To all those who I am sure were absolutely fuming when they opened up The Forest Scout and saw that there was not an Across the Pond installment last week: we’re back baby. 

Matchweeks five and six saw some very important games for teams at the top and bottom of the table, but let’s quit the chit-chat and get right into the nitty-gritty. 

Week five had some barn-burners that neutral spectators surely enjoyed. My game to watch from Across the pond #2 was a one sided affair, in which the favorite, Chelsea, dominated their London rivals, Tottenham, substantially throughout the match. 

However, this did not turn out to be the most exciting game of the week; what took the crown was a game between two bottom feeders, Watford V Norwich.

Matchweek Five Game of the Week: Watford @ Norwich City

Watford travelled to the beautiful east coast of England where the quaint city of Norwich resides. In the heart of the city, on the banks of the River Lare, lies Carrow Road, or as the Canaries call it, “The Nest.”

The Canaries packed into the nest for this relatively even contest, but left with their spirits crushed after losing 3-1. A brilliant header from Emmanuel Dennis put Watford up 1-0 in the 17th minute. However, Norwich’s Talisman Teemu Pukki was not going down without a fight, and he evened up the score after a great run in behind the Watford defence. Along with this came an explosion of fans dressed in yellow as the crowd roared their support. 

Watford wonderboy and frequent finisher Ismaila Sarr put the team on his back and netted twice in similar fashion. The Senegalese winger manifested the maturity of a Premier League great, and both goals he put past the keeper were as calm as can be.  

Other Results:

Newcastle 1 – 1 Leeds

Wolves 0 – 2 Brentford

Liverpool 3 – 0 Crystal Palace 

Manchester City 0 – 0 Southampton

Burnley 0 – 1 Arsenal 

Aston Villa 3 – 0 Everton

Brighton 2 – 1 Leicester

West Ham 1 – 2 Manchester United 

Tottenham 0 – 3 Chelsea 

Team of the week: 

GK: Ben Foster (WAT)
RB: Matty Cash (AVL)

CB: Ben White (ARS)

CB: Virgil Van Dijk (LIV)
LB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV)

CDM: Oriol Romeu (SOU)
CM: Douglas Luiz (AVL)

CAM: Kai Havertz (CHE)

LW: Danny Welbeck (BHA)
ST: Ivan Toney (BRE)
ST: Allan Saint-Maximin (NEW)

Matchweek Six Game of the Week: Liverpool @ Brentford

Third place Liverpool traveled to 10th Brentford last Saturday. Brentford boasts the smallest stadium in the Premier League, with a capacity smaller than many US basketball stadiums (only 17,000). However, their fans came out in massive numbers, visibly filling the stadium to the brink of full capacity. 

The contest was riddled with goals, ending in a 3-3 draw. The game was truly a masterpiece for that of a neutral fan, and there were plenty of plot twists and celebrations throughout the 90 minutes. 

The underdogs fired first, scoring in the 27th minute from a cool tap-in by Ethan Pinnock after a ball was fired along the goal line by Ivan Toney. However, the Bees only had control of the lead for four minutes, until Liverpool’s Diogo Jota soared above the Brentford defenders to head the ball in for the equaliser. 

Mohammed Salah “The Egyptian god” came out of halftime with a pep in his step. He was able to carefully look along the line, ending up in a run behind the defence to tap it past the Brentford Goalkeeper David Martin. 

The Bees then took a page out of Liverpool’s book, scoring 9 minutes later. A hectic series of events around the goal led to a pinpoint header from Vitaly Janelt to tie  the score at 2-2. 

Curtis Jones, the boy who has been with Liverpool since the age of nine,  decided it was his time to shine, scoring what could be the goal of the month through a long-range screamer to the goalie’s near post. 

However, as football fans know all too well, the game is furthest from over when the clock is winding down. More chaos in the Liverpool box led to a brilliant chip over Allison Becker by Yoane Wissa, tying up the game at 3-3 in the 82nd minute. The stadium erupted.

Other results:

Chelsea 0 – 1 Manchester City

Manchester United 0 – 1 Aston Villa 

Everton 2 – 0 Norwich City

Leeds 1 – 2 West Ham

Leicester City 2 – 2 Burnley 

Watford 1 – 1 Newcastle United 

Southampton 0 – 1 Wolves 

Arsenal 3 – 1 Tottenham

Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 

Team of the Week:

GK: Jose Sa (WOL)

RB: Matty Cash (AVL)

CB: Ruben Dias (MCI)

CB: Kortney Hause (AVL)

LB: Ethan Pinnock (BRE)

CM: Bukayo Saka (ARS)

CM: Abdoulaye Doucoure (EVE)

CAM: Bernardo Silva (MCI)

RW: Emile Smith Rowe (ARS)

ST: Raul Jimenez (WOL)

LW: Jamie Vardy (LEI)

Game to Watch:

What looks to be the perfect storm for any sports fan: I bring you this Sunday morning. Of course, the NFL kicks off at noon, but an hour and a half before that (exactly the length of a soccer game), will be one of the games of the season, Manchester City @ Liverpool. 

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds will look to win this six pointer against fellow title contenders, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Two of the best minds in football will be battling it out, both with two of the best teams in football. 

This fixture has turned into one of the best rivalries in the league over the last three years. This Sunday at 10:30 a.m., two European heavyweights will duke it out in quite possibly the most formidable stadium in world football. It doesn’t get much better than this folks.