What a week of Premier League football, am I right! We had a couple of upsets, a few cracking goals, and some even better saves. Now, with the international break upon us, we need something to get us through the long two weeks. This means, we’re back with our matchweek wrap up and review. From the best games and standout players to some of the worst performances, we’ll cover it all in this one.
So, if that sounds like a bit of you, you’ve stumbled across the right place to bring Matchweek Seven to a close.
Fantasy Steal of the Week: Donyell Malen
The former Borussia Dortmund attacker was brought in permanently for Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side, who were looking to replace the likes of Jhon Durán and Marcus Rashford, who are no longer with the team. It has been a relatively slow start to his Villa career, but this past weekend he gave Burnley the business with his performance. He was given the start and played 83 minutes in total, but what earned him the most points was, of course, the brace he picked up.
After receiving an incisive ball through, Malen broke through the lines, wrapped his foot around the ball at a tough angle, and blasted it past the keeper with a defender draped all over him. For his second goal, Malen took up the left half-space, exploded into the box, and finished superbly with two touches, thumping the ball into the back of the net to give his side a commanding lead.
Alongside the goals, he added a couple of bonus points, bringing him to a very strong 15-point haul. At a bargain £5.1 million price, that would have made plenty of fantasy managers happy.
Under 21 Wonderkid: Estêvão
I know, back-to-back Chelsea players on the list. But truthfully, not many under-21s have been suiting up in the league over the past few weeks. And if one team was going to have multiple winners of this award, it was always going to be Chelsea, as they are the second-youngest side in Europe.
This weekend, their decisive player was the Brazilian wonderkid Estêvão, who came off the bench with around 15 minutes left in the headline game of the weekend. When he entered the match, Chelsea and Liverpool were locked at one-all, and both managers were looking for someone to break the game open.
The young Brazilian was one of the levers for Enzo Maresca, and he instantly started making things happen. He delivered a lovely cross to Enzo Fernández, who struck the post with a header. Then, entering injury time, Estêvão curled a left-footed effort that forced Mamardashvili to make a strong save.
Finally, in the dying moments, Marc Cucurella swung a low cross to the back post. With some outstanding movement, Estêvão got on the end of it and knocked it home with his weaker foot. The goal sent the Bridge into euphoria as they took down the league favourites with just a minute to go.
Well Off-Target: Fans Wanting Slot Out
One thing that came across my timeline after the Liverpool vs Chelsea game was fans of the defending champions already wanting to see the back of Arne Slot’s time at the helm of Liverpool. I just want to get the facts straight. In his first year as a Premier League manager, Arne Slot won the competition by 10 points, finishing with a total of 84 points.
The only reason it was even that close on the table was because they secured the title so early that they completely took their foot off the gas, which limited their final points tally.
I understand the start to this season hasn’t been exactly what people were hoping for, but they still sit second on the table, trailing Arsenal by just one point. The fact that people are already calling for his job just doesn’t add up.
Another argument being made is that the club spent a lot of money, with plenty of big names coming in and out over the summer. That could be a reason why some feel he should be performing at a higher level than last year, given the level of investment. However, I think there’s also an argument to be made that a squad full of superstars needs time to sort out roles and build an understanding of each other.
For me, what Slot achieved last season has earned him plenty of time to figure things out, and I’m sure he will.
Man of the Matchday: Antoine Semenyo
A second appearance on the Premier League reviews this season for the Bournemouth talisman, who has been a superstar through seven games. He was deployed on the left wing for the Cherries and made sure to be a terror all evening for Fulham and defenders like Timothy Castagne.
It all happened in quick succession in this one, as Fulham broke the deadlock after 70 minutes with the opening goal. With Bournemouth needing a quick response, Semenyo provided exactly that in the 78th minute. He took on a couple of defenders, danced down the byline, then cut back about a metre to give himself an angle to shoot. The winger then let rip with a phenomenal strike that beat Djordje Petrovic to tie the game.
Later, in the 96th minute with the Cherries up 2–1, Semenyo put the match to bed with his fifth goal of the season. After a Bournemouth corner turned into a counterattack, the ball found Semenyo at the top of the box. In vintage fashion, he struck a first-time shot and buried it into the bottom left corner, putting the game on ice.
Highlight Result: Everton vs Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace had been one of the better sides in England during the back end of last year and the early stages of this season. That was reinforced by their quite astounding run of 19 straight games without a loss.
This weekend, it was Everton’s goal to put an end to that record and come away with three points against the London club while playing at home in their new stadium.
The chances of that happening looked relatively slim in the first half, as Daniel Muñoz, from his attacking fullback position, put the Eagles in front with a strike from the corner of the six-yard box, beating Jordan Pickford.
After that, Everton struggled to find a decisive response through the later stages of the first half and into the early parts of the second. That all changed when the referee pointed to the spot, awarding Everton a penalty in the 76th minute. The man who stepped up was their winger–number ten Iliman Ndiaye, who calmly slotted the spot kick home to tie the game and breathe new life into the contest.
After some more back and forth, the sides were still locked at one-all heading into injury time. That changed when a cross sent in by Everton was dealt with poorly by Palace, falling to the feet of loan winger Jack Grealish. The English international made no mistake and powered his shot home, giving Everton the lead and ultimately the win.