Five Matchday Roundup: Manchester City Explode, Chelsea Stumble

Manchester City’s Form
Five matches, five wins; 11 goals scored, none conceded. This is truly impressive from a side that was seen by many to struggle for the upcoming season. Even though the purchases of Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, and Nicholas Otamendi have generally been seen as sensible ones; it was the old guard that stepped up massively. The all-important “spine” of the team – with Captain Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero – were firing on all cylinders. The climax of their form came against none other than the current BPL champions, where they swept aside Chelsea in true dominant fashion in a 3-0 win at the Etihad. With the defense organized, Yaya Toure back in form, and a fit Sergio Aguero; there is little to believe that this City side can go on and win the title in style.

Chelsea’s (extremely) slow Start
In contrast to Manchester’s City brilliant run, Chelsea have looked at times quite ordinary and even worse. Dropping points against Manchester City at the Etihad can be expected, what can’t be excused is dropping points against Crystal Palace and Swansea City at home at the Stamford Bridge. A total one out of six against mid-table clubs that should be beaten comprehensively is simply a horrible return for the current champions. Add to that a horrific 3-1 defeat away to Everton and the current EPL champions have only recorded one win out of five attempts so far this season. A very unconvincing time in the summer transfer window has also played a large part – as almost nothing was done to revamp either the backline or the midfield of the Blues. There are too many players out of form that is coinciding with their poor form – Ivanovic at right back has been exposed again and again so far this season, Fabregas has been a passenger in midfield, Hazard looks uninspired, and Costa has been toothless in front of goal. Manager Jose Mourinho will have plenty to do against Arsenal on matchday six, as the safe style he usually employs against the other competitors might not be enough against the Gunners. This matchup will define their season.

What about the others?
Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool round out the other three clubs that have a chance to compete for the title (some much more than others). All three will obviously look to finish in the top four for the ever-important Champions League football in the coming season. None have looked significantly better than the other two so far. United, although finishing off matchday five with an impressive win against Liverpool, have simply looked far too methodical in other matches to have really strung together any impressive form. Arsenal, despite finally picking up a home win against Stoke City, already dropped five points against West Ham and Liverpool at the Emirates. Although now, the Gunners have an opportunity to stake their claim for a title challenge with a comprehensive win against Chelsea on matchday six. If Arsene Wenger’s men pick up all three points against the Blues, they will look very good for the near future. Liverpool have (perhaps understandably) been the poorest of the three so far. Arguably the only impressive performance came in an entertaining 0-0 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates. Having been comfortably beaten by Manchester United and West Ham United indicates that Brendan Rodgers’ side has much more work to do to become challengers for the top four, let alone for the title.

Closing the Gap
The Midtable clubs have taken the Premier League by storm. Particularly the likes of West Ham, Swansea City, Crystal Palace and Everton have taken points off the favorites to finish top four this season. Swansea tying against Chelsea and beating Manchester United, West Ham beating both Arsenal and Liverpool, and Crystal Palace beating Chelsea. The case of the midtable clubs rising in quality can certainly be made. Of course, there is also plausibility that the top clubs have stagnated. Whatever the case, these results seem to be no flukes anymore, expect such scorelines to be regularities from now on.

Michael Skok
Football Editor for
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