This week was a very interesting one in the Premier League. There were a lot of goals, and we had the year's best game so far in Manchester United's 3-1 win over Chelsea. Arsenal and Liverpool struggled again and Manchester City finally dropped points.
There were many things to take from Sunday's game between United and Chelsea, the most important being that, despite the opinions of many writers, there are three contenders for the title this year. Chelsea lost the match but dominated the game, which as a Chelsea fan, leaves me disappointed but encouraged. It wasn't clear that Chelsea had the quality to contend with the heralded "Manchester clubs" at the top, but the Blues played their best game even though the result was a loss. Two of Manchester United's goals were scored from offside positions, and Rooney's goal was an unfortunate deflection, while Chelsea missed numerous glaring chances, most notably Torres and Ramires. United played very well in the attacking third, and could have scored more themselves, so I am not going to argue that the win was completely undeserved. On another day, this is a Chelsea win, but Sunday they simply were not good enough in front of goal, and United took the chances they had. Nani played the best game I'd ever seen from him, even though he threw in a theatrical fall to earn the penalty. From United's point of view, they should hail the result, but realize the midfield is weak defensively and the back four have quite a bit of work to do. Chelsea can look at this game as further evidence that they are a true contender, but they must finish in front of goal much better if they are to survive all season.
The next tier of teams, which to me contains Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham, is looking like a season-long saga of the battle for fourth. Tottenham look front-runners right now after demolishing Liverpool 4-0, but also because their squad looks the deepest and most likely to endure the whole season. They have strong attackers in Van der Vaart, Defoe, Adebayor and Bale, spectacular midfielders in Modric and Parker, and a decent enough back line to not leak in too many goals. This is the major problem for both Liverpool and Arsenal, even though I think that Liverpool's defensive issues stem more from their shoddy midfield play. Liverpool simply isn't getting enough from Charlie Adam or Jordan Henderson, and unfortunately for the Reds, Luis Suarez can't win them every game on his own. Carroll looks lost up top and their defensive record looks like it did in the preseason. However, it is not as bad as Arsenal's, which is worst in the Premier League after conceding four more goals at Blackburn. It's time to get serious for Arsenal - these type of performances cannot continue if they are to contend in any competition. The defending is dreadful, and it seems like whenever the opposing team has the ball in Arsenal's final third there is going to be a goal. They surely miss Vermaelen, but his absence is not the only problem. Every game is huge for the Gunners now as they try and regain their form.
All three promoted clubs won on Saturday, and while none of them played particularly strong opposition, it gives them hope of staying up this year. Swansea's win was the most important, as they finally scored their first goals of the season in earning their first ever Premier League win. How Newcastle is yet to lose this season is beyond me, as their squad is constantly being depleted, but they have continued a strong start with a 1-1 draw at Villa. QPR looks like they could be for real, with the new signings proving their worth. They could contend for a top-half spot if they avoid injuries.
Carling Cup games this week won't be too interesting, then we're back to the Champions League next week. Next weekend's games are also pretty unappetizing, but Stoke-Manchester United should be interesting, as well as QPR-Aston Villa.
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