2 games in, (well, 3 for Chelsea and Villa), and there are only 2 teams left with a 100% record. Liverpool and Tottenham have placed an early season marker that they too, are forces to be reckoned with. While Manchester City were losing to Cardiff in Wales, Spurs were grinding out a 1-0 win against Swansea, and while Arsenal lost their first game of the season at Aston Villa, Liverpool showed similar tenacity against Stoke.
Add to that that, neither have conceded a goal in attaining their 2 victories, demonstrates that, while they're not exactly free-scoring, they are at least scoring, while stopping their opponents from managing the same feat.
In truth, no-one has exactly lit up the league so far in terms of performances. This was reflected especially in Monday night's sour 0-0 between Chelsea and Manchester United, prerequisites in anybody's top four premiership places. While not good to watch, a Chelsea win would've sent ripples through the rest of the league. 9 points from 3 games including a game against last year's champions would have been quite a statement. In fact, with Jose deciding to start the game with no recognised striker on the field, it felt like a homage to a player who Chelsea are trying to coax over to London, as if to say, "Look, we need you. You would've started this game if you were here.". Only in the next few days will we know if this was worth it.
But, what was bad for the spectator on Monday, was good for the league as a whole. It shows there is not a vast disparity between two of the favourites, and, the Cardiff win shows that yet again, on their day, even vast underdogs have the capacity to play to the best of their potential and take out one of the big boys. You can't win the league in the first few weeks, but you can most certainly lose it. With all of the top four from last season dropping points already, last year's nearly ran's have started well. The hitch being, Liverpool and Spurs face Man United and Arsenal respectively in their next games.
Win those, and we could be in for one heck of a fight all season!
Source: DSG
Source: DSG