16 November 2023
5 of the best Premier League games of the season so far
From late comebacks to statement wins and a whole host of substitutes stepping off the bench to become heroes, we’ve seen so many dramatic games in the first 12 match weeks of the Premier League season, streaming live on Showmax Pro Mobile, courtesy of SuperSport.
Here’s a look at five of the best.
1. Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool
Having just missed out on the UEFA Champions League because Newcastle had finished above them last season, Liverpool had a point to prove on their trip to St James’ Park.
It all looked to be going pear-shaped for the visitors, though. Ex-Evertonian Anthony Gordon gave the Geordies the lead. Virgil van Dijk got sent off shortly after that.
With his team a goal down and a man down with 13 minutes left on the clock, enter Darwin Nunez off the bench. He struck an unlikely equaliser almost immediately. Then he latched onto a Mohamed Salah pass and produced an emphatic finish to win the game.
It was a win that set the tone for Liverpool’s promising start to the season.
2. Tottenham 2-1 Sheffield United
“Spursiness” has become an insulting term from rival fans down the years describing the nature of Tottenham finding a way of losing meekly in a way that would be surprising if it were to happen to any other team.
With the team 1-0 down at home deep into injury time against a struggling Sheffield United, the stage was set for another “Spursy” loss.
However, Richarlison hadn’t read that script. After being derided for his minimal contribution last season, he popped up with an equaliser. Then he confirmed himself as the hero by turning provider for Dejan Kulusevski to score the winner and send the home fans into raptures.
Even though it was one of the easiest fixtures on paper that they’ll have the whole season, this game has become an important marker to make the team believe that they are turning into a more consistent outfit under Ange Postecoglou.
3. Manchester United 2-1 Brentford
Manchester United’s illustrious history is littered with dramatic late comebacks at Old Trafford and this game somewhat of a tip of the cap to the glory days at the Theatre of Dreams.
Brentford had gone ahead early in the game. Then Scott McTominay came on with a few minutes to go and continued what’s been a running theme in the Premier League season so far: late substitutes making massive impacts.
For a player that’s not renowned for scoring, he managed two goals in injury time that gave Erik ten Hag a pressure-relieving three points.
Of course, the more important question to ask is why the Red Devils have made life so hard for themselves against teams like Brentford in the first place, but all those issues get forgotten at the time of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
4. Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City
In the first meeting between last season’s top two, the hype was predictably sky high. Manchester City’s double against Arsenal last season was key in ending the title race as a contest, so the points on offer seemed more important than usual for the Gunners on the day.
Not only did Arsenal pull off a clean sheet (and it can be argued that City are the hardest team in the world to shut out), they found the knockout blow with Gabriel Martinelli striking the winner from the edge of the box.
In what’s shaping up to be another tight tussle at the top, how important could those three points be when we hit the end of the season in May?
5. Chelsea 4-4 Manchester City
Sometimes football just needs a bonkers game that seems to make no sense to confirm just how delightful the sport can be.
When a rebuilding Chelsea came up against the juggernaut of Manchester City, no-one could ever have predicted an eight-goal thriller with four different equalisers.
Two of Chelsea’s goals came from ex-Manchester City players. Thiago Silva became the oldest scorer in Chelsea’s history. It was the first time that Pep Guardiola had ever experienced his team scoring four and conceding four in the same game.
So many fascinating stats and narratives in just one game of football, which is something that could be said of many games so far.
With so much drama provided in the first third of the season, you can guarantee that this Premier League campaign has so much more to provide.
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