Everton 3-6 Chelsea
The first real test of Chelsea's mettle, it was billed as. And pass it they did, but not without a hiccup or three that left manager Jose Mourinho ecstatic and apoplectic in equal measure.
The Special One's debut defeat of the last campaign had come at Goodison Park, a venue where the Blues had lost on four of their previous five league visits. But any thoughts of a repeat were discarded when both Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic rifled home inside the opening three minutes.
Yet the usual Mourinho method of shutting up shop didn't materialise. Everton, who had gone from conceding late goals in their opening two league encounters to collapsing early on, settled into their rhythm and were well on top by the time Kevin Mirallas reduced the arrears moments before the break; the Belgian firing in 4 first-half efforts and making more attacking third passes than anyone else.
Having started the scoring in the first minute, Costa fittingly finished it in the 90th, smashing home to put an end to the mayhem that had seen five goals in the space of 10 second-half minutes. The Brazilian, with four strikes in three Premier League appearances, looks every inch the striker Chelsea were crying out for last season, and is set to be kept on his toes by Loic Remy.
"I played against him in the Champions League and realised he was a top player, but when you see him every day you realise he's literally got everything," said skipper John Terry. "He's got off to a flying start and long may it continue, because that was the difference today."
Martinez's men remain winless despite leading in their opening two games and twice reducing the deficit to one goal against Chelsea. The Spaniard believes Everton are suffering from a crisis of confidence.
"We were too soft with our defending, every time the ball was around our 18-yard box we had a real fear that the ball was going to end up in our net. Now we've got 10 goals conceded in three games and that is not like us at all. We kept 15 clean sheets last campaign. Our attacking play was phenomenal, we need to bring that intensity and that feeling to our defensive play."
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Man City 0-1 Stoke
The first significant stumble in this season's title race, and few would have predicted the champions slipping up against the Potters, who had lost all 12 previous trips to Manchester against either City or United.
The Blues had scored at least once in 69 of their last 70 Premier League home matches, but hit the target with just 2 of their 16 efforts on goal as they were thwarted by a resolute defensive display and a terrific solo goal by ex-United striker Mame Biram Diouf.
Key to Stoke's success was defending from the front, with Victor Moses making 7 ball recoveries and 5 interceptions, Peter Crouch a game-high 8 clearances and match-winner Diouf chipping in with 3 tackles.
"We're really pleased for Mame," said Stoke boss Mark Hughes, triumphant at the club which dispensed with his services in December 2009. "He's come to the club and we've been delighted with what he's shown us in games and in training. But obviously he's a striker and when you come to a new club you want to make an impression as quickly as possible and that means scoring goals.
"He's probably been a little hard on himself. In the couple of games that he's played he's had chances and not taken them but we could see that he was going to give us something that we didn't have last year, which was pace and power on the break. It was an outstanding goal. I hadn't realised until I'd seen it again how deep he picked the ball up, and he just kept on going.
"You always sensed he was going to go all the way and get a shot off and thankfully there was enough power on it to beat Joe [Hart] and we won the game. It's a fantastic goal to win any game."
Yaya Toure had done his best to turn the tie in the hosts' favour, attempting 6 efforts on goal and making more passes than anyone else (91/103). His manager Manuel Pellegrini felt the hosts should have been awarded a late penalty when the Ivorian went down under a challenge from Erik Pieters.
"It doesn't matter, all of you know that it was a clear penalty but it doesn't matter. I don't want to analyse the game just in one play," he said. "We tried to create space, Stoke defended very well in the first half and in the second also. We couldn't create space but I think in the attitude we did all that we could do. We didn't play well in the creative way, it was too easy in the way they scored the goal in counter-attacking a corner."
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Burnley 0-0 Man United
A second successive draw on the road for the Red Devils, but still plenty for Louis van Gaal to ponder after the lunchtime stalemate in Lancashire that leaves the Dutchman still waiting for his first league win.
British record signing Angel di Maria was thrown straight into the starting line-up having joined for £59.7 million in midweek. His 70-minute showing proved one of few positives for the visitors who enjoyed the lion's share of possession (64.5%) but lacked pace, width and end product, as just 2 of their 7 attempts troubled former United shot-stopper Tom Heaton.
"I don't think we gave a lot away, but we have to create more chances and today I think we have created chances to score," Van Gaal said afterwards. "I think we were the stronger team, certainly in the second half. The progress is there, but you have to win. A club as [big as] Manchester United have to win. When you have two points [out] of [a possible] nine... that is disappointing."
Antonio Valencia's energetic display up and down the right flank would have given the Dutchman some encouragement as the players continue to adapt to his formation. The Ecuador flyer made more attacking third passes than anyone else on the pitch (20/22), while defensively he tracked back to make 9 ball recoveries and win all 5 of his tackles, 4 of them in the right-back area.
By the end, Burnley were happy to take a point, their first in the league this season, but just one goal from their opening three matches is a stat boss Sean Dyche will want to improve on pronto.
"We come away pleased with a point, but I'm more pleased or as pleased with the performance," he said. "I really like the group you've seen today, I like the way they operate, but we do want strength in depth and people who can challenge to move us even further forward."
While Jason Shackell led the line at the back with a game-high 14 clearances, Scott Arfield was a standout performer further forward. The wide-man set up 2 chances for others on top of firing off 2 attempts himself, completed 2/3 take-ons, made an unopposed 12 ball recoveries and won 4 of his 6 tackles.
Analyse it using Stats Zone • Match report • Dyche reaction • Van Gaal reaction
Swansea 3-0 West Brom
An unlikely three wins from three for the Swans, who briefly topped the table before Chelsea's topsy-turvy triumph at Goodison Park. Having initially won just five of 17 matches under manager Garry Monk last season, the South Wales side have carried on where they left off at the tail end of 2013/14 and made it seven wins from eight in all competitions against a woeful West Brom.
Alan Irvine admitted his charges never recovered from Nathan Dyer's second-minute strike after Jonas Olsson had slipped inside the penalty area. "You spend a week trying to get ready for a game, you develop a game plan, and then somebody slips and that can't be legislated for," he said. "It makes what would have been a tough game an even tougher one and we certainly got rocked by that. We'd spent the time in the dressing room prior to the game talking about how important a good start was, and we got the worst possible start."
The hosts were home and hosed inside half an hour after Wayne Routledge had spectacularly fired home a second, with Dyer netting his third goal in two home matches to wrap up the points after half-time.
"I was half-shouting for him to bring it down, and then when he hit it and I saw it going in I thought: 'Make sure you hit it'," said Monk of Routledge's stunner. "We've got some very good technicians at the club - very good techniques from a lot of the players. It's something that the guys work on in training and we try and promote. Obviously it was a very good finish in the end from Wayne. I'm delighted for him. He's worked very hard and he's been, in my time since I started, one of the most consistent players that I've had."
Chief creator was once again returning Icelander Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has had a hand in all but one of Swansea's goals so far this season. The former Spurs midfielder set up 4 chances in total over the 90 minutes and was also his team's top tackler, winning 3/5.
"It's a good start, but that's all it is, a start for us," added 'perfectionist' Monk. "There's a long way to go and a lot more work to do, but in terms of today and the start that we've had, we're pretty much where we should be. It's good to have that winning habit. But I guess when you try and be a perfectionist you see more of the things they do wrong than they do right. But today we did many things right."
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Newcastle 3-3 Crystal Palace
Neil Warnock returned to the top flight with a bang, seeing his side score in both the first minute and the last as Palace responded from last weekend's drab derby defeat to West Ham by picking up a point that looked for a long while like it would be all three.
Dwight Gayle followed up his midweek League Cup hat-trick by scoring inside 60 seconds at St James' Park, while Wilfried Zaha - back on loan from Manchester United - netted in the 95th minute after strikes from Daryl Janmaat, Rolando Aarons and Mike Williamson had turned the tie on its head for the Toon.
"You can't really ask much more than what the players gave me today," said Warnock. "We've had a good two days, that's all we've had together, two cracking sessions, they played today like I thought they could play. I was disappointed in the first half if I am honest, I thought Newcastle's best attacks in the first half were our mistakes, which gave them opportunities in our half of the pitch. But in the second half we were a lot more clinical in breaking out and we created some great chances."
All the pre-match talk had centred around Warnock's relationship with Jason Puncheon following a Twitter outburst last season, but the winger did all his talking on the pitch; scoring to put Palace 2-1 up, making a game-high 10 ball recoveries, a team-high 11/16 attacking third passes and completing 4/4 take-ons.
Top man for the Magpies was undoutbedly Aarons. The Jamaica-born midfielder did not come on until the 67th minute but still managed to fire in 5 shots - scoring one and setting up another - as well as completing 3/4 take-ons, surpassed only by Puncheon.
But manager Alan Pardew could only dwell on the disastrous defending which let two points slip through their fingers at the death, and the amount of time added on at the end by referee Mike Jones.
"We've conceded a goal after 30 seconds and we've conceded a goal straight after half-time, which is disappointing, but we've come back each time," Pardew said. "We then take the lead and get ourselves in a position [to win]. I thought we got a little bit carried away when we took the lead and at this level you can't do that, you've got to make sure you see the victory out.
"When a team comes here and wastes time from the moment the game kicks off, on goal-kicks, and time and time again they took ages on everything - and then they're 3-2 down and he gives them seven minutes, I don't know, it just didn't fit right with me."
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West Ham 1-3 Southampton
After the clinical finishing at Crystal Palace, the Hammers were brought back down to earth with a bump against a dominant Southampton side.
The hosts took the lead against the run of play in the 27th minute through Mark Noble's deflected strike. But Ronald Koeman's men drew level on the stroke of half-time through Morgan Schneiderlin, who added a second after the interval before Graziano Pelle scored his second goal in as many games to seal the win.
"Southampton taught us a lesson: we weren't sharp enough and didn't retain the ball as well as they did, [or] close down as well as they did, and [we] gifted them two goals," lamented Sam Allardyce. "As much as they were in control and on top of the game we've lost two very stupid goals from set-pieces."
Schneiderlin, who was 'not mentally ready' to take part earlier in the season amid talk of a transfer to Tottenham, was back in fine form. The Frenchman scored with 2 of his 4 shots on goal as well as topping the passing chart with 90/98 and making 8 ball recoveries - a figure equalled by Steven Davis and bettered by Dusan Tadic (9) as Saints enjoyed 64% possession and fired in 18 shots to West Ham's paltry 4.
"I told the boys at half-time: 'Keep the spirit and believe in winning. Don't play for a draw. We are much better than West Ham today, and you have to believe that'," said Koeman. "I think we did."
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QPR 1-0 Sunderland
A welcome first win of the season for Harry Redknapp, who admitted before kick-off that striker Loic Remy would be leaving the club for Chelsea.
He was therefore grateful to see Charlie Austin pick up the mantle against Sunderland; the former Swindon striker notching the winner on the stroke of half-time having seen 3 previous attempts fail to find the net.
New signing from Norwich, Leroy Fer helped set up 4 chances for team-mates, including the goal, while wide-man Matt Phillips was a livewire on the right flank. The former Blackpool speedster attempted 12 take-ons down the wing and sent 3 efforts goalwards, while Joey Barton was his usual tenacious self in the middle of the park, making 7 ball recoveries, 4 tackles and 2 blocks.
Sunderland were unable to translate 60% possession and 16 efforts on goal into any points, and now have just two from their opening three encounters, leaving boss Gus Poyet unsatisfied with his current squad.
"This is not my squad," he said. "We don't have enough [players]. We know the numbers I wanted to work with and the numbers we've got. I will be on the phone all the time [until the trnasfer window closes]. It's supposed to be a day off tomorrow but it's not going to be.
"I don't know if it was overconfidence or whether we were so happy and controlling the game that we thought it was maybe a little too easy. It's a good wake-up call because it is not easy in the Premier League. It is difficult. If you lose control and momentum and the home team reacts, you have problems."
Analyse it using Stats Zone • Match report • Poyet reaction
