Two goals from Marcos Alonso gave Chelsea victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, as the home side suffered another defeat at Wembley Stadium.
The Premier League champions went ahead against Spurs thanks to Alonso’s superb first-half free-kick, but substitute Michy Batshuayi headed into his own goal to level the score late on. However, the Spanish left-back was on the mark once more for Antonio Conte’s side when he surged into the penalty box to squeeze the ball past Hugo Lloris with just two minutes left on the clock.
This was a welcome tonic for Chelsea who have spent the past week in something of a daze following an opening-day 3-2 home defeat to Burnley. But it was a day to forget for Tottenham, who are playing at Wembley this season as White Hart Lane continues its development. They’ve now lost their last four games against the Blues at the national stadium, where they have only won once back in 2008.
Earlier in the day there was more joy for top-flight new-boys Huddersfield Town, who secured a second successive win when an Aaron Mooy goal was enough to clinch a 1-0 success against pointless Newcastle United. The only consolation for Rafael Benitez’s side is that they are not the only side to suffer successive defeats in their first two matches, as four more remain winless.
West Ham United are one of these teams, even though it looked as though they would pinch a point after coming from 2-0 behind against Southampton. But having had Marko Arnautovic dismissed in the first half, Slaven Bilic’s day went from bad to worse when Charlie Austin’s late penalty earned the Saints a 3-2 win. Bournemouth are also without a win, after going down 2-0 at home to Watford.
And Crystal Palace’s new head coach Frank de Boer is also finding out just how tough life can be in the Premier League. An opening day defeat to Huddersfield was one of the stories of last weekend, and the Eagles suffered another loss when Saido Mane secured a 1-0 win for Liverpool. Brighton & Hove Albion are the other side without a win, having fallen to Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium.
Manchester United continue to set the early pace at the head of the table, after they replicated their 4-0 win against West Ham United last weekend by beating Swansea City by the same scoreline at the Liberty Stadium. West Bromwich Albion have also won their first two matches of the new campaign, after Hal Robson-Kanu came off the bench to net at Burnley before being shown the red card.
Meanwhile, the frustration of the Arsenal fans continues to grow. The Gunners may have scraped past Leicester by 4-3 in the opening game of the new season last weekend, but they were far less excitable at the bet365 Stadium against Stoke City on Saturday. The home side picked up all three points when Jese Rodriguez, signed last week on loan from Paris Saint Germain, scored early in the second half.
