Premier League Weekend Review

It was a high-scoring weekend in the Premier League, plenty of goals and plenty of action to talk about.  Here are some of the top performers from this weekend’s action.

Scores:

Everton 0-1 Manchester United

Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal

Manchester City 3-1 Wolverhampton

Sunderland 2-2 Aston Villa

Norwich City 3-3 Blackburn

Wigan 0-2 Fulham

Swansea City 3-1 Bolton

West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Liverpool

Tottenham 3-1 Queens Park Rangers

Stoke City vs. Newcastle  (to be played Monday)

Game of the Week:  Chelsea vs. Arsenal.  This game turned out to be a handbook of “How Not To Defend”, but with 8 goals there was plenty of excitement!  Chelsea got off to a good start with a Frank Lampard goal, and went into halftime with a 2-1 lead.  In a back-and-forth second half, Arsenal took the lead 3-2 before Juan Mata tied it for Chelsea.  But the blues self-destructed in the last 5 minutes, and two Robin Van Persie goals clinched the game for Arsenal.  There were quite a few instances of bad defending from both teams, but also some great goals, specifically Theo Walcott’s individual effort and Juan Mata‘s long-range shot.

Goal of the Week:  Gareth Bale, Tottenham Hotspur.  Bale’s second goal clinched the game for Tottenham.  It was a great, curling finish after some neat passing with Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon.

Save of the Week:  Simon Mignolet, Sunderland.  Mignolet made an incredible kick-save in a one-on-one situation with Darren Bent, when it looked like a sure goal for the England forward.

Superfly, Super Goals!

Surprise of the Week:  Movin’ on up–with Swansea winning and Norwich earning a tie (and even with QPR losing), none of three of the teams promoted to the Premier League this season is lower than 12th place.  There is still a long way to go in the season, but could all three earn the right to stay in the league for another year?

Top Scoring Shoe:  The Nike Vapor Superfly grabbed 7 goals this week, outperforming runners-up the Nike CTR 360 and the Adidas F50 Adizero and Predator, all tied with 5.

Discussion Point:  After Arsenal’s stunning win at Chelsea, are the Gunners back to their best?  And with defensive cracks that showed this weekend, is Chelsea on the brink of a fall?