A breathtaking weekend of Premier League football saw Manchester City consolidate their position at the top of the table with a win over Manchester United, while Chelsea failed to maintain their one hundred percent record.
The weekend’s first game saw Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City overcome Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford courtesy of goals from Kevin De Bruyne and youngster Kelechi Iheanacho.
Elsewhere, Arsenal edged Southampton with a last-gasp penalty winner by Santi Cazorla to pick up their second win of the season. Meanwhile, Liverpool dominated champions Leicester City at Anfield, romping to a 4-1 win.
Despite having a full strength team at their disposal, Chelsea were held 2-2 at the Liberty Stadium by a fighting Swansea City side.
Here is TheHardTackle’s team of the week: Boruc; Walker, Stones, Koscielny, Milner; Mane, De Bruyne, Capoue, Son; Costa, Lukaku
Artur Boruc (Bournemouth)
The Bournemouth keeper has made a flying start to the season and has arguably been the Cherries’ best player this campaign. Against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, Boruc managed to keep out the Baggies’ strikers to guide his team to their first win of the season. He was also one of only three goalkeepers to keep a clean sheet this gameweek.
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)
Tottenham finally looked their potent best when they decimated Stoke City 4-0 at the Bet365 Stadium. Right-back Kyler Walker was instrumental in keeping the Stoke attackers at bay and also provided an extra spark going forward. Walker made a brilliant clearance off the line to maintain his side’s clean sheet.
The England international made a number of accurate crosses from the right flank and managed to pick up an assist from one of them. Stoke attacker Marko Arnautovic was given no room whatsoever as Walker constantly kept him in check.
John Stones (Manchester City)
Manchester City’s derby win was, in part, the result of some fine back-to-the-wall defending by their highly talented centre-back John Stones. Partnered alongside Nicolas Otamendi, the former Everton defender was resolute at the back.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic kept running at the City defence but Stones gave the Swede little room to manoeuvre. He also made a number of crucial interceptions and played a key role in isolating Ibrahimovic.
Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal)
Koscielny scored with an incredible overhead kick to bring Arsenal back on level terms against Southampton. Generally known to find the back of the net with his head, the French defender probably netted the goal of his career.
He was also rock solid at the back alongside his new partner Shkodran Mustafi. Together, the Arsenal defensive duo gave very little away to the Southampton attackers. Also, there was very little that Koscielny could have done to stop the Saints from taking the lead in the 18th minute.
James Milner (Liverpool)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s decision to play James Milner at left-back has borne fruit in recent games. Given Alberto Moreno’s frailties in that position, Milner has proven to be a more-than-able replacement at left-back for the Reds.
On Saturday, Milner was extremely efficient in his defensive duties against a pacey Leicester City attack featuring Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. The Englishman stood his ground and seldom gave Mahrez space down the Foxes’ right flank. It was a spirited performance from Milner who has now made the position his own.
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
The Senegalese winger made a £34 million switch to Liverpool in the summer and has been an effective signing for Jurgen Klopp. In all the three league games he’s featured in, Mane has shown a desire and drive to make things happen for his side.
In the game against Leicester, the 24-year-old ran rampant over a shaky looking back four. Due to his pace and dribbling ability, Christian Fuchs failed to get the upper hand over him. Mane kept making surging runs inside the box and proved to be a real nightmare for the Foxes’ defenders.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
De Bruyne was undoubtedly the Man of the Manchester derby. The Belgian attacking midfielder did not put a foot wrong against Manchester United in another brilliant display.
He opened the scoring for the Citizens in the 15th minute after United defender Daley Blind was caught flat-footed, allowing the Belgium international to run unchecked towards David de Gea’s goal. The City midfielder also played a part in the second goal as his shot ricocheted off the post only for Kelechi Iheanacho to drive the ball into the net to double the visitors’ advantage.
Etienne Capoue (Watford)
At the start of the season, Watford did not expect former Spurs midfielder Etienne Capoue to be a regular goal scoring option for them. But only four games into the new season, the Frenchman has already found the back of the net on three occasions and has provided one assist.
Even in Saturday’s 4-2 win against West Ham, Capoue was on song for the Hornets. He scored a goal in the 53rd minute to put his side 3-2 up and also played a key role in setting up Odion Ighalo for the opening goal in the first half. It was an incredible performance from the box-to-box midfielder.
Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
Despite not being named as a starter in Tottenham’s last three games, manager Mauricio Pochettino decided to field Son Heung-min for the game against Stoke. It proved to work wonders for Spurs as the South Korean grabbed two goals on the day and provided another assist to help his side to a 4-0 win.
If his first strike was a tad lucky, his second was absolutely sublime. During the game, his immaculate work-rate showed Pochettino what his squad had been missing for the past three games. If he continues to deliver performances such as this, Son is likely to find himself in Pochettino’s starting lineup more often than not this campaign.
Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Costa was recalled to the Spain national team in midweek and put up a spirited performance for them by grabbing a brace against Lichtenstein. Riding high on confidence, the 27-year-old replicated his performance for the national side with the Blues on Sunday, scoring both goals for Antonio Conte’s men in their 2-2 draw against Swansea.
The Brazilian-born Spain international has made a habit of scoring late goals this season and rose to the occasion once again as he scored from an impressive bicycle kick in the 81st minute to restore parity.
Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
After three mediocre games for the Toffees, Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku stepped up to the task and delivered when his side needed him the most. Everton had not enjoyed the best start to the new season, but were guided to a 3-0 win over Sunderland by their talismanic striker on Monday
Lukaku scored this season’s first hat-trick and could well have added two more to his name. He was tireless throughout the game, even drifting wide on a number of occasions to keep himself involved and to try and influence proceedings. Manager Ronald Koeman will be hoping that he maintains this form for the games to come.
