English Premier League Round 5: 5 Things We Learned

Round 5 of the English Premier League certainly was an entertaining one.  There were some great games, some great goals and great results for some teams.  Other clubs found themselves on the short side of the stick, with several blowouts taking place this past weekend.  

The round of fixtures was highlighted by the Man U-Chelsea clash at Old Trafford, however, there were many other great fixtures as well.  So, before we look ahead to next week's games, let's reminisce about the five things we learned from the BPL this weekend.

1. Don't Count Tottenham out

After Tottenham Hotspur missed their Week 1 fixture with Everton, they ended up losing to Manchester United and Manchester City 3-0 and 5-0, respectively, in the following weeks.  They were able to rebound last week by picking up their first points of the season in a 2-0 win over Wolves.  

On Sunday afternoon at White Hart Lane, they gave their fans a treat by thrashing star-studded Liverpool 4-0.  With their strikers, Jermaine Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor on fantastic form, this could be a team to watch out for that could climb up the table quickly.  Luca Modric is still, in my opinion, the most underrated player in the English Premier League, and he can cover up many defensive liabilities for any team and still be extremely active going forward.

 After a slow start, Spurs seem to be on the up.

2. Arsenal Are Still in Trouble

After a 4-3 loss to Blackburn Rovers in which Arsenal scored two very unlucky own goals, it is apparent that this situation is getting worse with every fixture gone by.  After a very respectable draw with Borussia Dortmund in Germany midweek, things looked like they could be on the up for Arsenal.  But that was not the case.  

Traveling to the Hawthorns to take on Blackburn Rovers is never an easy task, but Arsenal really were hurt by self-inflicted wounds.  They looked desperate for a strong center half, and Per Mertesacker didn't look like much of an improvement over their previous defensive players.  While Arteta, Gervinho, Van Persie, etc. looked bright going forward, apparently they will need to score fourgoals to even get a draw this season.  

While Arsenal missed glorious opportunities to equalize in stoppage time, they should have had three points in the bag.  Arsene Wenger is in trouble.  Five games into the season, and Arsenal are already 11 points behind the leaders.

3. Anyone Can Get a Result on Any Given Day

This week sure was an example of that.  Title contenders Manchester City were up 2-0 early on in the second period before Fulham were able to score two goals and get a hard-earned point at home as Man City dropped their first points of the 2011-2012 campaign.  All three newly-promoted clubs were able to win in the EPL on the same day since 2007.  

Queens Park Rangers were able to exploit a shaky Wolves defense, winning 3-0.  Swansea were able to get their first goals of the season, beating West Bromwich Albion 3-0 to move further up the table.  Norwich City had maybe the toughest test of all three clubs, having to travel to the Reebok and take on Bolton.  

Two goals off of set pieces in the first half were enough to get them a 2-1 victory, as John Ruddy made several huge saves down the stretch.  Of course, it wouldn't be a Norwich game unless they conceded a penalty.  They set an all-time EPL record by conceding penalties in five consecutive fixtures.

4. Manchester United Are Still the Champions

Anyone who knows much of anything about the Barclays Premier League could look at the fixtures from Round 5 and pick out Manchester United v Chelsea as the most enticing game of them all. They would certainly be right.  After thrashing Arsenal 8-2 and Bolton 5-0 in consecutive rounds, Manchester United had their first real test in Chelsea.  And boy were they ready.  

While the match seemed even at first, Smalling was able to, out of nowhere, score off a set piece to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead inside 10 minutes.  When Chelsea seemed like they could go to halftime only down one, Nani scored a brilliant goal to make it 2-0 with about eight minutes left in the half.  And in first-half stoppage time, Wayne Rooney was able to deliver off a Chelsea clearance gone wrong to make it 3-0.

It was gut-check time for Chelsea. Coming out of the break, Fernando Torres scored about 30 seconds into the second half. Following that, both sides squandered chances, and Man U held on to win 3-1.  At the moment, they look nearly impossible to beat.  The one thing I would say is, it's a race, not a sprint.  Chelsea won their first six games last year, looked fantastic and crumbled.  

5. Fernando Torres' Confidence May Finally Be Back

When you're bought for 50 million pounds, you're expected to show up in big games against your rivals. Fernando Torres is no different.  In the first half of the gigantic game against Manchester United, Torres looked lively and delivered a great cross which Ramires should have equalized on, but besides that, nothing special.  

Coming out of the tunnel at halftime, down 3-0, Torres gave the Blues a picture perfect start with a goal after less than a minute of play.  From then on, the Spanish international had bounds of confidence.  He was delivering good passes, making good runs and getting shots on target.  There were two or three times you probably would have fancied him to score.  

Then, with around 10 minutes left in the match, down by two goals, he makes a great run, dodges the keeper and...shoots wide.  From that point on, it seemed like the game was done.  We'll see what that does to his confidence, whether it be a blow,or if finally scoring a goal will give him a much needed boost.  Andre Villas-Boas certainly needs Torres in great form to compete for the title.