The 2022/2023 Premier League season is now into its second week, and the drama continues to come thick and fast.

As a result, we will be breaking down each round of fixtures by picking out 3 of the biggest talking points, covering the biggest results, goals and general talking points from the week. We then will round off by picking our player of the week and game of the week based on what we saw in that round of games.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have seen anything in a game that you think we should be talking about, or have anything to share from what you’ve seen at a game that week. Any funny stories, tactical analysis or general comments will be featured.

Relegation Candidates?

What on earth has happened to Manchester United?

There are some supposed experts who genuinely are predicting a bottom half finish if not even being dragged into the relegation scrap is a genuine consideration after they were beaten again, this time in an even more devastating fashion, 4-0 away to Brentford.

Despite starting with arguably their strongest XI which included superstar names and talents, they were completely outplayed in every area of the pitch. Brentford smelled weakness after the Brighton loss last week, and put them to the sword. They were more efficient with their chances and capitalising on United’s mistakes, were relentless in their desire not just to sit back on an early lead, but to put the game fully out of sight by half-time, with their comfortable 4 goal lead.

There are huge issues still hanging over United, and while Ten Hag is clearly unimpressed with how his side are acting so far, he will surely be working them and attempting to convert them to his style and methods, especially considering they’ve essentially had a supply teacher in charge for the last half-season (not a disrespect to Rangnick, simply using the metaphor as the players all knew it was a short-term appointment and so never played up to their full potential). Ten Hag is perhaps the only saving grace to this start of the season, as he observed his sides lacking performance and clearly even through his stance on the touchline showed that they aren’t yet following his commands and instructions, they aren’t fit enough to play a pressing/running game and they are completely shot of any confidence. If this set of results came later in the season, these questions would be placed solely at the manager’s door, however in a unique situation for modern football, the manager has full backing while the players are being fully held to account.

The start to the season for United doesn’t necessarily write off their whole season just yet, and if you can ignore the click-bait so called ‘pundits’ who are making these ridiculous claims about relegation battles and bottom-half finishes, the results will come, however considering how the previous seasons have gone, even dropping 6 points at this early stage pretty much rules out a title charge, and top 4 may also be creeping out of reach, unless things change and quickly.

And Another?

Okay, we’ve fallen into a bit of a click-bait subheading with this one, as Liverpool are nowhere near as disorganised as their rivals inn Manchester, however their start should probably be viewed almost as poorly as United’s, as Liverpool had to claw back a point from their match up with Crystal Palace.

Making it 2 draws from 2 very winnable matches, Klopp will be seething with his sides’ performances and lack of efficiency in front of goal. Despite having a total of 24 shots, only 4 were on target and their new striking talent Darwin Nunez, simply showed his inexperience and lack of composure as his side were chasing the game, when he put in a headbutt (a footballer headbutt, not a real-life headbutt in case you hadn’t already seen it), leaving his side in with an even bigger task.

Credit must be given to the 10 who remained on the pitch, as the red card almost made them switch on and realise the task they had to complete, and after getting the equaliser just 4 minutes after the dismissal, they didn’t sit on their draw as you would expect from a Klopp side, chasing the 3 points until the very end.

It’s a strange situation for Liverpool, as the likes of United are in complete disarray, however for Liverpool their problems are less clear, and it’s perhaps early fatigue or mentality issues that are preventing them from reaching their previous high standards. Of course the loss of Sadio Mane is a huge change, however the arrival of Nunez should arguably counter this, yet for some reason they seem in their first 2 games to be a shadow of the side who have challenged at the highest level for several years now.

I perhaps believe their is a mixture of early fatigue and mental blocks that are stopping them, as Klopp hasn’t changed his style of play massively, they are still fully experienced players who are used to playing alongside one another, however they don’t look the threat they have been previously. I think perhaps a few wins will ease their pressure and get them back on track and challenging, however this could be the season where Liverpool drop into the Champions League battle with Chelsea, United, Spurs and others, leaving of course Manchester City with a free run at another league title. That’s very early speculation, however it’s certainly not a completely outrageous shout.

Battle Of The Bridge 2: Electric Boogaloo

What a game, what drama and what a moment between the two coaches.

Chelsea vs Spurs has in the last few years become one of England’s fiercest rivalry matchups, of course with the infamous title deciding game in 2016 being one of the most exciting games in Premier League history.

This one might just have a fair few memorable moments we will be remembering for years to come, and even more if you’re a Spurs fan. The game itself was well balanced, with both sides giving it their all. Chelsea were slightly more dominant on the ball and in terms of shots, however Spurs were happy to bide their time and sit in when required as would be expected from the slight underdogs playing away from home.

Chelsea opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a Koulibaly goal to get things up and running. This allowed them to play with more freedom, and of course push on for a second. Inside the second half is when things really heated up however, as Spurs equalised in the 68th minute before Chelsea went back in front on 77 minutes. It appeared as though Reece James had scored the winner at this point and Chelsea would see through a big win early in the season, however Spurs unleashed themselves a bit and went after Chelsea for the equaliser.

The final goal came moments after VAR reviewed a yellow card for Romero after a hair pull on Chelsea’s Cucurella. With the last action of the game, Kane got his head on the ball at the near post and Mendy was left unmoved on his line as Spurs equalised, claimed a big point showing their mentality under Conte to not give up and persevere, and this was evident with their aggression and feisty attitude throughout, reaching a pinnacle when the game was done.

As the managers went to shake hands, both were clearly high on emotion, and the handshake turned into a bit of a stare off as neither wanted to show weakness, leading a very aggressive and awkward moment between the coaches which had the benches of each side wanting to get involved. It all came to nothing in the end, however both managers were given a red card for their conduct, and we were treated with a flurry of memes and clips all over social media for the rest of the evening.

Matchday 2 Player of the Week: Neco Williams The win for Nottingham Forest over West Ham is a huge result for Steve Cooper’s side who had been written off by many at the start of the season. Despite spending heavily, the move for Neco Williams could prove the be a key decision if they are to stay up and avoid relegation in this tough season ahead. Dean Henderson in goal of course deserves huge credit for his work between the sticks as they held on to a 1-0 win, however Williams was phenomenal, having the most touches, winning the most duels, most tackles, shots, take-ons, chances created and shots on target. A huge defensive and attacking showing and no doubt, a key factor in the 3 points and momentous win.

Matchday 2 Game of the Week: Brentford 4-0 Manchester United A huge shocking result and a massive performance from Brentford which they and their fans will cherish and remember for a long time to come. When they were promoted to the Premier League, many said they were looking forward to games against the ‘biggest’ sides, and this one will be a day to remember. For Manchester United, they have a huge upheaval ahead, and Ten Hag will be realising quite quickly into his reign what job lies ahead. I think we are yet to actually see a ‘Ten Hag’ side or performance from this team, but I have no doubt he will push them in training following this embarrassment.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) what you made of the second round of fixtures, and what you’re looking forward to in the next game week.