So we’re seven games into the 2021/22 Premier League season and things are starting to take shape up and down the league table.
Chelsea are currently in first place top and Norwich are 20th. No real surprises there but that doesn’t tell the whole story, or even half of it! So let’s take a look at four moments, two at the top and two at the bottom, which raised eyebrows, got fans off their seats and might give us a clue of what we might expect in the remainder of the campaign.
Sky Blues sweep Chelsea aside
When Manchester City turned up at Stamford Bridge in September, manager Pep Guardiola still had the painful memory of a 2021 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea in his mind. But his team put on a master class as they beat the Blues by a single goal, though it could have been many more as City bossed their rivals from start to finish.
A 53rd-minute strike from Gabriel Jesus was enough to win the points and end Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the campaign, though Aymeric Laporte missed a sitter and Blues keeper Edouard Mendy made two brilliant saves to deny Jack Grealish.
Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea still sit at the summit of the Premier League table and Liverpool have begun to gather some momentum, but the Premier League 2021 betting odds here at SBOTOP are right behind the Sky Blues after they put down this marker.
Arsenal blow Spurs away
There was pride, as well as three crucial points, at stake when Arsenal met Spurs at the Emirates at the end of September. Nuno’s Whites had started the season well, beating Manchester City on the opening day, while Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal had a shocking start, losing to Brentford and failing to pick up a point from their opening three games.
But the tide was turning at both clubs and when Arsenal blew Spurs away with a first-half blitz that made it three wins on the bounce for the Gunners and three consecutive defeats for Spurs. Three goals in 23 minutes from Emile Smith-Rowe, Pierre Emerick-Aubamayang and Bukayo Saka exposed a weak Spurs team and only a late Lucas Moura consolation gave the score some respectability.
Spurs skipper Harry Kane is without a Premier League goal after seven games, and he still seems unsettled after a summer of intense transfer speculation. What price he is on his way to the Etihad in January?
Newcastle’s multi-billions
Newcastle United’s long-suffering fans are still rubbing their eyes following the takeover of their beloved club by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is headed up by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The PIF owns an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle and they are worth a staggering £700bn which, to add a little context, dwarfs the £23bn in Manchester City’s owners’ pockets.
New director Amanda Staveley said: “Newcastle United deserves to be at the top of the Premier League. We want to see it get those trophies, obviously. At top of the Premier League, in Europe, but to get trophies means patience, investment and time.”
Whether head coach Steve Bruce has time is another question entirely! Staveley refused to be pushed on the question, and he is due to take charge of his 1,000th match, against Spurs next weekend. Bruce said: “If I don’t make 1,000 games against Spurs you might say that can only happen to me. It’s not cruel, it’s just football.”
These are early days but Newcastle are already playing catch up, sitting 19th in the Premier League table, though the Geordies did show plenty of fight in a recent 1-1 draw with Leeds.
Cornet’s stunning debut for Burnley
Back in the real world and one place up in 18th, Burnley have made their customary slow start and, probably until the Newcastle takeover, their fans were relatively relaxed about the whole situation.
The Geordies were one of the clubs Burnley expected to finish below them and that may or may not change, but the mood at Turf Moor had already been lifted by the signing of Lyon winger Maxwel Cornet.
Cornet hit the headlines last season when he ran Manchester City ragged at the 2020/21 Champions League group stage, and then he announced himself in the Premier League with a brilliant volley to give the Clarets a 1-2 lead over Leicester. He limped off with a hamstring pull minutes later and the Foxes scored a late leveller.
But the fit-again Cornet is sure to make plenty more Premier League 2021 highlights and his first goal on his full debut is worth another look.
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