Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Daniel Childs

Chelsea academy product helps scupper Man Utd hopes as Blues pull away alongside Liverpool and Man City

Chelsea continued a perfect start to the Premier League season on Sunday as they comfortably beat London rivals Arsenal at The Emirates. The dominant performance of Romelu Lukaku and the ease to which the Blues dispatched a side they have struggled against in recent times sent out a strong message to the rest of the league.

Last weekend the Blues closest title rivals fared differently with Manchester United and Liverpool impressing with victories over Leeds and Norwich respectively, as Pep Guardiola's Citizens lost at Spurs.

The second weekend of the season saw all of Thomas Tuchel's closest rivals in action before Chelsea kicked off at Arsenal, so let's see how they fared.

Liverpool 2-0 Burnley

Sadio Mane was on the scoresheet against Burnley on Saturday in Liverpool's comfortable 2-0 win over The Clarets (LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)

Anfield witnessed a pretty routine victory for the Reds in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off over the Clarets.

Goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane were enough to put away Sean Dyche's side who famously broke Liverpool's long unbeaten record at home in January.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was a standout performer on the day, showcasing his freakishly good creative abilities as still the young age of 22. The fullback created 7 chances on the day, and the assist for Mane which wrapped up the points showcased his comfort in central areas.

A second clean sheet in a row with Virgil van Dijk back in defence sets Liverpool up strongly for the visit of Chelsea next Saturday which is a major test for both sides so early in the season.

It could be easy to discredit the opposition for Liverpool so far, but they have professionally got going without much fuss and that should concern their closest rivals.

Manchester City 5-0 Norwich

You have to feel for Norwich. The Canaries have been handed the worst possible start facing Liverpool and Manchester City in their opening two fixtures.

In both games they have been equally outgunned by superior opposition and for Manchester City back in front of their own fans, they dominated from start to finish.

It was the sort of performance at The Etihad Pep Guardiola's men have become accustomed to executing on a regular basis. Creating a number of high quality chances and surgically deconstructing weaker opposition.

Jack Grealish rather scruffy finish got the £100m man off the mark for his new club as the Manchester rain poured overhead.

Gabriel Jesus lit up the game with 2 assists and 3 key passes from a wider position as he was instrumental to City's lethal attack.

It was not a surprise to see the Champions secure such a hefty win over newly promoted opposition. What will be more telling is whether they can add Harry Kane to an already menacing attack in the closing weeks of this transfer window.

Southampton 1-1 Manchester United

Manchester United managed to take a point from St. Mary's after falling behind to Southampton in the first half. (Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images)
Similar to the first weekend it was one of the Manchester clubs that stumbled away from home.

For all of Manchester United's dominance in the first half they somehow managed to find themselves a goal down and chasing the game at the interval.

Bruno Fernandes called for a foul in the lead up to Fred's own goal, deflecting in a Che Adams effort. But this was a Manchester United performance which felt reminiscent of recent seasons where they fail to hit top gear against teams they are expected to beat.


Paul Pogba looked like a constant threat, and his individual guile to dance past several Saints challenges in the box and find Mason Greenwood created United's leveller.

From a Chelsea perspective, Tino Livramento was given Man of the Match for an influential outing against the Red Devils. Chelsea's Young Player of the Year has quickly settled in his new surroundings and its great to see a Cobham product helping to hinder a title rival.

Chelsea travel to Anfield to face Jurgen Klopp's men in the highlight of next weekend's fixtures on Saturday evening. Manchester City welcome Arsenal at home in the lunchtime slot, whilst Manchester United hope to get back to winning ways at Wolves on Sunday.

What do you think about the title race? Follow our new Chelsea Fan Brand Writers Daniel Childs on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.