After a remarkable weekend of action, Olatomiwa Tobi breaks down the major talking points from the Premier League.
Ronaldo Returns
Manchester United have arguably had the best transfer window of any Premier League club, recruiting players like Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo who have both had an instant impact at the club.
Ronaldo marked his second home debut with a brace in the 4-1 win over Newcastle, to the adulation of the Old Trafford faithful.
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the match against Newcastle at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Martin Rickett
It was a dazzling performance from the Red Devil’s with Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard joining Ronaldo on the score sheet.
Where is Sancho?
Jadon Sancho though, has struggled to adjust to playing back in the Premier League. His pace always makes him a danger to opponents, as Newcastle's Javier Manquillo discovered.
The former Borussia Dortmund winger passed up a number of opportunities to set up his teammates, much to the chagrin of Ronaldo.
Manchester United's Jadon Sancho during the Premier League match against Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Martin Rickett
His decision-making since joining United has been disappointing and needs to improve if he is to retain his place in a squad laden with attacking talent.
One of such attacking threats is Jesse Lingard, who replaced Sancho in the last 25 minutes and nabbed the final goal.
Romelu Lukaku - simply inevitable
It comes as a surprise to no one that Lukaku was on target twice, as Chelsea secured a 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian striker proved too strong and too quick for the Villans defence, and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who paid £97.5m, must be more than happy with his performance. His knee slide celebration though, was less than inspiring.
Lukaku’s two goals against Aston Villa truly showed that he is a complete striker. The first goal came with his right foot, while his second with his left. More so, he showed the electric pace and razor-sharp finishing to score both goals, a mark of a world class striker and something Chelsea have lacked in Timo Werner.
Encouraging signs from Arsenal
Arsenal got a long overdue goal and three points in their 1-0 win over Norwich.
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game during the match against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Adam Davy
Arteta fielded the youngest squad so far in this campaign, with only two players over 24 (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe).
Aubameyang’s goal was brilliant and well worth the wait as Arsenal recorded the most shots in a game since 2017 (30).
Summer signing Takehiro Tomiyasu proved rock solid at the back, and also offered options in the final third, while the defensive partnership of Ben White and Gabriel did well to silence Norwich.
Arsenal have invested about £150 million in young talent, and although there are questions about Mikel Arteta’s ability to take the team to the next level, they were impressive against the Canaries. Indeed, this could just be a sign of things to come.
Bernardo Silva Resurgence?
In a brilliant and star studded Manchester City squad, Bernardo Silva is a player who often fails to draw the most acclaim.
Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang applauds the fans after their 1-0 win over Norwich at Emirates Stadium.
Tess Derry
The Portugal midfielder, alongside Aymeric Laporte, were part of an impressive 2018-2019 Manchester City squad but have since produced less than stellar performances for Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Perhaps it’s due to Pep’s huge demand on his players, but Bernardo has not lived up to the claim that he is the reincarnation of David Silva.
In the game against Leicester City however, Bernardo showed the quality that was reminiscent of his 2018 form.
He instigated attacks and was ultimately rewarded for scoring the only goal of the encounter as Manchester City beat Leicester City.
Pep Guardiola will be looking for more of the same quality from the squad in their title defence campaign, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool all playing like title contenders this season.
100 goals for Mohammed Salah
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva celebrates scoring their first goal against Leicester City.
LEE SMITH
It seems laughable now that many pundits claimed Salah's star may not shine for long.
The ‘Egyptian King’ has been nothing short of phenomenal since he arrived at Anfield five years ago, having previously played at Chelsea where he struggled for playing time and was shipped off to Italy.
Now Salah commands the Liverpool team from the frontline and is a constant goal threat to opponents.
This was evident at Elland road as he got a goal just 20 minutes into the fixture to mark a century in the Premier League.
Liverpool ran out 3-0 over Leeds with more goals coming from Fabinho and Sadio Mane.
In the post match conference, Jurgen Klopp hailed Salah for his performances and claimed that the striker is always ‘hungry for more.’
It doesn’t take much to believe that this is true as the 29-year-old has netted thrice and handed two assists in four Premier League games as he bids for a Golden Boot award- an award he’s won twice already.
Jurgen Klopp will be looking unto the striker to challenge for the title this season.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their first goal against Leeds.
LEE SMITH
