Matchweek 12 of the Premier League season is now in the books and history continues to be made. After Manchester City shattered all sorts of records last season, its hard to believe that it records would be falling so quickly into this season as well.
For the first time in the history of the English top flight, three teams have not lost any of their opening 12 matches of the season. Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all extended their unbeaten streaks at the weekend, as the triumvirate extended their already-historic streak. When all three teams made it past matchweek 10 of the season unbeaten, they set the record for the Premier League Era. Now, with these results pushing through matchweek 12, they have now set an English top-flight record.
Despite the record-setting weekend, there wasn't much movement in the top half of the table. The headlining match of the week had to be the Manchester Derby, of whom City were the hosts. Although United did manage to get a goal, it really was a comfortable performance for City. The match never really seemed in doubt. City scored within the first 15' through David Silva, and then Sergio Aguero, sporting a new look, finished brilliantly after playing a beautiful one-two with Riyad Mahrez right after the break.
City looked comfortable until substitute Romelu Lukaku was upended in the penalty area by City goalkeeper Ederson as he attempted to gather a through ball. The referee gave the penalty and United's number 11 Anthony Martial slotted it confidently past Ederson to bring the game back within reach. However, they never really seemed like equalizing. City added a 3rd on what will likely be considered one of the team goals of the season, as substitute Ilkay Gundogan finished off a move that included 44 straight passes and took over 2% of the entirety of the match.
Liverpool took care of struggling Fulham as they hopped Chelsea for 2nd place in the table. Egyptian star Mo Salah scored his 6th goal of the season, while Xherdan Shaqiri added the second. Shaqiri, a new arrival to Anfield this season, is finally getting consistent starts in the star-studded Liverpool line-up, and he is rewarding manager Jurgen Klopp. Shaqiri finished a brilliant cross from Andy Robertson, a member of what is arguably the best group of outside backs any team in the PL has to offer.
Chelsea hiccuped against Everton in a goalless encounter. However, the match was all-but boring. Both goalkeepers did extremely well, especially Everton's Jordan Pickford, who made a handfull of saves. Pickford thwarted Chelsea free-scoring outside back Marcus Alonso twice, most notably when he dug the Spaniard's stunning volley out of the top corner of the net, producing a world class save.
Tottenham got an important three points on the road to Crystal Palace, a fixture that always proves tough. Spurs broke through Palace's rare-guard action via a header from young Argentinian defender Juan Foyth, who only made his PL debut the week before. Arsenal trailed Wolves almost the entire match until Henrik Mkhitaryan equalized within the last 5' on a cross that turned into a shot off a free kick. With the immense amount of bodies in the box, Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio had to wait to see if there would be a redirecting touch on the cross, and when one didn't come, he couldn't react in time. Wolves had multiple chances in stoppage time, when they struck the crossbar and Adama Traore had a breakaway saved by Bernd Leno. It just wasn't their day, although it must be said that it is a good point for Wolves on the road at The Emirates.
The bottom half of the table was much more eventful. The resurgence of Newcastle United continued at the weekend as Solomon Rondon scored his first two goals of the season. The Venezuelan, who remained in the Premier League with Newcastle despite his previous club's (West Bromwich Albion) relegation last season, had been struggling to find goals. Restored to the starting XI by Rafa Benitez, Rondon repaid his manager's faith by latching onto a loose ball in the box early in the first half and then powering home a header later in the same half. Newcastle has now gone from winning zero of the first 10 matches to winning their last two and elevating themselves out of the drop zone.
The other massive result at the bottom of the table was Cardiff City's last-gasp winner against Brighton and Hove Albion. Brighton took an early lead through defender Lewis Dunk, who has now scored in back-to-back games for the Seagulls. He is currently the joint-leading goal scorer in the PL amongst defenders with three other players, one of whom is his center back partner Shane Duffy.
However, it was Cardiff's day. The Bluebird's responded through a Callum Paterson header in the 26'. Soon after, a moment of madness from Brighton midfielder Dale Stephens saw him sent off for a terrible challenge on Cardiff's Greg Cunningham. Cardiff used the man advantage to dominant the entirety of the second half, but they looked to be doomed to just a point. However, it was a scramble in the box in the 90' that won it for the Welsh side. Sol Bamba attempted an overhead kick that ricochetted off of the post, to another Cardiff player, whose effort was saved by a combination of Maty Ryan and Lewis Dunk onto the crossbar. The ball then came back to Bamba who dispatched it emphatically into the roof of the net and promptly wheeled off to the corner to celebrate. This is a massive win for Cardiff because even with the three points, they are still in the relegation zone on goal difference.
Fulham look to be in real trouble. They sit dead bottom of the league with 5 points and a -20 goal difference. After their 2-0 loss to Liverpool, they are the only team Europe's "big five" leagues to have shipped more than 30 goals (31). They are also one of only two teams in the English Football League (92 teams) to have not kept a clean sheet in the league yet this season.
Huddersfield Town and Southampton both secured important draws as Cardiff and Newcastle are putting pressure on the other teams near the bottom. The only team in the bottom five entering matchweek 12 not to win their match is Fulham, meaning other teams are ever-so-slightly beginning to leave them in the dust. Teams struggling to find form over their past few matches are also starting to get pulled into the relegation battle, as Crystal Palace and Burnley are starting to see the drop zone sneak up on them. These teams will look to use the international break as to stop the negative momentum and come back rejuvenated in two weeks time.
Interesting Stat:
-Alex Pritchard scored for Huddersfield in their home draw against West Ham United. This goal marked the Terrier's first goal at the John Smith Stadium in 211 days or 726 minutes of game time.
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