Week 2 of the EPL got underway yesterday, featuring many of the top teams and players from around the league. Man United suffered their first loss of the season in a surprise upset to Brighton. Arsenal and Man City were able to hold off their opponents in their second game of the season to remain perfect through two weeks.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest storylines from Week 2.
Haaland Scores Hat-trick in 4-1 Manchester City Win Over Ipswich
Erling Haaland was at it once again, scoring yet another hat-trick for Manchester City in their comfortable 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium yesterday.
It was Ipswich however that scored the first goal of the match when Sammie Szmodics was able to squeeze a shot through the legs of Ederson in the seventh minute. Ipswich had returned to the top flight of English football for the first time in 22 years and for a few minutes they had dreams of beating the top team.
The joy was short-lived however as Manchester City hit back with three goals in four minutes.
First, Haaland equalized via a penalty, which was given following a review by the video assistant referee when Sam Allison had initially called a dive from Savinho.
Kevin de Bruyne nailed the second goal to put his team ahead when Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric hesitated getting the ball out. Haaland then took the game away when he rounded in a kick to make it 3-1 in the 16th.
Manchester City could have bloated the score even further but they ended up hitting the goalpost twice. Ipswich also had another golden chance to pull a goal back but a strong shout for a penalty was denied after Leif Davis was tackled by Savinho inside the box.
The second half was more of the same from both teams. Ilkay Gundogan, who completed his move from Barcelona back to City, came on to a big round of applause from the crowd. Haaland then struck a low drive goal from distance to pad the lead even further and complete his hat-trick.
With the victory, Manchester City starts with a 100% record from their two games. Ipswich on the other hand are still waiting for their first points losing to Liverpool in their opener.
Arsenal Come Alive In Second Half To Beat Aston Villa 2-0
Arsenal came out of their match at Aston Villa with their second win of the new Premier League season, taking their nemesis from last year down 2-0.
It was Villa who inflicted the biggest damage to Arsenal’s title hopes last season with a defeat to Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium in mid-April that effectively ended Arsenal’s chances.
Goalkeeper David Raya made a couple of stunning second-half saves from Ollie Watkins which kept the game scoreless and proved to be pivotal in the match. Just moments after the save, Arsenal cashed in, as Trossard scored with a clinical finish to break the deadlock.
Partey added a second which eased the tension and secured the win for his team.
Although Aston Villa couldn’t replicate their performances from last season, they did control the match for a significant period of time. Watkins, who had been Villa’s main marksman with 19 league goals last season, couldn’t get it right on the day. He missed a simple first-half chance by steering the ball wide which could’ve really changed the game for his team. He was then a victim of Raya’s wonder save but he still should have nailed the diving header.
Next up for Arsenal will be Brighton in Week 3, as Aston Villa will try to bounce back against Leicester City.
Other Week 3 Results From Saturday
| Brighton | 2 |
| Manchester United | 1 |
| Tottenham | 4 |
| Everton | 0 |
| Crystal Palace | 0 |
| West Ham | 2 |
| South Hampton | 0 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1 |
| Fulham | 2 |
| Leicester City | 1 |
