Matchday 2 of the Premier League season is in the books and we’re here to review it all, find the big takeaways, and look into the markets.
Premier League Wrap
Manchester United are already in trouble this Premier League season following Joao Pedro’s 95th-minute winner for Brighton in the weekend’s first match.
It’s more of the same, but much more favourable for Manchester City, who thumped Ipswich Town 4-1. Tottenham Hotspur took the opportunity to make up for their disappointing 1-1 draw last week, putting four into the Everton net in a dominant performance. The disappointment continues for Crystal Palace, who are without a point after two games. This time going down to West Ham 2-0 at Selhurst Park.
Fulham did a job for the Top Shelf tips in getting past Leicester 2-1. Emile Smith Rowe scored his first goal for the club in the process. Morgan Gibbs White scored for Nottingham Forest to beat Southampton 1-0 before Arsenal made it six points from six with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
Arsenal and Aston Villa are better than last season.
Last year in this fixture Arsenal had full control and couldn’t finish. Villa could.
This year the teams were largely matched… Villa couldn’t finish. Arsenal could.
As a Villa fan, I’m encouraged. We’ve improved.#AVFC
— Stef (@avfc_stef) August 24, 2024
Chelsea quietened a few of the chuckles that have constantly surrounded them with an emphatic 6-2 win over Wolverhampton. Level 2-2 at the break, a 17-minute hat-trick from Noni Madueke sparked Chelsea’s Premier League season into life. A controversial VAR decision allowed Newcastle to walk away with a point following their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth. To finish, Liverpool completed a workmanlike 2-0 win over Brentford with Luis Díaz and Mohamed Salah putting themselves on the scoresheet.
Three Takeaways From Matchday 2
Haaland is a freak: The secret has been out for a while now. Erling Haaland is in a league of his own when it comes to goal-scoring, and nobody is particularly close.
City found themselves unexpectedly 1-0 behind but needed only four minutes to respond and lead 3-1. Haaland contributed two goals to the flurry before completing his hat-trick in the 88th minute. The 24-year-old already has Sergio Aguero’s hat-trick record in his sights. The Argentine holds the record for most hat-tricks in the Premier League with 12 in 275 games.
Erling Haaland in Man City shirt:
101 games
94 goals
10 hat-tricksNever seen anything like this. pic.twitter.com/3Qb3o54hZj
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) August 24, 2024
With seven hat-tricks already in only 68 games, it feels like a matter of time before Haaland breaks the record and starts to extend it. Becoming the Premier League’s top goal scorer this season feels just as inevitable at $1.40.
Panic stations for Manchester United: One of the weirdest offside calls seeing a goal disallowed might provide Erik ten Hag and Manchester United some grace, but their 2-1 loss to Brighton is a major concern. Despite to being level at 1-1 when the clock ticked past the 90th minute, few would argue against Brighton being the better team for the majority of the match.
Lucky to be in position to take a point, United conceded in the 95th minute, in large part due to Noussair Mazraoui’s performative antics in the build up. More focused on falling to the ground, feigning a limp and getting into the ear of the referee, Mazraoui failed to pick anybody up on the corner. Seconds later, Joao Pedro scored the winner.
Ten Hag didn’t shy away from calling out his players post game: “We didn’t stop the cross. There were three players. [Adingra is a] right-footed player, send him down the line, send him wide instead of letting him come in and let the cross.”
Confidence is already dwindling in this group. At $7 to finish in the Top 2 last week, Manchester United are already out to $11 after Matchday 2.
Chelsea made a statement: Noni Madueke was forced to apologise before the game after insulting all of Wolverhampton. Ironically, he was then given a free pass to do as he pleased and took the opportunity to complete the first hat-trick of his Premier League career.
Noni Madueke accidentally posted his feelings about Wolverhampton last night to his main Instagram instead of 'close friends'…
He now has a second half HAT TRICK against Wolves. Insult AND injury 😅 pic.twitter.com/NRg8JBfeo4
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 25, 2024
In addition, Cole Palmer put on a clinic with three assists while Nicholas Jackson contributed to score and assist. Overall, the key attacking players held up their end of the bargain as Chelsea started to look like a side worthy of the wage bill.
However, it’s not all rainbows and lollipops. Chelsea were the beneficiaries of chaos and made the most of their opportunities at an exceptional level. In fact, Wolves finished with a higher xG at 1.92 to Chelsea’s 1.56 despite losing 6-2.
While better, and perhaps still a statement, Chelsea weren’t quite as good as the score suggests. There might be some value in the pointless Crystal Palace at $4.80 in Matchday 3.
News & Notes
- Noussair Mazraoui setting up Amad Diallo is the first time Manchester United have scored a Premier League goal that was both scored and assisted by African players.
- Haaland will end up with the individual hat-trick record. One more for Manchester City, and they will have the most of any team in the competition history.
- Bayako Saka became the third-youngest player in Premier League history to register 100 wins.
Goals in last 2 PL seasons:
6 — Cuti Romero
6 — Gabriel Martinelli pic.twitter.com/zL1sXY6wyy— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) August 24, 2024
- Ex-Everton defender Martin Keown has circled their game at home to Bournemouth as a “must-win” with manager Sean Dyche already “under real pressure”.
- With his side scoring six goals, Enzo Maresca is the first manager in Premier League history to do so in his first away game in the competition.
- Liverpool completed a wild 92% of their passes against Brentford – their best mark since 2003-04.
Premier League Odds & Tips
The same six teams occupy the first six lines in the Premier League winner market, but there has been some slight changes.
Manchester City and Arsenal have shorted as the two benchmark clubs of the competition. However, a strong win for Liverpool has seen them inch closer on the third line of betting. Despite winning 6-2, Chelsea drifted further as the eye test did more to sum them up than the final score. Meanwhile, an unconvincing Manchester United has been leapt by Tottenham following vastly different performances over the weekend.
But the eyes of futures bettors should be drawn to Brighton finishing in the Top 6 at $3. They’re off to a flier to start the season under Fabian Hurzeler. A revamp of the squad to the tune of £200million only inspires more potential upside. Especially when you consider Hurzeler has yet to introduce all of the new signings.
They’ve scored five goals and only conceded one. While their two wins have come over Manchester United and a 10-man Everton, they’ve looked the part. Brighton is worth investing in at $3 to finish in the Top 6.
| PREMIER LEAGUE WINNER MARKET | ||
|---|---|---|
| TEAM | CURRENT PRICE | LAST WEEK’S PRICE |
| Manchester City | $2.10 | $2.25 |
| Arsenal | $2.50 | $2.70 |
| Liverpool | $6 | $7 |
| Chelsea | $26 | $21 |
| Tottenham | $31 | $31 |
| Manchester United | $41 | $23 |