New Delhi: The fifth round of Premier League fixtures started off with a bang when Nicolas Jackson powered Chelsea to a comfortable victory over London rivals West Ham. The weekend saw a lot of goals as multiple teams scored at least three goals during the matchday with only four teams able to come out of the weekend with a clean sheet to their name.
None of the six teams that were winless after Matchday four could add to their wins column during Matchday five but both Everton and Southampton, who were without a point heading into the matchday managed to get their first point of the season on the board. Erling Haaland, once again continued his goalscoring antics for Manchester City but surely scoring just one goal against one of the best teams in England would be a poor performance by his own lofty standards.
This matchday gave us a lot to unpack so let’s dive in to find out the five things that we learned following the end of Matchday five of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
5) Brennan Johnson puts the haters behind
Brennan Johnson celebrates scoring his sides second goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Brentford FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 21, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Tottenham winger was getting a lot of hate after last weekend’s North London Derby, something that no individual should be subjected to. He was abused a lot on social media after the last game which led to him deactivating his Instagram account. He decided to use this hate to fuel his performances and produced a match-winning display against Brentford this past weekend. After scoring the winner in a League Cup game in midweek, he followed that up with another goal this weekend.
Spurs went behind to Brentford immediately after kick-off as Bryan Mbuemo gave the visitors the lead within the first minute. Inside the next half an hour, Spurs had the lead with them as Johnson put the hosts ahead in the 28th minute. In addition to getting a goal for his side, he also created one chance, had a passing accuracy of 70% and was involved in a lot of the attacking play, getting 10 touches in the opposition penalty box. An amazing display from the Englishman showed what he is capable of.
4) Everton have something to cheer about in Iliman Ndiaye
Iliman Ndiaye passes with the ball during the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and Everton FC at The King Power Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The Merseyside club are playing their final season at their historic stadium, Goodison Park, and the start that they’ve had to the season is not the goodbye Goodison Park deserves. The club are yet to win a game this season and are already involved in the relegation battle as they sit 19th in the table, having conceded the joint-most goals this yet. However, there has been one person who is trying to do everything he can to help the club.
Senegalese attacker Iliman Ndiaye has been the one shining light this season for Everton and was once again the difference maker in his side as it was his goal that earned the club their first point of the season. The attacker misplaced only three of his passes and created a massive four chances for his side, getting 40 touches in the game. He looks miles above the rest of the attackers at Goodison Park this season and involves them in the play brilliantly. If Everton are to avoid the drop this season, Ndiaye needs to be on top form throughout the campaign.
3) Only one away team won a game this weekend
Nicolas Jackson celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on September 21, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Multiple big name clubs were playing away from home this weekend with Chelsea, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Arsenal all travelling for their games. However, only Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea were the ones that managed to come away with a victory. Manchester United drew away to Palace while Arsenal were seconds away from registering a victory. Newcastle, Wolves and Brentford were one of the only three teams to lose away from home this weekend.
Chelsea travelled to West Ham for their second London derby of the season and comfortably ran out as winners after an inspired performance from Nicolas Jackson. A brace from the Senegalese striker was followed up by a Cole Palmer goal which was enough to seal a victory for Enzo Maresca’s men. This win also meant that Maresca is now the first manager to win his first three away Premier League games since Pep Guardiola did it in 2016.
2) Aston Villa are pushing for top four again
Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Villa Park on September 21, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Aston Villa have had a remarkable start to their season. After achieving the heights of UEFA Champions League qualification last season, many fans had raised questions whether the club can show the same kind of form this season and Unai Emery’s men are certainly putting those doubts to bed. They have started the season well and sit third on the points table, just one point behind leaders Manchester City.
They were slow to start the game against Wolves this past weekend and it seemed like Gary O’Neil’s men were on their way to snatch a victory but a blistering end to the game saw them score thrice in the last 17 minutes to seal the victory for Villa. Producing such a performance in the same season they had their first UEFA Champions League match in decades is certainly a good sign early into the season and it seems that the team will challenge for the top four once again this season.
1) Erling Haaland equals Cristiano Ronaldo’s record
Erling Haaland added yet another record to his list after the game against Arsenal (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
Deaths, Taxes, and Erling Haaland setting records. They’re the only three constants in life as another weekend has gone past and Erling Haaland has once again set another record to his name. During Manchester City’s draw with Arsenal this weekend, the Norwegian goal-machine opened the scoring for his side once again and in doing so scored his 100th goal for the blue half of Manchester.
His ninth minute goal against Arsenal was his 100th goal for the club and it came in only his 105th appearance for Manchester City. He became the 19th player to hit the triple digit mark for the club but achieved the feat faster than anyone else in English football. He equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record that he set while at Real Madrid, where he also got to 100 goals for the club in just 105 appearances.
Headlined by Manchester City taking on Arsenal in a potential early season title decider, the weekend provided a lot action to witness. Dive to find out what we learned from the latest matchday of the season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
