100th-minute winner from a 16-year-old: What happened in the Premier League on match day 2?

It’s only the end of match day 2 in the Premier League, and yet certain narratives are already taking form. Arsenal, Spurs, and Liverpool have a 100% record; the 3 promoted teams have already won a match; and West Ham and Wolves are the only teams without a point. This week, we had: 28 goals, 2 red cards, and 2 debutants who are so young, they’re getting ready to go back to school next week.

A red card, a comeback (nearly), but still no Isak

We begin with Monday night’s fixture at St.James’ Park, where Newcastle United faced Liverpool. The atmosphere was at its intimidating and electric best, particularly as the build-up to the fixture focussed on the 1 player who wouldn’t be playing: Alexander Isak. The Swedish striker still refuses to play for Newcastle United, as he attempts to force a move to Liverpool, whose only bid (so far) of £110m ($148m) was rejected.

The home side played with real intensity, unnerving the defending champions, and fashioning several 1st-half opportunities. In Isak’s absence, Anthony Gordon deputised up front in a ‘false 9’ role, and despite getting into promising positions, couldn’t open the scoring. The Magpies were by far the more threatening side, so it was a real surprise when Ryan Gravenberch opened the scoring for Liverpool after 35 minutes. His shot from 20 yards wrong-footed Nick Pope in goal, and a slight deflection saw the ball end in the back of the net, via the post. That goal seemed to knock Newcastle’s mentality, and their intensity became slightly aimless. Dan Burn picked up a booking after a couple of hard fouls on Mo Salah shortly after, but the real ‘rush of blood’ was Gordon’s. Pressing from the front, he attempted an ambitious slide tackle on Van Dijk at pace, only to mis-judge, and his studs raked down the defender’s calf. A yellow card was initially awarded, but VAR recommended a review, and Gordon was then promptly dismissed.

If Newcastle were hoping to regroup at half-time, that plan swiftly went out of the window. 20 seconds after the restart, Ekitike finished superbly from 16 yards, after good work from Gakpo down the left. 2-0 down, only 10 men on the pitch, and it looked like the game was over for the home side.

Not so.

In the 57th minute, Livramento sent in a deep cross from the left, and Bruno Guimarães leapt above Kerkez to power a header in from 8 yards. Suddenly, the crowd believed again, and Newcastle (somehow) looked the more likely to score again. Roared on by a frenzied St. James’, Newcastle found the equaliser in the 88th minute. A long kick by Pope fell into the path of William Osula, the only striker left in the squad, who placed the ball beyond Alisson for his first ever Premier League goal. The noise was deafening, but there was no time to stop and celebrate; Newcastle wanted the win.

After more pressure from the home side, they eventually began to tire in the 10th minute of stoppage time. Liverpool worked it left, then right, and a dangerous ball across the Newcastle box was dummied by Szoboszlai, leaving the unmarked Rio Ngumoha (16 years old) to score the winner in the 100th minute. Jubilant scenes for the Liverpool players, joy for the teenage debutant, and heartbreak for the Geordie faithful. As the full-time whistle blew, the entire stadium stood to applaud an incredible match, and a Herculean effort from the home side against the champions of England.

Spurs are Frank with Manchester City

Confidence was high, heading into Manchester City‘s 1st home match of the season, after thumping Wolves 4 – 0 the previous week. Spurs were confident themselves, starting the season strongly under new head coach Thomas Frank. Despite City’s early domination with the ball, they struggled to break the Spurs defence down. The away side, on the other hand, were perfectly happy playing long, direct balls, which caused City problems all game long. In the 35th minute, Richarlison was played down the right flank, before a perfect ball across the City box was fired in by Johnson from the penalty spot. The offside flag went up, but was soon overturned, after replays showed that Richarlison had timed his run perfectly.

Another aspect of Spurs’ game-plan was when they chose to press high up the pitch. When Manchester City had a goal kick, Spurs would switch to man-to-man marking, trying to force a mistake early in City’s build-up. In the 2nd minute of 1st-half stoppage time, James Trafford played a poor pass into Nico Gonzalez on the edge of City’s box. Spurs forced a turnover, before Palhinha fired home from 12 yards for his first goal for the club.

The 2nd-half followed much the same pattern, with City putting Spurs under considerable pressure, but Spurs always causing problems with their direct counter-attacks. Tottenham fans must’ve felt familiar feelings, having led PSG 2 – 0 in the Super Cup, only to drop back, allowing the European champions to equalise late in the game. Here, the north-London side were resolute, being dominant in the air, and winning the vast majority of second balls. With this victory, Thomas Frank becomes only the 3rd coach to win an away match against Pep Guardiola with 2 different sides, after Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. Revered company, indeed!

A statement Vik-tory Arsenal

After Arsenal‘s laboured 1 – 0 win away to Manchester United last week, many were questioning if they looked capable of winning the Premier League. Slow in possession, blunt in attack, and new signing Viktor Gyökeres barely had a touch of the ball. This week, the Gunners answered those questions, as they fired 5 goals in from just 5 attempts on target. After a fairly pedestrian start, Arsenal opened the scoring in the 34th minute via yet another set-piece. Rice’s superb corner found the head of Timber 8 yards out, who diverted into the corner under minimal pressure. In the 1st minute of stoppage time, Leeds looked like launching a counter-attack after defending a corner. Sadly for them, Rice tracked back brilliantly, getting the ball to Timber 35 yards out, who fed a clever through ball for Saka. From a tight angle from the right, he surprised everyone by shooting early with his right foot, finding the top corner of the net.

Into the 2nd-half, and it didn’t take long for the home side find their 3rd, and Gyökeres‘ 1st. A long ball down the left flank allowed the Swede to powerfully run behind the defence. As support arrived on the edge of the box, Gyökeres cut inside onto his right, before firing a powerful low effort into the goal. That sort of goal became something of a trademark for him while at Sporting CP, and Arsenal fans will be hoping he can replicate the finish many times over. In the 56th minute, another corner caused chaos in the Leeds box, and Timber fired home from close range for his 2nd.

Despite being 4 – 0 up, the biggest cheer came in the 64th minute, when Arteta made a significant substitution. Off went Noni Madueke, on came academy starlet Max Dowman, aged just 15 years and 234 days old. For context, he doesn’t start Year 11 at school for another week (for American readers, he’s about to begin 10th grade). In doing so, he becomes the 2nd youngest player to play in the Premier League, after Arsenal teammate Ethan Nwaneri. In fact, if Dowman scores a Premier League goal in the next 400 days (or 1 year and 35 days), he will become the youngest ever goalscorer in the competition’s history. Dowman wasn’t just there for show, either. He consistently beat his full-back, came close to scoring with a 20-yard volley, and even won a penalty deep in stoppage time, which Gyökeres converted for his 2nd. It finished 5 – 0, and it was as much a celebration for the academy as for the fans, having all of Saka, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, and Dowman all play today.