Who were the heroes and the villains of the first week? The teams that soared and the ones that crashed and burned.
The knights
Phillipe Coutinho: Liverpool’s late victory when everything pointed to a stalemate was thanks due to an stunning bit of individual skill by the Brazilian who turned aside Ryan Shawcross and belted the ball from 30 yards out over the outstretched hands of Jack Butland. Game over.
Marc Albrighton: Leicester City’s effervescent winger created the goals for Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez and then turned goalscorer as the Foxes ran over Sunderland, 4-2. Albrighton’s come a long way from his Villa days.
David Silva: The Man City metronome put in a masterclass in passing control and efficiency. Silva was the conduit through which City flowed and he must have had more touches than the entire Baggies side. City’s Herbert Von Karajan.
Special mention:
Jonjo Shelvey: The EPL’s favourite panto villain showed excellent vision and touch to find Bafetembi Gomis with a measured lofted ball which caused Thibaut Courtois to self destruct.
The knaves
Petr Cech: Arsenal’s high line was partly at fault keeping Cheikh Kouyate onside but this would have been an easy save if Cech had held his position. For the second goal, the Ox was partially at fault coughing up the ball to Mauro Zarate but that was an easy save for someone of Cech’s calibre. Mourinho could not have asked for a better mole.
Thibaut Courtois: Arguably the best goalie in the EPL had a calamitous opener and was forced into a clumsy tackle on Gomis bringing him down as he entered the box. A penalty and a red card.
Nabil Bentaleb: Spurs was on the ascendency as an Old Trafford sweated an anxious opening 20 minutes. It all changed in an instant as Bentaleb’s lazy pass in the direction of the left flank was cut off by Juan Mata and relayed to Ashley Young via Memphis Depay. The Utd winger puts in a cross and as Rooney dawdles, Kyle Walker comes busting in to tackle and scores an own goal. Momentum killer.
Special mention:
Mesut Oezil: Looked knackered from the outset. His ball retention was poor and he was mugged at will by the Hammers. Oezil was slow, out of ideas, and a liability all match long. And he’s Arsenal’s most expensive purchase.
Best team
Man City: Free flowing soccer. A great combination of directness and intricate one touches. Wilfried Bony laying off the ball for Yaya Toure to launch that unstoppable second goal. We have already mentioned David Silva and his bedrock performance. Toure and Vincent Kompany, both players with question marks as to their heads in the game answered their critics. An unquestionable marker.
Special mention:
Swansea: Gary Monk is the best young coach in the EPL. To come into Stamford Bridge and walk out even is a feat of mammoth proportions. His side fought back every time they went down with Jefferson Montero blistering Branislav Ivanovic for Andrew Ayew’s debut goal. Montero made life miserable for the full back. Gomis was an immense presence in the box. Chelsea could have lost this game if it wasn’t for a fortuitous deflection.
Worst team
Arsenal: All that pre-season hype could not hide the fact the Gunners looked like they were still in selfie swapping holiday mode. Plenty of sterile ball possession, mostly half chances, and possibly a couple which actually bothered Adrian. Other than the Ox, the rest of the outfield players were vacuous hangers on. Cech will get most of the blame but the fact of the matter is the attack never got going.
Special mention:
Man Utd: Louis Van Gaal’s rebuilding side put in a listless display. It says something when you single out Utd’s defense as the standouts. Matteo Darmian had an impressive debut showing old school defending skills, Chris Smalling won the ball every time a Spurs player tried to get past, and Sergio Romero settled down after a nervy start to pull of some special saves.