Category: Football (Soccer)

Brighton have impressed in a goal-laden start to the season, in a league that remains a brutally strong attraction

Get ready for the dopamine crash. And this one really is a proper autumn nosedive. The past 17 days up to and including Sunday’s cut-off gave us 30 Premier League games and 79 goals. Which, if you take Spurs out of it – and this is fair because Spurs are now post‑goal, an entertainment concept unrelated to goals or even football itself – is really quite a lot.

Are your pathways stimulated? Are the neural connectors flickering? Well get ready for cold turkey, for 19 blank days of shivers and shakes until the Premier League show resumes in October. Maybe it really is time to buy one of those powders off the internet.

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Pre-season thoughts of European qualification are already beginning to look bafflingly optimistic for Roberto De Zerbi’s team

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In March, Tottenham, fearing possible relegation, spent big to bring in Roberto De Zerbi, who will probably never go into a negotiation with a stronger hand. There was obvious improvement and they stayed up on the final day of the season. Since then, Spurs have spent a net £175m ($234m) on improving the squad. The message seemed clear: the fiscal caution of the Daniel Levy era was over and this was a club willing to spend. Yet Spurs go into the first international break bottom of the Premier League table.

To an extent, the issue is confidence. On the opening weekend at Brentford, with a weird mishmash of a side, a team that was clearly undercooked, they were hammered 3-0 by much better-prepared opponents. That was not hugely surprising given how sensible Brentford’s transfer dealing had been and how early they had done it. More worrying was what happened the following week as Spurs, starting well before fading, lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle.

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Liverpool look stronger at the back, youngsters shine for Brighton and Brentford, and James Trafford makes his England case with Leeds

• Premier League table | Top scorers

In the week that 16-year-old Max Dowman has been thrust into the spotlight, it was another teenager who gave us a glimpse of the future in Brighton’s impressive win over Arsenal. Charalampos Kostoulas – nicknamed ‘Babis’ in his homeland, in homage to former Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta – has already started twice as many Premier League games as he did in his first season in English football, when he was a backup for Danny Welbeck. The 19-year-old repaid Fabian Hürzeler’s faith in him against the reigning champions. Despite his tender years, Kostoulas already possesses the physical attributes to mix it with the best. He caused Gabriel Magalhães and company problems all afternoon, capping it off with a brilliant goal from 25 yards, his third in eight days. “We always knew that he’s capable of scoring goals out of nowhere,” said Hürzeler. “He just has this intrinsic motivation of really improving every day. He gets more and more professional, he understands the demands from the Premier League more, he understands our demands.” Ed Aarons

Match report: Brighton 3-0 Arsenal

Match report: Bournemouth 0-1 Liverpool

Match report: Fulham 1-1 Manchester United

Match report: Leeds 0-0 Crystal Palace

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Manchester City sent a message to Arsenal with this chaotic victory that takes Enzo Maresca’s team three points clear as leaders during the three-week international break.

Until the Premier League resumes on 10 October City can enjoy their status while Mikel Arteta’s champions have to stew following Saturday’s 3-0 humbling at Brighton.

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Alexander Isak’s second-half goal was enough to give Liverpool the points in a disappointing game, taking them up to sixth in the table; Bournemouth are 17th

I don’t imagine Rose spent too long sweating over his team. Kluivert is a miss, and of course Junior Kroupi is long-term injured, but otherwise, his team is pretty settled. Adam Scott, who we might’ve thought would leave in the summer, stayed, and has started the season in excellent form. His ball-carrying is exceptional and he offers height in both boxes; if he can develop his passing, especially shirt, punched through the lines, he might develop into an all-round monster.

But back to our game, let’s have a closer look at our dramatis personae.

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How will Bournemouth and Liverpool fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

Andoni Iraola will make his first return to Bournemouth since leaving the south-coast club for Liverpool. Four games into the new season, the Reds remain a work in progress.

Liverpool have won just one of their opening four league fixtures while Bournemouth are still searching for their first league victory under new manager Marco Rose. Both teams are struggling to build some early season momentum.

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Hull always knew that, sooner or later, they would lose a Premier League game but no one can say that Sergej Jakirovic’s team did not do everything in their power to try and delay that inaugural top tier defeat.

After conceding two goals in the opening seven minutes Hull could easily have folded but Jakirovic’s promoted players are made of sterner stuff than that. Tellingly, they also sensed the fragility of a gifted but injury hit and extremely youthful Newcastle.

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Spurs scored their first goals of the season but Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendía earned the win for Villa

This is the 176th meeting between the sides.

Spurs have the historical edge having won 79 to Villa’s 62. There have been 32 draws.

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How will Brighton and Arsenal fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

Arsenal have picked up where they left off – as the team to beat at the top of the Premier League table. Indeed, four wins from four games have underlined the strength of Mikel Arteta’s team with the Gunners favorites to retain the title they won last season.

Brighton have also started the new season on a strong foot, losing just one of their opening four league fixtures and fighting back from 2-0 down to knock Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup this week. Fabian Hürzeler’s side boast genuine quality.

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How will Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are still searching for traction in the Premier League this season with both teams without a win in their opening four matches. It’s against the angsty background that Saturday’s fixture will be played.

Spurs are also yet to score their first league goal. Roberto De Zerbi’s side have failed to score against Brentford, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Everton. After the optimism of the summer transfer window, a familiar malaise has set in around the North London club.

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Brentford beat Chelsea at home for the first time since 1938 thanks to a second-half flurry

2 min: Schade advances menacingly down the left, chasing after a long ball by Lewis-Potter. He enters the box ahead of Fofana, but the Chelsea defender does magnificently well to catch up, take over possession, and brush Schade off the ball. Schade claims for a penalty, but not with any real conviction. We play on. It was a fine challenge.

Chelsea get the ball rolling at the Gtech. More accurately, Palmer sends it sailing directly into touch, rugby-style, down the right. A wonderful few-Friday-night-pints-in atmosphere. “If Brentford have no defence at centre back, do Chelsea have a defence anywhere?” wonders Richard Hirst.

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How will Brentford and Chelsea fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

On and off the field, this is a fixture between two close neighbours. Just one point divides Brentford and Chelsea in the Premier League table, with just five miles between the two clubs’ stadiums.

Brentford enter Friday’s match on the back of a 10-game unbeaten run. Keith Andrews has forged a team with a clear identity and playing style. The same can’t yet be said for Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea.

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Tottenham begin Saturday’s action against Aston Villa while at Brighton Arsenal are aiming to keep their 100% winning record

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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