Good day everyone,

I hope you are all well and had an excellent weekend, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things sports. The second round of fixtures this season saw plenty of own goals, some heated battles which included Gerrard v's Lampard in the dugouts, a dismal performance by Manchester United, and the big London Derby between Spurs and Chelsea was a fierce and fiery battle.

If you would like to check out the preview on this round of games it can be found here: https://www.publish0x.com/cryptogod-1-sports/premier-league-2223-match-week-2-preview-xozolpy

Weekend Predictions & Final Results

So in terms of the predicted scores, I got 1/10 correct this weekend. In terms of match-winner/loser, I managed to predict 4/10 correctly in this round of games.

Predicted: Aston Villa 2-2 Everton

Result: Aston Villa 2-1 Everton

Ings, Buendía - Digne OG

The Gerrard against Lampard battle begun with Villa looking the brighter side, as Carlos went close with an early header from a corner. Everton thought they had taken a surprise lead midway through the half as Gordon managed to get the ball into the goal after Tarkowski had won the initial header, but he was ruled offside by VAR. On the half hour mark Ings latched onto a Watkins ball and lashed home to give the home side the lead. From there the game looked set for Villa as Everton offered little, even when they had the ball. McNeil and Gray both wasted chances with poor passes and bad control, and Doucoure getting injured hampered Everton even more. With four minutes of normal time to play Villa were two up as Buendia played a one-two with Watkins before finishing the move. Soon after Onana soon forced Digne to turn the ball into his own net, leading to a tense finsih. Twice Everton could and should have levelled the game as Rondon and Onana came close. This is only the second time in Premier League history that Everton have lost their opening two games of the season, while Ings has now scored 20 opening goals in Premier League games since 2019-20, more than any other player.

Predicted: Arsenal 3-1 Leicester

Result: Arsenal 4-2 Leicester

Jesus x2, Xhaka, Martinelli - Saliba OG, Maddison

This match started very fast, with Fofana almost nicking a lead for Leicester early on. Arsenal took control after that, with Jesus hitting the side netting and Xhaka striking the woodwork. Jesus scored his two goals within twelve minutes, the first a beautiful bending opener which took a deflection on the way, and the second a headed goal. Vardy had a penalty claim ruled out by VAR before the end of the half, with Leicester twice clawing their way back into the game in the second half. Saliba managed to turn the ball into his own net after some poor communication with Ramsdale, but a few moments later Ward and Fofana get mixed up under Martinelli's high cross and Jesus picked out Xhaka to finish. Daka and Iheanacho linked up to set up Maddison to once again bring the Foxes into the game, but less than 60 seconds later Arsenal had their two goal advantage back. Martinelli was picked out by Jesus on the edge of the box and found the bottom corner. The win leaves Arsenal with a perfect start, with two wins from two. Leicester meanwhile have the same issues as last season creeping back, with Ward looking less than confident between the sticks.

Predicted: Brighton 1-1 Newcastle

Result: Brighton 0-0 Newcastle

Not the result many were expecting here, but its a second draw for Brighton as they continue their tradition of draws in the league. It was a game which Nick Pope proved why Newcastle were so keen to sign him with him pulling off a string of fine saves. The Seagulls had two efforts cleared off the line, while Gross missed a sitter late on in a game they should have won. Both teams had shown great energy throughout and Newcastle  thought they had taken the lead on 13 minutes when Wilson steered the ball into the goal. It was ruled out for a high boot from the striker, while Brighton saw both March and Lallana spurn great chances. Burn missed a great chance for Newcastle with a header against his old side, the last twenty minutes or so it was all Brighton but they could not find a way past Pope. A good result for both sides, Brighton will want to continue picking up points and hope they can get another top half finish, while Newcastle will be happy with a point but know if they are to push for Europe they will need to be more ruthless in front of goal.

Predicted: Manchester City 3-0 Bournemouth

Result: Manchester City 4-0 Bournemouth

Gündogan, De Bruyne, Foden, Lerma OG

By far the dominant team in the league, the only thing Man City were missing in their first home game of the season was a goal for Haaland. The first half was scintillating from City, as they spurned a number of openings before Gündogan found the net on 19 minutes after being set up by Haaland. Just past the half-hour mark De Bruyne cut in from the right side to finish a beautiful solo goal in the bottom corner. Six minutes later it was all over as Bournemouth lost the ball with too many men forward, allowing De Bruyne to pick out Foden from the left and the Englishman finished from close range. With eleven minutes to go it was Grealish, who came on for Foden at half time, who picked out Cancelo and after cutting back inside his low-driven cross was turned into the goal by Lerma. Manchester City have lost just one of their last 30 Premier League games, against Spurs last February, 2-3. Bournemouth meanwhile are winless in all 17 of their league meetings with Manchester City, the worst record of any side against one opponent in the football league.

Predicted: Southampton 1-2 Leeds

Result: Southampton 2-2 Leeds

Aribo, Walker-Peters - Rodrigo x2

The second half performance from the Saints was a thing of beauty, as they came back from falling behind to two Rodrigo goals. For the first hour it was all Leeds and they deserved their lead, as their first goal came from a front post cross by Harrison within 30 seconds of the second-half restart. The second for Rodrigo was a header after a Struijk flick-on from close range. All looked good for Leeds, but Hasenhuttl brought on Aribo and Armstrong to change the game. Aribo rounded Meslier in the Leeds goal to reduce the deficit after Armstrong had set him up from the left wing, before Walker-Peters  got on the end of Mara's incisive pass and finished from a tight angle. The subs made the difference as the momentum switched with their introduction, allowing Southampton a way back into the match. After their horror performance against Spurs on the opening day this was the perfect response from Hasenhuttl's side. Marsch meanwhile can see the positives in his side, who have lost Phillips and Raphina and are in the process of reidentifying themselves.

Predicted: Wolves 1-2 Fulham

Result: Wolves 0-0 Fulham

Another no goal game which saw new side Fulham earn another point after their heroics against Liverpool last weekend. Wolves started well as Neto raced clear early on by saw his effort saved. Hwang had a similar effort soon after but once again saw it saved. Wolves played the better of the two sides but it was Fulham who saw an effort cleared off the line, as Neves hooked away De Cordova-Reid's effort with Sa diving towards it. In the second half it was Wolves who went closest, with Gibbs-White failing to finish Nouri's cross. Mitrovic had the chance to win it for Fulham late on as his side won a penalty in the 80th minute, but saw Sa save it to his right. The Serbian almost let it get the better of him as he took down Morgan Gibbs-White in stoppage-time before then going head-to-head with the Wolves forward. He only saw yellow for his outburst but will need more composure going forward in the league. Lage's side have now not won in nine Premier League games stretching back to last season, and only managed two goals in their last four home games. Fulham are now without a win in 12 Premier League games stretching back to their last stint in the league in 2021.

Predicted: Brentford 1-1 Manchester United

Result: Brentford 4-0 Manchester United

Dasilva, Jensen, Mee, Mbeumo

The shocking result of the weekend as Manchester United were dismantled in the first half by Brentford. The Bees had no problem with the intense heat, and Manchester United put in one of their worst performances in 30 years of Premier League football. The opener came on ten minutes when De Gea somehow managed to allow Dasilva's long range effort from outside the box slip past him into the goal. It got worse from there, as on eighteen minutes De Gea played Eriksen in trouble, leading to Jensen nicking the ball and slotting past the helpless keeper. Mee leaped over the diminutive Martinez to head home after thirty minutes, and the match was over five minutes later. Brentford won the ball in their own box and Toney was released down the left, playing a beautiful ball into Mbuemo who finished to get his sides fourth of the half. Ronaldo started this game and wasted three chances for his side but overall United did not deserve anything from this game. Ten Hag could not find any answers as his suffered another defeat after the loss to Brighton on the opening weekend, leaving his side bottom of the table. Frank will be delighted with how his side performed and hope they can build on the momentum of this big result, but United are very much the same as last season and the fans will hope for some more new faces before the end of the transfer window. United face Liverpool next in what will be a very difficult challenge for Ten Hag. 

Predicted: Nottingham Forest 0-2 West Ham

Result: Nottingham Forest 1-0 West Ham

Awoniyi

The atmosphere was wild as Forest played their first home game this century in the Premier League. They pushed hard to start with, but soon after West Ham got a foothold in the match. Toffolo cleared a ball off the line from Soucek and Benrahma did find the net but it was ruled out as Antonio was deemed to have barged into Mangala in the build up. The lead came just before half time as Toffolo aimed for Lingard, who miscued his shot but Awoniyi was on hand to bundle the ball into the back of the net. Immediately after the break Fornals crashed a long range shot off the underside of the bar and then Henderson was on hand to stop Soucek's header on the follow up and keep Forest in the lead. West Ham were on top but Forest had their chances, as Johnson finished but was flagged offside after the home side thought they had doubled their lead. McKenna then blocked the ball with his arm, with Rice seeing his spot-kick saved. West Ham had 19 shots but could not find the back of the net, giving Forest their first win of the season. 

Predicted: Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham

Result: Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham

Koulibaly, James - Hojbjerg, Kane

A fiery match which saw Tuchel and Conte going nose-to-nose on the touchline and the benches clashing when Spurs equalised the first time, let alone at the final whistle when both managers got given red cards. Spurs started the game brightly but in the sweltering heat it was Chelsea who looked the stronger side during the first half in their 3-4-3 formation. Havertz was denied by Lloris's leg in the nineteenth minute, but moments later it was new defender Koulibaly who volleyed home from Cucurella's corner. Koulibaly and Mount both fired over when they should have doubled the score, and Spurs were as lethargic at the beginning of the second half. Son wasted a chance when Kane put him through, and Sterling fired over after Loftus-Cheek made his way into the Spurs box. Jorginho then made the horrible mistake of loosing the ball in his own area, allowing Hojbjerg to level the scores and Conte to celebrate so much it caused a flare up on the sidelines. Chelsea restored their lead when Sterling set up James to fire first-time at the goal. Tuchel danced in delight, aiming it towards his counterpart, but that was not long lived. A contensous goal by Kane in the 96th minute as Romero had pulled Cucurella's hair, and the striker glanced home the ball to send the Spurs fans wild. Both managers refused to let go of each others hands in the handshake afterwards, resulting in a scuffle and a red card for both, with Tuchel claiming he was unhappy that Conte had not looked him in the eye. Chelsea remain unbeaten in their last eight encounters with Spurs, taking an impressive 20 points from a possible 24. Spurs have also only won once against Chelsea in their last 38 away matches in all competitions. 

Predicted: Liverpool 3-0 Crystal Palace

Result: Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace

Diaz - Zaha

The biggest talking point of this game has to be the straight red which Darwin Nunez got just before the hour mark after he headbutted Andersen, albeit after the Palace man had pushed him. Phillips was the surprise at the back for Liverpool, and the Reds dominated the first half an hour of the match. They created chances but were wasteful, and paid the price just after the half hour mark. Fabinho got turned much too easily by Eze, who in turn played the ball into the space behind Phillips. Van Djik could not get back in time to cover and Zaha coolly finished into the far corner past Alisson. Zaha could have doubled the score soon after when he once again got away from Phillips but Alisson smothered the ball. The Reds best chance of the half came when Nunez hit the post in injury time. In the second half the Reds continued to probe until Nunez got himself sent off for his rash outburst. He will miss three matches with the suspension to add to Liverpool's worries. With only ten men, it was a few minutes later when Diaz took centre stage. He gathered the ball on the left and dribbled inwards past three Palace players before striking a long ranged effort from just outside the box which gave the Palace keeper no chance. Liverpool and Palace both had chances from there to seal the game but neither side could take it. Liverpool have now started the season with two draws and many will be saying the title race is over already, but they were 14 points behind City at one stage last season. As for Palace, Vieira can be satisfied his side have shown improvements since their opening day defeat to Arsenal.

Table After Match Day 2

A look at the top half of the table and after the second round of fixtures, and while it is still very early days, Man City and Arsenal are the only two teams left with maximum points on the board. Brentford and Leeds are in good positions while Spurs will be happy with how they have started.

As for the bottom half, Manchester United sit at the bottom, along with West Ham who will be very disappointed with their start to the season. Everton also lack any points on the board and Lampard will need to get them ticking sooner rather than later.

Top Goal scorers After Match Day 2

1 - Rodrigo - Leeds - 3 Goals
2 - DaSilva - Brentford - 2 Goals
3 - Jesus - Arsenal - 2 Goals
4 - Gross - Brighton - 2 Goals
5 - Haaland - Manchester City - 2 Goals   
6 - Martinelli - Arsenal - 2 Goals
7 - Mitrovic - Fulham - 2 Goals
+ 34 players with 1 goal

Check out my 2022/23 Season Preview and Predictions here: Premier League 2022/23 Prediction

I hope you enjoyed this round of games over the weekend. We will be back next weekend with the next round of fixtures, which will include Liverpool travelling to Old Trafford against Manchester United . Have a great day.

Peace. CryptoGod-1.

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