Dimitar Berbatov and the EPL Players of the Week

After a long international break, the EPL got back underway with a great weekend of football.

West Ham and Norwich played out a humbling 0-0 draw and Arsenal proved its goalscoring woes are long in the past with a 6-1 thrashing of Southampton. Meanwhile, Swansea City—after their first defeat of the season against struggling Aston Villa—proved it's human after all.

Dimitar Berbatov announced himself to the Fulham fans with two goals against West Brom and Stoke drew again—but this time it was against reigning champs Manchester City. Manchester United, on the other hand, trounced Wigan 4-0.

Chelsea dropped its first points of the season against QPR with a 0-0 draw, Liverpool continued to not win with a 1-1 draw against Sunderland, Tottenham got its first win of the season against Reading and Demba Ba played Superman after scoring two goals to rescue a 2-2 draw with Everton.

There was a lot of great football played this weekend so let's take a look at the EPL Players of the Week.

Jussi Jaaskelainen, West Ham

In a game that Norwich City saw the better chances, Jussi Jaaskelainen saved the game many times for the Hammers.

West Ham's failure to clear its lines in a period in which Norwich had four shots saw Jaaskelainen make three quick saves and Sebastian Bassong headed the last shot off the line.

Top-notch goalkeeping.  

Gervinho, Arsenal

Gervinho scored two goals in a 6-1 rout of Southampton, proving that the Gunners can survive without Robin van Persie and Alex Song.

The Ivorian replaced Olivier Giroud up top and was effective all game for Arsenal, passing well and finding dangerous positions all over the attacking third. 

If Gervinho plays like this from now on, Giroud might find it hard to find his place back in the starting XI.

Matthew Lowton, Aston Villa

Matthew Lowton's superb volley in the first half sparked a 2-0 win over seemingly invincible Swansea City. 

It was a great way to score his first Premier League goal after signing from Sheffield United over the summer, and Lowton, along with an all-team effort from Villa, did a great job shutting down Swansea's smooth passing play.

Dimitar Berbatov, Fulham

Dimitar Berbatov gave Sir Alex two reasons why he will regret offloading the Bulgarian with two goals against West Brom—one from a unsavable curling effort from just inside the box and his second from the penalty box. 

Berbatov made great runs all game and opened himself to effective distribution with his new Fulham teammates. 

Dempsey who? 

Javi Garcia, Manchester City

Scoring on your debut is a great way to endear yourself to your new fans, and Javi Garcia did just that by saving the point for Man City against Stoke. 

Peter Crouch frustrated the champs with a 15th minute goal after breaking three challenges to scuff the ball into the back of the net.

But new signing Garcia equalized, after latching onto a beautiful Carlos Tevez set piece to save the point. 

Great way to start the campaign for Garcia. 

Alexander Buttner, Manchester United

Alexander Buttner scored the third goal in Manchester United's 4-0 drubbing of Wigan, and frankly—he deserved it.

Buttner proved to be a more than capable replacement for Patrice Evra, sprinting up and down the left side like his life depended on it, creating opportunities down the left side all game.

His goal came from one of those runs, beating three Wigan defenders before smashing the ball across the byline. The ball bounced off of Ali Al-Habsi and into the net.

Not the prettiest goal, but a deserved one. 

Esteban Granero, QPR

Esteban Granero did a great job in holding down OPR's midfield en route to stifling Chelsea's high-flying attack. 

Granero had great composure on the ball and held it up under pressure. More often than not, he found the right ball to his teammates, and he's looking like he's settling well in the English game. 

Raheem Sterling, Liverpool

It's amazing how much Raheem Sterling has influenced Liverpool thus far this season.

Established veterans—Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Glen Johnson—all looked toward Sterling to jumpstart the Liverpool attack against Sunderland. And he did not disappoint.

It was the 17-year-old's cross that Luis Suarez latched onto to score the equalizer after some nifty footwork set the cross up.

Sterling wasn't afraid to take players on that were twice his size—he tortured Danny Rose all night, and he wasn't afraid to cut inside to draw defenders out. 

Liverpool—do not let this kid go. He is the future of the club. 

Jermain Defoe, Tottenham

Jermain Defoe still remains one of the most confident strikers after securing Tottenham's first win of the season with two goals.

Defoe showed why Roy Hodgson continues to pick him for England after latching onto a great Aaron Lennon cut-back for the first goal of the game, and a brilliant solo effort as the game dwindled down.

This will definitely take some pressure off of Andre Villas-Boas and give Spurs some confidence going into next week.  

Demba Ba, Newcastle

Note to Alan Pardew: Never sit Demba Ba. Ever.

Ba came off the bench at halftime with Newcastle down 1-0 to Everton. He equalized with a goal that probably should have been saved by Tim Howard but it equalized nonetheless.

Ba looked dangerous the entire half, getting behind the defense and controlling the ball with his velvet touch.

When Everton went ahead in the 89th minute through Victor Anichebe, Demba Ba equalized one minute and 50 seconds later, right after controlling a flick from Sheola Ameobi with his chest, and bouncing the ball underneath Tim Howard. 

Clinical. 

Two game notes. Everton should have won after having two goals wrongly disallowed. Marouane Fellaini scoring from what was adjudged to be an offside position, but he was clearly on.

Victor Anichebe also scored with a header that Steve Harper saved up into the crossbar. The ball clearly was over the line, but it was judged no goal. 

Hats off to Steve Harper who, in a fantastic display of sportsmanship, saved Victor Anichebe from a booking. Harper and Anichebe both challenged for a 50-50 ball on the ground and Harper won it. Anichebe followed though, upending the Newcastle keeper. 

Harper was quick to tell the ref that it was a fair challenge, and Anichebe was saved a booking. 

Great stuff.