by Alex Valhouli
Seamus Coleman vs Aston Villa (Getty Images)
Yesterday in Los Angeles, faithful soccer heads were brewing coffee at 4:15 in the morning to see midday matches in Europe and didn’t unplug until around 9:30 pm, when the final whistle blew at the Home Depot Center.
We’ll begin with the Premiership…
Theo Walcott remedied our heavy eyelids with a stunning display of speed, followed by a masterful finish. That was around 5am on the west coast. Blackburn fought hard, equalized, and ultimately lost to a game-winner by a much improved Andrei Arshavin. It’s too early to tell, but we see Blackburn finishing mid-table. The Gunners are looking like a top-4 squad.
Wayne Rooney made his debut against West Ham and scored a classy penalty, nearly faking the boots off of Matthew Greene. The scrappy #10 did enough to show us that he will be on point this season, but our EPL goals of the day came from Nani and Berbatov, respectively.
Wigan, a last place team from a town famous for its rugby, fought hard for a 1-0 victory over Spurs. As far as psychological boosts go, Wigan takes the cake. It was less than a year ago that the club agreed to refund fans after a 9-1 thrashing by Redknapp’s boys. As for Tottenham, we believe there is still hope for a top 4 or 5 finish. If Redknapp is able to work Gallas into his defensive and achieves some balance between Champions League duties and the team’s EPL pursuits, there is hope. We’ve also got a North London derby ahead of us in the Carling Cup race, as Tottenham face Arsenal in the 3rd round.
Chelsea ran through Stoke City with goals from Malouda and Drogba. Cynics are waiting to see Ancelotti’s crew face a ‘real’ opponent, but we have to be realistic. This is most dangerous team in the Premiership.
Andy Carroll racked up another goal for Newcastle in a draw with Wolverhampton, which will fuel debate over his future with the English national squad.
Today we saw Aston Villa’s Luke Young score with a slow arcing FIFA style chip against Everton. Despite dominating possession in the 2nd half, Everton could not finish for the life of them. Seamus Coleman, a late sub for the Toffees, is our player of note. He has the sort of speed and creativity that Everton lacked in the opening 60 minutes of play.
Darren Bent gave Sunderland a 1-0 win over Manchester City in stoppage time. This is not a big surprise if you consider Sunderland’s early season record at home in years past.
Lastly, Fernando Torres scored his 50th goal at Anfield, which resulted in another L for newly promoted West Brom.
We’ve got a couple weeks before the EPL picks up again, thanks to international friendlies. Who do you support in England and how are you feeling about the the first three weeks?
