The English Premier League came back in full force last
week, bringing with it all the excitement associated with the start of a new
season. Week 2, however, got rid of all the warm feelings and allowed clubs to
start making a case as the best in the world.
Week 2 got started with Aston Villa and Newcastle United
battling to ascoreless
draw. While not exactly the ideal result for either club, the Lions were
able to get points for the second consecutive week.
With a close, competitive field still jockeying for
position, one point can make all the difference when you look back on the
standings at the end of the year. Here is an updated look at the standings,
scores and top scorers from the second week of EPL action.
|
Pos.
|
Club
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Pts
|
|
1
|
Chelsea
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
1
|
+4
|
6
|
|
2
|
Swansea
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
+2
|
6
|
|
3
|
Arsenal
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
3
|
+1
|
4
|
|
4
|
Aston Villa
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
+1
|
4
|
|
5
|
Manchester City
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
+2
|
3
|
|
6
|
West Ham
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
+1
|
3
|
|
7
|
Liverpool
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
+1
|
3
|
|
8
|
Hull City
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
+1
|
3
|
|
9
|
Tottenham
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
+1
|
3
|
|
10
|
Everton
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
0
|
2
|
|
11
|
West Bromwich Albion
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
|
12
|
Sunderland
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
|
13
|
Southampton
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
-1
|
1
|
|
14
|
Leicester City
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
-2
|
1
|
|
15
|
Newcastle
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
-2
|
1
|
|
16
|
Manchester United
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
-1
|
0
|
|
17
|
Queens Park Rangers
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
-1
|
0
|
|
18
|
Stoke
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
-1
|
0
|
|
19
|
Crystal Palace
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
-3
|
0
|
|
20
|
Burnley FC
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
-3
|
0
|
|
English Premier League Standings Table
|
|||||||||
WhoScored.com
|
Date
|
Home
|
Score/Time (BST)
|
Away
|
|
August 23
|
Aston Villa
|
0-0
|
Newcastle
|
|
August 23
|
Chelsea
|
2-0
|
Leicester City
|
|
August 23
|
Swansea City
|
1-0
|
Burnley FC
|
|
August 23
|
Crystal Palace
|
1-3
|
West Ham
|
|
August 23
|
Southampton
|
0-0
|
West Brom
|
|
August 23
|
Everton
|
2-2
|
Arsenal
|
|
August 24
|
Hull City
|
1:30 p.m.
|
Stoke
|
|
August 24
|
Tottenham
|
1:30 p.m.
|
Queens Park Rangers
|
|
August 24
|
Sunderland
|
4 p.m.
|
Manchester United
|
|
August 25
|
Manchester City
|
8 p.m.
|
Liverpool
|
|
EPL Matchday 2 Results
|
|||
WhoScored.com
|
Player
|
Team
|
Goals
|
|
Mauro Zarate
|
West Ham
|
1
|
|
Stewart Downing
|
West Ham
|
1
|
|
Carlton Cole
|
West Ham
|
1
|
|
Marouane Chamakh
|
Crystal Palace
|
1
|
|
Eden Hazard
|
Chelsea
|
1
|
|
Diego Costa
|
Chelsea
|
1
|
|
Nathan Dyer
|
Swansea City
|
1
|
|
Seamus Coleman
|
Everton
|
1
|
|
Steven Naismith
|
Everton
|
1
|
|
Olivier Giroud
|
Arsenal
|
1
|
|
Aaron Ramsey
|
Arsenal
|
1
|
|
EPL Matchday 2 Top Scorers
|
||
WhoScored.com
After finishing four points behind Manchester City in last
year's Premier League standings, Chelsea is off to a fast start this year with
two wins in two matches.
While the Blues have yet to get into the difficult part of
their schedule, defeating Leicester City on Saturday, being able to take care
of the clubs you are supposed to beat is critical to taking that next
step.
It's even more entertaining when your best players are
taking care of business. Chelsea got a 2-0 victory
thanks to goals from Eden
Hazardand Diego Costa in the second half, via SportsCenter on
Twitter:
Hazard, in particular, was brilliant for Chelsea. In
addition to his goal, the 23-year-old was creating opportunities for his
teammates, as you can see in this graphic from Squawka Football on
Twitter:
When you have that kind of efficiency from Hazard, it's
difficult enough to stop Chelsea. Throw Costa's contributions into the mix,
which OptaJoe points out have been perfect thus far, the Blues are
going to be impossible to stop.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was very
complimentary of the job Leicester City did, especially in the first half, via
Frank Lampard UK:
With Leicester City in the rear-view mirror, Chelsea can
move ahead to next week's matchup against Everton. The two clubs played a
fantastic match last February, won by Chelsea, 1-0, thanks to an injury-time
goal from John Terry.
Joining Chelsea atop the very early EPL standings is Swansea
thanks to its 1-0 victory
over Burnley. The lone goal was courtesy of Nathan Dyer in the 23rd minute
following a beautiful assist from GylfiSigurdsson, via the Premier
League's official Twitter:
Swansea is in an interesting spot this year. It vastly
underperformed during the 2013-14 season, with just 42 points and a 12th-place
finish. Yet the numbers didn't totally back up that poor finish.
The Jacks had an even goal differential with 54 for and 54
against, yet everyone else in the lower half of the standings had a goal
differential of at least minus-11. Tottenham was the worst team in the top 10
with a plus-four goal differential.
Scoring has been the biggest problem for Swansea, and that
hasn't corrected itself thus far with three goals in two matches. As long as
the club can get out ahead early and play the kind of defense it has thus far,
a better finish is easy to imagine.
One thing that is always important to remember is not
getting too high or low based on early-season results. All the matches count in
the standings, of course, but you can't win or lose a title two games into the
season.
The separation isn't starting to show yet, though Chelsea
certainly looks to be making an early statement to Manchester City and
Liverpool.
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