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Seven things we learned from Premier League week two, from VAR debate to Chelsea’s transfer blues

Etihad Stadium controversy dominated the weekend’s Premier League action while Liverpool and Arsenal maintained their 100% starts to the season

Jack de Menezes,Damian Spellman
Monday 19 August 2019 09:16 BST
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Premier League round-up: Liverpool go top as Man City draw

Liverpool find themselves with an early advantage over Premier League title rivals Manchester City after just two rounds as the 2-1 victory over Southampton maintained their 100 per cent start to the season, with Pep Guardiola’s side slipping up in controversial circumstances against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Reds had Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino to thank for their victory on the south coast though it could have been a very different story had Danny Ings been able to tuck home a second chance just minutes after he pulled one goal back. But the big story on Saturday came at the Etihad Stadium. Twice Spurs had fought back from going behind, with Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura cancelling out goals from Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero, but City looked to have clinched a late victory only for Gabriel Jesus’s goal to be ruled out for a handball in the build-up by Aymeric Laporte.

Arsenal managed to secure back-to-back wins at the start of the season for the first time in a decade as strike duo Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw the Gunners past Burnley, while Norwich City picked up an impressive first win of the season as Teemu Pukki fired a hat-trick past a hapless Newcastle United.

Watford remain pointless after a second consecutive defeat of the season in a 1-0 loss at Everton, while Bournemouth beat Aston Villa and Brighton were held to a 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Sunday’s action didn’t quite live up to Saturday’s billing, though Frank Lampard’s Chelsea homecoming turned sour as Leicester City salvaged a draw after going behind from Mason Mount’s opener, while Crystal Palace suffered more disappointment in losing to newly-promoted Sheffield United.

Here’s what we learned from the Premier League this weekend.

Chelsea paying the price for transfer shake-up

The early signs are that Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham are going to struggle to score the goals that are needed to maintain their place in the top four. Not only do the pair need to find a way to replace the 16 goals scored last season by Eden Hazard – along with the only summer arrival of Christian Pulisic – but they must prepare to face criticism for allowing Alvaro Morata to leave the club.

Quite why the decision was made to allow an international striker depart when the club was under a transfer embargo beggars belief, but with Liverpool and Manchester City looking good for the top two spots in the league and Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United all making good starts to the season, it’s feels as though Chelsea have not given themselves any chance of Champions League football next season with their own transfer strategy.

Palace suffering from summer hangover

It would appear that Wilfried Zaha’s summer transfer saga has had an impact on more than just the forward himself. Two game down, Palace are yet to find the back of the net at looked like one of the weaker sides in the Premier League in their 1-0 defeat by Sheffield United on Sunday. They mustered just six shots compared to United’s 15, despite having 57 per cent of possession – something that Roy Hodgson admitted afterwards was unacceptable for the talent they had.

Hodgson decided that Zaha was ready to be thrown back into the mix straight away, starting last weekend’s opener against Everton on the bench before returning to the starting line-up at Bramall Lane. But it would not be a surprise if that reintegration following his failed transfer to Goodison Park has not yet fully taken, which would not just have an effect on his own mentality but those of the 10 teammates around him.

Wilfried Zaha's summer transfer dispute looks to have had an effect on Palace

So near and yet so VAR

VAR and the new interpretation of the handball rule are going to be talking points throughout the season, and they certainly were at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Manchester City thought they had snatched a 3-2 victory deep into stoppage time when Gabriel Jesus fired home, only for the goal to be chalked off on review because the ball had clipped Aymeric Laporte's arm during the build-up.

The decision may have been correct, but City boss Pep Guardiola felt doubly aggrieved having seen Spurs' Fernando Llorente score against his side in the Champions League last season after the ball flicked off his hand.

Auba the moon

Arsenal could be a force this season if they can keep striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fit and in form. The Gabon international scored the winner at Newcastle last weekend and repeated the feat this time around as the Gunners beat Burnley 2-1, creating space for himself before beating keeper Nick Pope at his near post with an astute finish.

Frank's still got the blues

Frank Lampard, who tasted victory so many times as a Chelsea player, is still waiting to do so as the club's manager. It all started so well for the Blues as midfielder Mason Mount responded to criticism by Jose Mourinho to open the scoring against Leicester on his home debut, only for Wilfred Ndidi, the man Mount had robbed to open his account, to make amends with a bullet header. Having started brightly, the London team wilted and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Lampard's Stamford Bridge homecoming unravelled against Leicester

The good, the bad and the ugly

Aston Villa are going to have to sharpen up if they are to avoid being drawn into a survival fight after enduring mixed fortunes as they attempted to open their top-flight account against Bournemouth. Villa were 2-0 down on their own pitch after just 12 minutes before they launched a fightback which came up just short. Summer signing Tom Heaton conceded a second-minute penalty with a rash challenge and fellow newcomer Douglas Luiz left a ball for Harry Wilson to thump home a deflected second. Luiz redeemed himself with a sumptuous second-half strike but it was not enough.

Doom and gloom for the Toon

Steve Bruce scored two own goals on his debut for Norwich as a player, but his return to Carrow Road as Newcastle's head coach proved even more demoralising. Teemu Pukki's hat-trick saw the Canaries romp to a 3-1 victory over the Magpies to hand Bruce further evidence that filling Rafael Benitez's shoes is going to take some doing.

Additional reporting by PA

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