Man City Slip in Title Race, Arsenal Move up Third, Chelsea in Emphatic Win, Man U? ; As it Happened

Dread 'em, run from 'em, the giantslayers still arrive all the same. You know in that moment when you're overly focused on the battles against top clubs that you forget that even the little bugs can perforate your skin. Maybe the pissing contests that goes on in Manchester derbies and whatnot can be addictive. Have Manchester City been paying less attention to smaller teams? Maybe At times they lose their focus as seen in the defeat to Norwich and this 2-0 Sunday evening sting.

From the very first kick, you could get the intuition that Manchester City's lethargic gameplay would only provoke the easily motivated opponent. And yes, they didn't fail at that. After missing several chances, I had begin to wonder if it was just one of those matches where they get away with it. But then, they finally get their well-deserved goal which paved way for another. Maybe Manchester City are getting overly ecstatic about their wins that they forget to take each game with absolute seriousness. It's one of those things though. Could there be a response to the defeat? A staggering response?

In other news, Arsenal scrapped up an home win against Bournemouth. This result saw them move up Third, although not comfortably ahead as some other teams are just a point below. The game started with Arsenal pressing from all sides, stringing and linking up beautiful passes but it all waned as soon as David Luiz headed into the net following Nikolas Pepe Set Piece. Bournemouth were given more joy and they equally poked, but not as ferocious as Arsenal.

The second half came and Arsenal almost conceded after a huge slip in possession. Bournemouth came to the second half with renewed vigour and determination but we - barely - were able to hold 'em off. A lot of fans complained about the match being boring and I don't disagree. We may be getting away with it, when we talk of long term, it will definitely tell off.

Chelsea on the other hand have every reason to rejoice. Their win was indeed well deserved. After their opening day humiliation to Manchester United, they've been able to play better football with that drive and passion to win every match.. Even though they have been - for the most of it - unlucky. When we look at it from a vantage point. This kind of gameplay - if the status quo is maintained - will get them in a comfortable league position at the end of the season.

Tammy Abraham got another Premier league goal to add to his tally. His delightful muffled high chip over the goal keeper miraculously found the back of the net. It opened the way for more goals and Chelsea pounced on each opportunity like it were the last of it. Chelsea have obviously improved.

On a sad note however, it's another heart-wrenching day for Manchester United fans who are torn between crticizing the players or the coach or even, the management. More Miseries pile up on them as they lost to Newcastle and they sit only few points above relation zone. When one looks at the history of Manchester United, one could only but wonder how the might has fallen. After Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, they've been shuffling coaches like a pack of cards without any real coach stay. Unfortunately, Their history is what put pressure on them

One would have thought Manchester United would have taken the match by the horn and buried the match while it was still young but they toyed around aimlessly in the box 18 like confused set of players, their gameplay could as well have passed as a cure for insomnia, no thanks to its boringness. One could only pray that they don't dance into the relegation zone because it will mark the beginning of more embarrassing matches. Manchester United would be seen as nothing but a limited free feeding frenzy.
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