goal or assist in 2024/25. Against Wolves that drought came to a close as he claimed two assists to help Villa turn the game on it’s head. Rogers made his Champions League debut in the week too but his performance on Saturday was the highlight. Eight touches in Wolves’ box, three chances created, there was no stopping this man.
Super Sunday tainted by card happy referees – What should have been a thrilling day of football was ruined on both occasions by referee’s Rob Jones and Michael Oliver.
At the Amex, and end to end game between unbeaten sides Brighton and Nottingham Forest ended in a final 10 minutes of ultra defensive set-ups. Both managers were sent off too for ‘unacceptable technical behaviour’ which means they will miss games against Chelsea (Hurzeler) and Fulham (Nuno).
Hours later an incredible first half of football turned into a training game of attack vs defence when Oliver showed Leandro Trossard a second yellow card for kicking the ball away and delaying the restart. Opta has discovered that the time between Oliver blowing his whistle for a foul and Trossard kicking the ball was 0.84 seconds, leading fans to feel that the sending off was harsh as the Belgian didn’t have enough time to react and stop playing. Oliver also failed to book other players who delayed the restart, meaning Premier League fans are once again frustrated by what are supposedly the best officials in the country.
Heartbreak for 10 man Arsenal – Arsenal so so nearly clipped Manchester City’s wings at the Etihad in what was an instant classic 2-2 stalemate. The game had it all, goals galore, red cards and last minute action. What more could you ask for?
Well, from an Arsenal point of view, three points would have been nice. The Gunners defended for their lives in the second half with a man down and almost got over the line. Man City dominated with 88% possession in the second half and scored with their 28th shot of the half in the 98th minute. A performance Arsenal should be proud of, but for a while there will be an overwhelming feeling of heartbreak that they couldn’t go all the way.
Moment of match day five:
In the blockbuster match that concluded the game week, there was plenty of action to choose from. I’ve opted for a record rather than a last minute goal or red card; that’s right, Erling Haaland’s goal is the moment of match day five.
The Norweigen’s goal scoring is becoming almost boring to write about but this one marked a special milestone, a century of City goals. Haaland’s opener in the ninth minute marked his 100th since coming to Manchester. He achieved the feat in record speed, taking just 105 games which is 53 less than it took club legend Sergio Aguero.
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Written by Isabelle Newnham
INMR FOOTBALL 
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