Premier League Match Week 6 Highlights
This weekend, the Premier League saw yet another match week filled with drama and excitement. Here are the 3 standout games for me.
Arsenal v Leicester City
The next game of the matchweek saw Mikel Arteta’s title contending Arsenal play off against Steve Cooper’s newly promoted Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners dominated the opening exchanges and found a deserved opener in the 20th minute. Jurrien Timber drilled a ball across the penalty area after Bukayo Saka found him down the right wing. Timber’s ball was dangerous and was met by the boot of Gabriel Martinelli, who slotted it into the bottom left corner, ending a 6 month goal drought for himself. The hosts then made it 2-0 just before the break when Leandro Trossard passed Martinelli’s cutback from the left wing into the bottom right corner. Arsenal went into the break with a 2-0 advantage and Arteta’s side were showing no signs of slowing down.
It was actually Leicester who would strike back first in the second period, James Justin the man to give the Foxes a lifeline. Brighton loanee, Facundo Buonnanotte, whipped a free kick into the penalty area where Justin jumped up well to make first contact with the ball. His header flicked off the shoulder of Kai Havertz, leaving keeper David Raya wrong footed as the ball found the bottom corner. The Foxes completed their comeback in the 63rd minute when Justin found his 2nd of the match. After gaining a touch of luck when scoring his first, Justin’s second was quite the opposite, scoring potentially the goal of the matchweek. Wilfred Ndidi’s cross from the left wing was met by a rocket of a volley from Justin, whose strike flew past Raya before hitting the post and bouncing over the line. After striking level, Leicester sat back against Arsenal, with keeper Mads Hermansen making a series of spectacular saves to keep the hosts at bay. With just minutes of the tie left to play, Arsenal managed to steal the game at the death. Saka’s corner flew over the majority of players in the penalty area before falling to Trossard who cushioned the ball back across goal. The unfortunate player on the end of the Belgian’s pass was Ndidi who watched as it hit his heel and rolled into the bottom corner. The Gunners then sealed the 3 points when they restored their 2 goal advantage with the last kick of the game. It was once again a scrapy goal, coming from a Gabriel Jesus shot inside the penalty area. Hermansen made the initial save which Justin then cleared into the leg of Havertz who walked the ball across the line. The game finished 4-2 with Leicester desperately unlucky that they were unable to take a point back with them. The Foxes sit 17th with just 3 points. Arsenal managed to push a resilient Leicester team aside, taking them into 2nd in the table, but with Liverpool and Villa yet to play.
Chelsea v Brighton
The following game of matchweek 6 saw 2 exciting teams play off at Stamford Bridge; Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea and Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton. The Seagull’s shocked the Bridge when new signing Georginio Rutter scored inside 7 minutes. Chelsea centre half, Levi Colwill, couldn’t clear the ball properly as the ball hit Carlos Baleba before hanging in the air. Blues keeper Davison Sanchez attempted to punch it away but Rutter was able to jump higher than his fist, heading the ball into an open net. It was a great start for Brighton who hope to continue their unbeaten run. After already hitting the post and having a goal chalked off, Cole Palmer was the man to strike the hosts level. Nicholas Jackson punished an Adam Webster error which left himself and Palmer against Brighton shot stopper Bart Verbruggen. Jackson opted to square it to Palmer who drilled the ball into an uncontested net. Palmer then found his second after Jadon Sancho was shoved down in the penalty area by Rutter. The young Englishman slotted the spot kick away perfectly, passing the ball into the bottom left corner. After 2 relatively standard goals, Palmer’s 3rd required an insane amount of talent and finesse. Chelsea won a free kick 30 yards away from goal with no debate over who was standing over it. Palmer struck the ball brilliantly, watching as it curled into the top left corner, leaving Verbruggen with no chance of keeping it out. This entertaining game continued to get better as Brighton halved the deficit. Once again, the goal was put down to a defensive error when ex-Brighton keeper, Sanchez, played the ball directly into the path of Baleba. Baleba took a few touches before smashing the ball past the Spaniard, making it 3-2. The Blues then restored their cushion in the 41st minute with there being no surprise who found the back of the net. Sancho found Palmer inside the penalty area who drilled the ball past Verbruggen at his near corner, putting his name in the history books once again (first player to score 4 goals in the first half of a Premier League game). Finally, the half finished with the score at 4-2. It was certainly not 45 minutes in which you could compliment the defensive performance from both sides.
The 2nd half was much less dramatic, with Chelsea seeing Brighton off with much less stress. Palmer missed chances to score his 5th and the game ultimately finished 4-2. Chelsea continue to score goals, but Maresca will still be disappointed with his team’s defence. The Blues sit 3rd on 13 points but with Liverpool and Villa yet to play.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
The final game played on Sunday afternoon saw Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United host Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. Spurs took a shock lead inside 3 minutes when centre half, Micky van de Ven, intercepted a pass from Alejandro Garnacho inside his own half. Well known for being the fastest player in Premier League history, van de Ven absolutely ate up the Old Trafford turf, sprinting through the whole Manchester United midfield and defence and getting to the goal line. He then played a ball across the 6 yard area where Brennan Johnson was left with the easy task of tapping it into an uncontested net at the far post. After a dreadful start to the game for United, letting Spurs dominate possession and failing to progress with the ball outside their own half, it went from bad to worse. James Maddison was about to start a counter for Tottenham when Bruno Fernandes went to foul him. Knowing it would most likely result in a yellow, the Portuguese star was careless going in, tripping up in the process and made the challenge look even worse as well as higher on Maddison’s leg. Fernandes had to see red for his tackle as United’s skipper was sent off. At half time the score finished 0-1 with Tottenham left with a much less trying second 45 minutes. Ange will still be disappointed his side couldn’t find a second or even a third, hitting the post and being denied by United shot stopper Andre Onana multiple times.
Spurs all but sealed the 3 points in the 47th minute when Dejan Kulusevski opened his account for the season. Dominic Solanke headed the ball to Johnson who had acres of space to run into down the right wing. The Welshman attempted to play the ball across to the Swede along the floor but his pass caught a huge deflection. Improvising, Kulusevski jumped and poked out his left boot, watching as it sailed over Onana and into the bottom left corner. Tottenham continued to dominate and it was no surprise to the fans still seated at Old Trafford when they scored their 3rd on the 77 minute mark. Lucas Bergvall’s corner was flicked down by Pape Sarr into a very dangerous position. Using his poacher instincts, Solanke lunged in to poke the ball past Onana for a 3rd time. The English striker is no stranger to scoring against United, notching goals home and away against ten Hag’s team last season. Referee Chris Kavanagh finally put United out of their misery by blowing the full time whistle. It is yet another positive result for Tottenham who have now won 4 games on the spin in all competitions. The only negative from their point of view is that they failed to make it 0-4 or 0-5. It couldn’t possibly get worse for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag, especially after Tottenham fans were singing to the Dutch manager at full time, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’. It’s hard to see him staying with United for much longer as his team sits 12th with just 7 points.
Written by Ollie Wade – Read the rest of Match Week 6 at Premier League Matchweek 6 24/25 – Kickoff chronicles
Ollie Wade is a Grade 11 student who dabbles in sports writing, He plays for the Barossa United Senior Men’s Team.
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