Premier League Game Week 4: Winners/Losers – United Abysmal

As game week four of English Premier League comes to an end, it was nothing less than a week of upsets. With some of the big guns losing their matches this week, we have some very interesting winners and losers in our elite list this week.

Winners:

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace features on top of the Winners list as Alan Pardew once again find a way to overcome Mourinho’s men. Palace had one of the toughest fixture as they visited struggling blues at Stamford Bridge.

Even though Chelsea had more of a ball, and largely dominated the game. Palace remained calm and did not panic even when Chelsea came back from behind after Falcao opened his account for the Blues. Palace kept the ball and made sure they will give a hard time to Chelsea’s defense, which is more than just struggling at the moment.

For most of the first half, Palace looked a more dangerous side and created more threatening chances, but Chelsea were the stronger side in the last 10 minutes of the first half. The second half was again positively started by Palace, and their pace and attacking display paid dividend in the 65^th minute where they took the lead over reigning champions.

Palace should have sealed the game in the 74^th minute when Yannick Bolasie missed an open goal, which led to Chelsea’s comeback which was short lived. All in all a very impressive show from Crystal Palace and Mourinho for once, were made to take the blame after the defeat, as Alan Pardew’s men were more than just competitive for the defending Champion.

West Ham

West Ham feature 2^nd in the list of winners, after a totally dominating performance against Liverpool at Anfield. Brandon Rogers said before the match that match against West Ham will be more difficult than visiting Arsenal, and hence the case was proved later.

West Ham controlled the match in all departments, with more overall shots on goal, with more dribbles and with more tackles. Liverpool would have had an escape route after Coutinho went off in the 53^rd minute, but West Ham was also reduced to 10 men in the 79^th minute, but went 3-0 up in the 90^th which completed a day for total misery for the home side.

Swansea

Swansea also feature in the list of winners, after a remarkable comeback against United while playing at home. United were dominating the match completely till the 60^th minute, but then Swans turned it around to score two goals within five minutes.

It was Garry Monk’s third consecutive win against the Louis Van Gaal’s side in the league, and the red devils manager had to accept that his team couldn’t cope the intensity of their rivals.

For Swans, after not having much possession, their performance throughout the match was pretty much par with the rivals and they did not give United much of a space even after having nearly 65% of the possession. Andre Ayew is proving to be the best signing of the season so far, with 3 goals in 4 matches as it seems to be another master stroke by Gary Monk, who is impressing every football pundit once again.

Losers:

Chelsea

The top in the list of the losers this week is non – other than defending champions Chelsea. Chelsea had a match against a far lesser quality Palace side, but was not in the best form on the day.

Mourinho’s team lack answers of the questions that were asked of them in the league so far, and they have already lost four points at home after first 4 games in the league, which is not normal at all. The biggest worry for the Portuguese is the defensive problem, and with Stones arrival seems more unlikely as the times goes on, Mourinho will have a very tough task to defend the title this season.

However, there were also few positives for the blues as newly arrived Pedro again looked threatening from the right, and Falcao managed to open his account at Stamford Bridge and he will hope that will go a long way in recapturing his best form.

Liverpool

Liverpool feature at number two this week in the loser’s list, as they were hammered by the Hammers in their own backyard. Rodgers did confess his concerns prior to the match, and said that the match against West Ham will be more difficult than playing against Arsenal, and it proved that way.

Liverpool were out rightly beaten in every department, and hence left Brendan Rodgers to face severe criticism once again. What makes things worse is the fact that Philip Coutinho will not be available for the next match as he received a red card, which makes it even tougher for the reds to make a comeback next week.

Brendan Rodgers has already spent more than £150 Million during his reign at Liverpool, but is yet to win a trophy for the Reds, and this sort of performance will only increase pressure as the board and the supporters look for a better results this season.

Manchester United

The last team to feature in the list of losers is none other than Manchester United. Van Gaal’s men were in total control of the game for most of the game, and had nearly 65% possession, but failed to create any sufficient chances, which made them pay once again. United were leading till the 60^th minute, but then Gary Monk’s men turned it around in the matter of five minutes, and United lost 2-1 after failing to equalize after going behind.

Van Gaal’s problem in the defense showed once again, as lack of any marquee signing in the center back department can cause them serious hurdle in the time to come. Also the lack of form of Wayne Rooney in the league is creating more headache for LVG, as Javier Hernandez and RVP have already left the club and Rooney remains the only experienced striker in the squad, and with him out of form, United will have a hard time living up to the pre-season expectation.