Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford maintain 100 percent starts in Premier League

Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-03 22:22:41|Editor: Yurou
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LONDON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho was able to breathe a little bit easier after seeing his side win 2-0 away to Burnley on Sunday.

The under-fire coach dedicated the win to the club's executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, who has been under the spotlight as much as Mourinho has during a difficult start to the season.

A win against a virtually unrecognizable Burnley side is not necessarily a true indication of where Manchester United are after four games. That will be made clearer when they visit Watford on September 15. For the moment, Mourinho will at least be able to enjoy the international break.

Watford promise to be a much tougher test of Manchester United's abilities as Javi Gracia's side showed their 'never-say-die' spirit once again, coming back after conceding an own goal to beat Tottenham 2-1. Both sides went into Sunday's game with 100 percent records, but Watford were able to undo the Tottenham defense with two balls from the left and go into the international break with 12 points in the bag.

Chelsea are just ahead of them in the table and while nobody would say Maurizio Sarri's side is the finished article, the signs are there that they are going to be title contenders. The Chelsea defense still has to come to terms with the Italian manager's desire to see his side press forward whenever possible, but Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata are clearly enjoying themselves, even if they didn't have to work too hard to beat an impressive Bournemouth 2-0.

Liverpool are league leaders, which will delight their fans although coach Jurgen Klopp will perhaps be worried to have seen how his side surrender the initiative to a combative Leicester City after taking a 2-1 lead away from home.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson will have nightmares about the goalkeeping error which allowed Leicester back into the game, but Klopp looked to take the pressure off his big-money signing by saying he was glad an error that was going to happen sooner or later was "out of the way."

Unai Emery will be a much happier man after his Arsenal side won 3-2 away to Cardiff to make it two wins in two games, although he will be worried by the continued defensive lapses and goalkeeper Petr Cech's unease with the ball at his feet. Emery's insistence on playing the ball out from the back, places the onus on the 36-year-old keeper who has had to adapt to a new style of play deep into his career.

A week after having just 19 percent of the ball in their 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea, Rafael Benitez's Newcastle United repeated the tactic and the result as they lost 2-1 to Manchester City. As an act of damage limitation against a superior rival, Benitez's tactic wasn't a total disaster, but with one point from four games, his side will have to start attacking sooner or later.

Elsewhere an injury time goal for Wolves piled on the agony for a West Ham side that is looking directionless. Brighton and Fulham shared four goals to suggest neither should struggle too much this season. Huddersfield took a good point away to Everton, who missed the suspended Richarlison, while Crystal Palace ran out of steam against Southampton; a reminder that in the Premier League, you rarely get anything if you are not at 100 percent.

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