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A day to reshape the Premier League title race

By on September 26, 2015

It has been over two years, dating back to Sir Alex Ferguson’s last day in charge of Manchester United, since The Red Devils last topped the Premier League table at the end of the weekend. Yet in keeping with a Saturday of football filled with so many historic little moments, United’s wasn’t even the longest streak broken. The sight of Erik Lamela of all players walking off a football pitch to the chorus of a standing ovation highlights just how unusual today’s matches were, as the Spurs crowd enjoyed watching their side put four goals past Manchester City for the first time in twenty-two years. On a day defined by thirty-six goals from eight Premier League matches, Wayne Rooney also ended his goal drought at 999 minutes and Alexis Sanchez also got on the scoresheet (indeed with a hat trick) for the first time this season.

Harry Kane bagged one of two blatantly offside goals for Tottenham but City played the biggest role in their own downfall. Although Kevin de Bruyne put the visitors up early on, he showed both his splendid and somewhat inexperienced sides, for right on the brink of the half, it was his own terribly weak clearance that bobbled right to the foot of Eric Dier, who arrowed a low effort home to equalize.

Three more goals, from the head of Toby Alderweireld, right boot of Kane and left foot of Eric Lamela and City’s tremendous attacking show equipped with roundly firing stars now seems far in the past as doubts begin to surface that worry it was only a temporary, dreamy run of form after all. Perhaps their spark went with the calf of David Silva, who was also sidelined for City’s loss to West Ham United last weekend. An injured Joe Hart was also replaced in goal by William Caballero and though City’s aging backline proved too street-smart for Chelsea a few weeks back, their age problem seemed to have compounded by Tottenham’s pace and vibrancy.

It goes a long way to illustrating Chelsea’s current slump that their draw 2-2 draw with Newcastle United might have been one of the least surprising results of the day. The Blues had lost all three of their previous outings to St James Park and moreover, allowed five goals. This time around, though, the result has been in keeping with Newcastle’s general inability to shut down games.

Thus was it Manchester City’s cross-town rivals United who rose out of City’s shadows to take the reigns of the Premier League. Their 3-0 dispatching of Sunderland was an altogether routine win and their rise to the top of the table has been quite a surprise, if not unannounced, given their early misgivings. Suddenly, a Premier League title doesn’t seem yet another season away.

Again the club’s summer signings made the difference today as Memphis Depay bundled home his first league goal from Juan Mata’s lovely squared ball on the end of Daley Blind’s inch-perfect diagonal pass. Although Anthony Martial didn’t scored, he set up Rooney for United’s second of the day after one of his trademark runs in down the channel. It was a team with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones at center-back after Blind suffered a worrying knock to the head, but a sense of excitement and energy up front took the focus off United’s back-line; one that, while it is still very early, may be just enough to realign the Premier League title race this season.

Homepage photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald, via Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.