Five killer stats from the day’s Premier League action as Harry Kane lifted the August curse.
Kenedy’s nightmare game
Kenedy endured a miserable afternoon, seeing his injury-time penalty saved in Newcastle’s goalless draw at Cardiff. He should have been sent off long before – aiming a wild kick at Victor Camarasa in the first half. “I cannot understand how the referee hasn’t seen it,” Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports. “He kicks out and it’s a red card.”
But perhaps the even more startling aspect of Kenedy’s first-half performance were his pass completion statistics. There weren’t any. The on-loan Chelsea player did not complete a single pass in the opening 45 minutes of the match, becoming the first outfield Premier League player to do so since Blackburn’s Nikola Kalinic in March 2010.
Kane ends August drought
Harry Kane had a busy summer with England but he was not going to miss out on the chance to end his extraordinary run of not having scored a Premier League goal in August. The goal did not come in the opening game of the season against Newcastle but the wait finally came to an end when he scored Tottenham’s third goal in their 3-1 win over Fulham at Wembley.
Erik Lamela carried the ball from the halfway line to the edge of the opposition box before feeding it to Kane who took a touch, cut inside and curled a low shot into the far corner of the net. The goal means that after 15 Premier League games, 1065 minutes and 49 shots, the supposed curse on the England captain was finally lifted.
Another goal for Richarlison
Brazilian winger Richarlison moved quickly to put a stop to talk of an inflated fee taking him from Watford to Everton with two goals for his new club on the opening weekend of the season at Wolves. But the 21-year-old hammered home the point by also netting on his home debut at Goodison Park, scoring the second in Everton’s 2-1 win over Southampton.
Richarlison ghosted inside and jumped above Cedric Soares to nod Theo Walcott’s cross inside the near post. He has now scored more goals in his first two games for Everton than he did in his last 31 Premier League games for Watford and is also only the third player to net three times in his first two Premier League appearance for the Toffees.
Bournemouth’s flying start
Eddie Howe’s team made it two wins from two as they beat West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium but their run actually extends back into last season. Bournemouth have now won four consecutive top-flight games for the first time in their history.
The Cherries had to come from behind to win and that has become a habit in 2018. They have gained 19 points from losing positions in the Premier League this year, seven more than any other team. This one owed much to Callum Wilson’s brilliant solo effort and the striker has now scored in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time.
Morata and Azpilicueta again
Chelsea’s Spanish connection was a fruitful one for them last season so supporters will welcome the sight of Alvaro Morata and Cesar Azpilicueta linking up once more in their 3-2 win over Arsenal on Sunday. Azpilicueta’s lofted pass found Morata, who shrugged off the challenge of Shkodran Mustafi and beat Petr Cech to put Chelsea two up in the first half.
It was the seventh Premier League assist that Azpilicueta has provided for his compatriot. In fact, all seven of Azpilicueta’s Premier League assists since the start of last season have come for Morata. No player has assisted more goals for a team-mate in that time. Perhaps the only surprise was that this one was not a cross for Morata to head home.
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Sourse: skysports.com
