Manchester United beat rivals Liverpool 3-1 on Saturday to continue their fine start to the 2015-16 Premier League season, with summer signing Anthony Martial scoring the goal to seal the win. The result moves the Red Devils into third place in the standings, five points behind league-leaders Manchester City.
The Citizens are still perfect after Week 5, beating Crystal Palace thanks to a last-minute goal from Kelechi Iheanacho, while defending champions Chelsea continue to struggle, losing 3-1 to Everton to drop back to 17th place.
Arsenal climbed to fourth place with a 2-0 win over Stoke City, while Tottenham Hotspur grabbed their first win of the season, beating last-placed Sunderland 1-0.
Here are the results from Week 5, along with the complete schedule for Week 6:
The current Premier League standings:
Recap
Martial made a big impact on his United debut, putting the game away for the Red Devils after Liverpool had just trimmed the lead to a single goal following a wonderful strike from Christian Benteke.
The two rivals served up a drab first half, but things kicked off in the second half when Daley Blind opened the scoring after a clever free-kick routine. The match seemed all but over when Ander Herrera made it 2-0 from the penalty spot, but Benteke reduced the deficit to just a single goal with an acrobatic overhead kick.
Just as momentum appeared to be shifting, Martial gathered the ball on the left, did well to cut inside and got a little lucky when the ball bounced between both his feet and stayed in his possession. His finish was as cold as ice, however, sending Old Trafford into delirium as a star was born.
ESPN's Richard Jolly compared the time it took for him to get off the mark to some other United greats, and some lesser stars:
While Martial, and to a lesser extent Benteke, were rightly praised for scoring wonderful goals, the criticism of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers only intensified. Once again, the Reds put together a dreadful performance and deservedly lost to their big rivals.
The BBC's Ben Smith summed it up this way:
He also shared these comments from Rodgers, who acknowledged he has a lot of work to do:
While the red side of Manchester had cause for celebration, the same rang true for rivals Manchester City. Teenager Iheanacho scored with his first touch of the match to give the Citizens a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, and after five matchdays, the title favourites are still perfect in the Premier League, having scored 11 goals and keeping five straight clean sheets.
The Daily Telegraph's Henry Winter thought Iheanacho's goal was far more important than that of Martial:
City didn't play particularly well on Saturday, clearly missing Raheem Sterling and David Silva, and the Eagles actually had the better chances throughout the match. Debutant Kevin De Bruyne showed plenty of promise, but it still took a defensive miscue from the hosts for City to open the score.
Samir Nasri's shot was pushed back into traffic by Alex McCarthy, and none of the defenders reacted in time to deny Iheanacho an easy tap-in.
Substitute Steven Naismith scored all three goals for Everton against Chelsea, handing the Blues their third loss of the season. Jose Mourinho's men have now conceded 12 goals through just five matches and sit two points out of the relegation zone, a far cry from last year's superb start.
The Blues' dreadful early-season form has been a source of mockery for fans from other teams, including West Ham United's, who made fun of their west-London rivals during their 2-0 win over Newcastle United, per Squawka Football:
It's hard to see how the Blues will return from this, as they already chase in-form City by 11 points. And things aren't going to get any easier―Chelsea will host Arsenal next Saturday.
The Gunners recorded a routine 2-0 win over Stoke City and find themselves in a familiar place―fourth in the Premier League standings.
In all seriousness, Arsenal are hitting their stride at just the right time, and with Chelsea slumping, Arsene Wenger's troops have the chance to make a huge statement on Saturday.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566636-premier-league-table-final-week-5-2015-standings-results-and-week-6-fixtures
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