Manchester City failed to beat Southampton on Saturday afternoon. Remarkably enough, Josep Guardiola’s team managed to save only one shot on goal in its own Etihad Stadium: 0-0. Competitor Liverpool won thanks to three corners earned from Crystal Palace (3-0), while Arsenal find their way up thanks to a cramped victory at Burnley (0-1). Liverpool lead the Premier League with thirteen points, City are second with three points less.
Manchester City v Southampton 0-0
Nathan Aké started again in the base at City, which had to miss John Stones and Aymeric Laporte due to injuries. Southampton managed to prevent that for 90 minutes the Citizens were able to fire a shot on target. In the first half the most danger came from Raheem Sterling, who saw a curled shot fly wide.
After an hour of play, Kyle Walker appeared to inflict a penalty for Southampton and also get a red card, but VAR reversed that decision due to offside in the run-up. For example, City fortunately remained with eleven men and Guardiola was able to bring in big names with Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden on the hunt for the win. The home side increased the pressure and managed to get the ball into Southampton’s goal twice in stoppage time, but were also called back twice for offside. First a good header from Foden was disallowed, then a striker from Sterling.
Liverpool – Crystal Palace
Liverpool got away well in the second minute, when Wilfried Zaha lifted the ball over Alisson, but the goalkeeper of the Reds was back just in time to knock the ball out of the goal mouth. After that, Liverpool took the initiative firmly and Crystal Palace was pushed further and further back. Diogo Jota missed two good chances. First, the Portuguese shot wildly past from close range from a difficult angle. Then Jota had the rebound for tapping in after a header from Thiago Alcántara, but again shot wildly. Liverpool’s opening goal came just before half-time from a corner. Sadio Mane could easily type after Mohamed Salah’s header was turned over by Guaita: 1-0.
2-0! ?
Liverpool score again from a standard situation, this time it’s Salah who makes it ??#ZiggoSport #MOTD #LIVCRY pic.twitter.com/dfFC4Laxhe— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 18, 2021
After more than an hour of play, Jairo Riedewald was brought in at Crystal Palace, which insisted on looking for the equalizer. Odsonne Édouard came close, but dramatically took the ball right in front of Liverpool’s goal and squandered the opportunity. Liverpool decided the game ten minutes before the end from a corner. The ball fell on Virgil van Dijk’s back, who unintentionally extended him to the far post. Salah took advantage there by firing the ball impeccably into the short corner: 2-0. Liverpool’s third goal also came from a corner. This time Guaita boxed the ball away, after which Naby Keïta placed the ball beautifully in the intersection: 3-0.
Burnley – Arsenal 0-1
A wonderful free kick by Martin Ödegaard after half an hour of play made the difference in the first half. After a foul on Bukayo Saka just before the penalty area, the Norwegian shot the ball beautifully out of goalkeeper Nick Pope’s reach: 0-1. A deserved goal, as Arsenal were the better team and Burnley struggled to create danger in the final meters. Sean Dyche’s team did not get beyond a few half chances for Ashley Barnes, without testing goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Burnley made a more dangerous impression in the second half. A shot from substitute Maxwel Cornet was tapped over the goal by Ramsdale and the VAR decided that an alleged foul by the goalkeeper on Matej Vydra, after a terrible pass from Ben White, was more of a fall from the attacker. The home team, with Erik Pieters on the bench for ninety minutes, tried to force an equalizer in the final phase, but Chris Wood’s header went over and a bet by Dwight McNeil also lacked precision. Burnley holds only Norwich City with a meager point, while Arsenal booked their second win in a row.
Norwich City – Watford 1-3
After seventeen minutes of play, the ball was already behind Tim Krul, who had to wait patiently as Emmanuel Dennis took advantage of his defenders’ loss of concentration with a striking header. Ten minutes before half time, Teemu Pukki scored the 1-1 when he was subtly sent off on the right by Mathias Normann. Also at Watford’s 1-2, the defense of the Canaries not looking too good: Joshua King was given too much space, after which Ismaïla Sarr made his second of the season. Sarr scored from a rebound ten minutes before the end, after a save by Krul on a bet by King, for the 1-3, leaving Norwich last with zero points from five games and a goal difference of 2-14.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 4 | Everton | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| 9 | Brentford | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 6 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 4 |
| 13 | Southampton | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -2 | 3 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton W. | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| 15 | Watford | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 3 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -7 | 3 |
| 17 | Arsenal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 3 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | -7 | 2 |
| 19 | Burnley | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -10 | 0 |