Matchday 4 of the English Premier League 2024/25 season is in the books, providing fans with a number of exciting storylines.
Man City continued their dominance at the top of the table, winning their fourth game to remain perfect to start the season. Liverpool on the other hand, lost in a shocking upset to Nottingham Forest to fall down the standings to 4th place. Southampton and Everton extended their losing streaks to four games, unable to pick up a single point this season so far.
Haaland Scores Twice As Man City Beat Brentford, 2-1
Norwegian striker Erling Haaland scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season on Saturday against Bentford to help his team win their fourth consecutive game. With the win, Man City are now sitting three points clear of the field at the top of the EPL table with 12 points.
City got off to a bad start when visiting forward Yoane Wissa scored the quickest goal of the season in just the 24th second of the match. He headed into an empty net from close range after John Stones and Ederson failed to clear a ball from Keane Lewis-Potter.
It didn’t take very long for CIty to reply though, as Haaland steadied the ship with a line drive shot on a loose ball after Kevin de Bruyne had been tackled inside the Brentford box. The goal leveled the score and gave Man CIty fans at the Etihad Stadium a chance to breathe again.
Haaland then scored his second in the 32nd minute to put his team in the lead by pushing aside Ethan Pinnock to reach Ederson’s long pass. With just one more goal, Haaland could’ve become just the fifth player in English top-flight history to score three successive hat-tricks. Unfortunately for him he couldn’t quite get there, as Brentford keeper Mark Flekken tipped a ball over the net to keep the score to 2-1 late in the game.
City will start their Champions League campaign with a 2023 final rematch against Inter Milan on Wednesday.
Nottingham Forest Score Huge 1-0 Victory Over Liverpool
Callum Hudson-Odoi stunned Liverpool at Anfield Stadium to end their perfect start to the season. The victory puts Nottingham Forest in 7th place with 2 wins and 2 draws this season, as they continue to remain unbeaten. Liverpool dropped to 4th position behind Arsenal and Newcastle who both had wins this week.
Hudson-Odoi’s goal came in the 72nd minute when the substitute cut in from the left and drilled an almost perfect shot into the far bottom corner. Liverpool had many chances to get on the board in the first half but couldn’t convert on a number of close calls. Arguably the best attempt was by Alexis Mac Allister who had his header saved by Forest keeper Matz Sels.
Liverpool will try to get back on track against Bournemouth this coming weekend but will need to first play against Italian club Milan in the Champions League matchup on Wednesday.
Nottingham Forest will be looking to keep going with their unbeaten start to the season when they play Brighton next week.
Arsenal Win Scrappy Match Against Tottenham, 1-0
Arsenal were able to come out with a crucial victory at Tottenham via a second-half header by Gabriel. They were without captain Martin Odegaard and key midfielder Declan Rice who were unavailable for the match due to injury and suspension respectively.
Arsenal keeper David Raya made a number of key saves early to keep his team level. In the end it was Gabriel’s vital contribution in the 64th minute which was the difference in the match, heading home a Bukako Saka corner high past Vicario.
Arsenal are now second on the EPL table, sitting two points behind Man City with three wins and one draw. They will have to Leicester CIty next week to keep their unbeaten record intact.
