RADIO
Tottenham (and the Referees) Hand Manchester City Its Second Consecutive Loss
Tottenham 4-1 Manchester City
Saturday, September 26th @ White Hart Lane, London
What a day it was to be a club in North London. While their neighborhood rivals took down the undefeated Foxes (more on that below), Spurs defeated the heavily favored Sky Blues in overwhelming fashion.
For the bulk of the first half, Spurs looked outmatched by the former league leaders and even without superstars David Silva and Vincent Kompany, Man City looked the superior squad in the first 45 minutes - dominating possession and netting the go-ahead goal in a punishing 25th minute counter attack. Scoring the goal was new record-signing Kevin De Bruyne, who despite his clean finish, would be remembered for a different mark on the match. Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero respectively had opportunities to double the lead and would have done so if not for the sensational efforts of Hugo Lloris. The Tottenham 'keeper most certainly rose to the occasion and put together his finest performance of the season thusfar.
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Just before the half, with City looking likely to take its 1-0 lead to the locker room, De Bruyne would make a costly mistake. After the officials missed a clear offside call on Kyle Walker, Eric Dier took possession of a sloppy Kevin De Bruyne clearance, placing the ball in the bottom left corner of the net – a goal opportunity that should not never have had the chance to occur.
The second half was all Spurs. Right off the break, Erik Lamela sent a gorgeous free kick into the box, meeting a leaping Toby Alderwerield. The centerback’s misdirection beat City’s backup keeper Willy Cabellero, who found himself in no man’s land, unable to make a play on the header. Minutes later, Harry Kane scored his first goal of the season by following up a Christian Eriksen free kick that bounced off the crossbar. Much like Spurs’ first goal, Kane was in a clear offside position that was missed by the linesman. To put a cherry on top of their dominant performance, Erik Lamela scored Spurs’ fourth and final goal on a teasing one-on-one effort against an outstretched Cabellero. Lamela, who earned Man of the Match award, put together his finest performance as a Tottenham man.
Spurs should feel confident moving forward after earning their third consecutive win whilst City, on the other hand, are almost inevitably concerned after losing their second consecutive match. The Sky Blues hope to end their skid next week, to prevent a three game slide, going into the league’s second international break.
Fantasy Focus: Erik Lamela – Midfielder – Tottenham
Erik Lamela has never been short on effort. High intensity aside, the Argentinian winger, Tottenham’s record signing, has repeatedly fallen short of the mark. With the Spurs midfield struggling with injuries, Lamela has been given an opportunity to shine. While his play has not been perfect, his natural ability is transparent. Against City, the midfielder put together his best performance of the season, earning a goal and an assist. Lamela should get the start yet again when Tottenham travel to Swansea next Sunday.
Romelu Lukaku Leads the Toffee’s In Furious Second Half Comeback – Everton Defeats West Brom in Monday Night Thriller
West Brom 2-3 Everton
Monday, September 28th @ The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
West Brom will be kicking themselves for weeks after this one. After taking a two goal lead in the match’s first hour, the Baggies let the match slip away, allowing a three goal second half onslaught by the visiting Toffees.
Sadio Berahino got the scoring going in the 41st minute. The young striker made a clever run and with a brilliant flick of his foot, and the help of a deflection, snuck the ball past a hapless Tim Howard. The goal was Berahino’s second in three games after returning from his transfer saga-induced sabbatical away from the club. Fresh from the second half restart, West Brom doubled their lead with a Craig Dawson header from a corner kick.
Just a minute later Everton nullified that effort. Barcelona transfer Gerrard Deulofeu sent a glorious 35-yard cross into the box, perfectly meeting the soaring forehead of Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker made the finish look easy, placing the ball in the top left corner, beating the outstretched right arm of Boaz Myhill. To West Brom’s chagrin, ‘Big Rom’ was just getting started.
In the final 15 minutes Lukaku assisted on the tying goal and met a Deulofeu cross yet again to put Everton ahead in the 83rd minute. Much aligned with the theme of the weekend, the referees missed a clear handball when Lukaku slapped the ball down as he was gathering the cross.
Fantasy Focus: Gerrard Deulofeu – Forward – Everton
Deulofeu has been chomping at the bit to become a regular member of Roberto Martinez’s starting XI. After coming 
off the bench for the first month, Martinez inserted the former Barcelona man into a lineup that has gone goalless in two of its last three matches. The Spanish international did not disappoint. Deulofeu assisted on both of Romelu Lukaku’s second half goals, including the game winner. Both of the goals came from masterful crosses exhibiting, what once upon a time made Deulofeu a budding Catalonian star. The forward should most assuredly see his place in the first XI secured after Monday’s performance.
Alexis Hat Trick Leads The Way In A Wide Open Match At King Power
Leicester City 2-5 Arsenal
Saturday, September 26th @ King Power Stadium, Leicester
Leicester are a confident squad and they very much deserve to be after, what has been, a bewildering start to the new campaign. To the shock of many, the Foxes came into the weekend third in the table and as the league’s last remaining unbeaten side. With bravado in surplus, the Claudio Ranieri-led club decided to play an open game, seemingly attempting to beat Arsenal at what the Gunners do best. It was a move Ranieri would regret.
One would believe that the magic was sure to continue, after Jamie Vardy’s 13th minute galloping strike skimmed past Petr Cech, setting the King Power Stadium into celebratory uproar. Vardy would score again later in the match, bringing his season total to six, surpassing teammate Riyad Mahrez for the league lead. Vardy's efforts aside, however, Leicester were outplayed for most of the game.
The Fox faithful would get their money’s worth this weekend, as the goals would continue to flow. Leicester proved that despite its hot start, it is still not a club that has the talent to compete with a world class club like Arsenal in a wide open end-to-end type of match. With Leicester’s defense spread-thin, Alexis Sanchez and Co. released the full fury of the Gunner attack.
Sanchez, who led the league in shots on goal coming into the weekend, scored his first, second, and third goals of the season during Arsenal’s offensive eruption. Bookending the Chilean striker's effort were Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud who added goals to their already healthy season tallies. By the end of the match, the visitors would out-shoot Leicester 27-16 during a match, which despite Jamie Vardy’s exciting opening goal, was never really close.
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