EPL Results Week 3: Saturday's 2016 Premier League Scores, Top Scorers and Table
If the early weeks of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign are any indication, a highly entertaining and hotly contested season lies ahead. Saturday's EPL action featured more stoppage-time drama and terrific individual performances.
Chelsea and Manchester United currently sit atop the table with perfect records through three matches. Manchester City could join them with a victory Sunday, as the usual suspects attempt to establish dominance once again after Leicester City's Cinderella run last term.
So let's check out all of the important information from around the Premier League coming out of Saturday's matches. That's followed by a look at some of the week's top talking points.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Matchday 3 Results
| Aug. 27 | Tottenham | Liverpool | 1-1 |
| Aug. 27 | Chelsea | Burnley | 3-0 |
| Aug. 27 | Crystal Palace | Bournemouth | 1-1 |
| Aug. 27 | Everton | Stoke | 1-0 |
| Aug. 27 | Leicester | Swansea | 2-1 |
| Aug. 27 | Southampton | Sunderland | 1-1 |
| Aug. 27 | Watford | Arsenal | 1-3 |
| Aug. 27 | Hull | Manchester United | 0-1 |
| Aug. 28 | West Brom | Middlesbrough | Sunday |
| Aug. 28 | Manchester City | West Ham | Sunday |
Week 3 Top Scorers
| 1 | James Milner | Liverpool |
| 1 | Danny Rose | Tottenham |
| 1 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea |
| 1 | Willian | Chelsea |
| 1 | Victor Moses | Chelsea |
| 1 | Joshua King | Bournemouth |
| 1 | Scott Dann | Crystal Palace |
| 1 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester |
| 1 | Wes Morgan | Leicester |
| 1 | Leroy Fer | Swansea |
| 1 | Jermain Defoe | Sunderland |
| 1 | Jay Rodriguez | Southampton |
| 1 | Santi Cazorla | Arsenal |
| 1 | Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal |
| 1 | Mesut Ozil | Arsenal |
| 1 | Roberto Pereyra | Watford |
| 1 | Marcus Rashford | Manchester United |
Updated League Table
| 1 | Chelsea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| 3 | Everton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | Hull | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | Tottenham | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | Leicester | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| 11 | West Brom | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | West Ham | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Burnley | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 3 |
| 14 | Swansea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 3 |
| 15 | Southampton | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 2 |
| 16 | Sunderland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 18 | Watford | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
| 19 | Bournemouth | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
| 20 | Stoke | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 1 |
Top Storylines
Chelsea's Attacking Depth Shines Again
Chelsea have scored at least two goals in every match to open the campaign with a total of seven through three fixtures. Diego Costa missed a few looks Saturday, but he is one of just two players who's found the net more than once. The Blues have shown that they have more weapons than most teams can defend.
Eden Hazard, Willian and Victor Moses all found the scoresheet in the Blues' romp over Burnley, who were coming off a strong showing in a 2-0 win over Liverpool last week. They could have found the net a couple of more times in the one-sided battle, too.
One season after the Chelsea attack looked completely out of sorts for an extended stretch, Antonio Conte has created an atmosphere where players like Hazard, who struggled last term, are thriving. Charlie Skillen of the Daily Mail commented on the performance:
Yes, it's still too early to start drawing any definitive conclusions given the attacking droughts the Blues endured last year. But it's starting to look like the club has all the pieces in place to put together an offensive term capable of pushing them towards a title.
Manchester United Remain Perfect
Some of the best moments during the course of a campaign come when a young or unheralded player comes up big in a clutch moment. That's what happened Saturday for United, as Marcus Rashford netted the only goal of the team's victory over Hull in second-half stoppage time.
Sure, it may not seem like much on the surface. But getting an extra away win under their belt, even at this stage of the campaign, could really help the Red Devils in a tight championship race. And there's a growing chance that will be the case next spring.
Collecting three consecutive wins is a dream start for manager Jose Mourinho. The new United boss could make quite a statement by leading the club to the title after leaving Chelsea last year and, as ESPN Stats and Info noted, he's off to an ideal start:
As for Rashford, his potential is intriguing, and he'll likely score plenty of memorable goals during the course of his career. But the one to beat Hull, which featured an outstanding run and a quick touch, is probably something he'll never forget given the timing.
Leicester Get in Win Column
The reigning champions got off to a sluggish start with a loss and a draw in their first two matches. Leicester looked far more like the club that forced its way onto the global sports landscape earlier this year in their 2-1 home triumph over Swansea on Saturday, though.
Although the result itself isn't overly impressive, the Foxes played a much better match from start to finish in order to earn those three points. Afterward, the club's official site passed along comments manager Claudio Ranieri made about the win:
"I'm very pleased. Our first half was outstanding. We played very well and we deserved more than one goal. It's okay. At the end we complicated the match a little when we missed a penalty and they scored a goal.
It was important to get three points and move up the table. Now we have four points and I'm very pleased with our performance.
"
Unsurprisingly, the general consensus suggests they won't repeat, as evidenced by their 50-1 title odds after Saturday's play, according to Oddschecker. But they were also a much longer shot when the 2015-16 season got underway.
The bottom line is when Leicester is playing high-octane counterattacking football and Jamie Vardy is scoring goals, they are a dangerous team. Now Ranieri and Co. have to hope the victory gives them a spark to jump-start a hot streak in the coming weeks after a slow beginning.
