Premier League Gameweek 4 Round-Up: 12-14 September

Referees are apologising again ALREADY!!! The world is healing!!!

The Elephant In The Room…

Phil Foden was sent off after 23 minutes at Old Trafford for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes, City's first red card in this fixture since 2006. Down to 10 men, Enzo Maresca's side won it anyway: Erling Haaland turned home a Josko Gvardiol cross in the 60th minute, initially flagged offside before VAR overturned it. Gary Neville was the most confused I've ever known him to be.

Then it got messier.

Pro Ref admitted on Monday morning that VAR had made an "error of judgment": Haaland was rightly onside, but teammate Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position attempting to reach the same ball, and the check never properly assessed whether his presence interfered with United's defenders.

By the letter of the law, it should have been chalked off. United got their apology. City kept the points, and their perfect start, regardless.

Just baffling to me, but my club's in League 1 so who cares.

Spurs Are Even More Spurs Than Spurs Thought They Were

Tottenham drew 0-0 with Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which sounds unremarkable until you look at the context. It's the first time in the club's history they've failed to score in their opening 4 league games of a season. It's also the first ever 0-0 in the stadium's 140-game Premier League history. Spurs have now gone 407 minutes without a Premier League goal.

None of it was for lack of trying. Spurs had 18 shots to Everton's 3, but only 2 landed on target, and Jan Paul van Hecke somehow put a close-range header over the bar in the 5th minute when Andy Robertson's free kick found him unmarked. Everton, unbeaten themselves, leave north London with a point and their defensive record intact.

It's just so so funny.

DCL Masterclass… or a Bogle Masterclass?

James Justin's cross on 34 minutes was met by both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jayden Bogle, and the ball ended up in the net either way. The Premier League's goal accreditation panel gave it to Bogle on the night, credited as Leeds' second in a 4-1 win over Newcastle at Elland Road. Calvert-Lewin found out it wasn't his at half time, along with everyone else.

Great clip of him at half time finding out it wasn't his.

Leeds weren't happy and lodged an appeal, and I personally have never seen a club appeal for a goal to be taken off a teammate and given to another, rightly so though.

Three days later, on 16 September, the Premier League's appeals panel reversed the call and handed the goal to Calvert-Lewin instead, with replays showing his header was already goal-bound before it clipped Bogle on the way through. It's now his 3rd goal in 4 Premier League games this season, and Leeds sit 3rd in the table as their unbeaten start to the campaign continues.

Chelsea's Defence Is Proper Leaky

Chelsea let two goals in 6 minutes to a promoted Hull City side at Stamford Bridge, drew 2-2, and in doing so stretched their run without a Premier League clean sheet to 20 consecutive matches, their longest such run in 65 years. They've conceded at least twice in every league game so far this season; the only clean sheet all campaign came in the Carabao Cup, against Luton.

Belloumi did the damage for Hull: a low half-volley in the 28th minute after Jorrel Hato terribly misjudged a bouncing ball, then a deflected effort 6 minutes later to put Hull ahead. Joao Pedro rescued a point for Chelsea in the 66th minute, but Hull, promoted after a 10-year absence from the top flight, are still unbeaten after 4 games.

Same Number Of Shots on Target, Lost 5-0

Coventry had 6 shots on target against Brighton. Brighton had 7. One of those tallies produced 5 goals; the other produced none. Coventry, playing their first Premier League season in 25 years, are now bottom of the table with no points, no goals, and 10 conceded.

Brighton were 2-0 up by the 51st minute through Charalampos Kostoulas and Malick Yalcouye before Taiwo Awoniyi's afternoon fell apart. Two minutes after Brighton's second, he was sent off for catching Maxim De Cuyper with an elbow, a straight red confirmed by VAR. Down to 10 men, Coventry couldn't hold the door shut: Pascal Gross's penalty, a 25-yard Lewis Dunk thunder****, and a stoppage-time 5th from Yasin Ayari finished it at 5-0. Coventry did win the corner count, 5 to 3, for what that's worth.

Five games, four unwanted records between them, and one goal that changed hands twice. If your club had a stranger weekend than any of these, tell us what we missed.