After starting their Premier League title defense on a shaky note last weekend, Manchester City returned to their offensive best on Saturday as they demolished Norwich City 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Norwich who just returned to the Premier League from the Championship found themselves behind 10 minutes into the game when Tim Krul scored an unfortunate own goal.

Man City’s £100 million signing, Jack Grealish, scored his first goal for the club as he doubled the lead in the 22nd minute.

Further strikes from Aymeric Laporte, Raheem Sterling, and Riyad Mahrez in the second half saw Pep Guardiola’s side cruised to their trademark big win-perhaps showing they will be able to survive without buying Harry Kane from Tottenham.

Elsewhere, the Nigerian duo of Frank Onyeka and Alex Iwobi featured for 70 and 75 minutes respectively in their team’s away draw on Saturday.

Onyeka was in action at Selhurst Park where Brentford battled to a barren draw against the Patrick Vierra-tutored Crystal Palace.

The Bees who had stunned Arsenal in their season opener will be happy to follow up with an away point against a Crystal Palace side that was thrashed 3-0 in the opening weekend by Chelsea.

At Elland Road, Leeds United came from behind twice to deny Iwobi and his Everton team victory as the tie between the two teams ended in a pulsating 2-2 draw.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin put the Toffees in front from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark but Mateusz Klich restored parity for the hosts in the 41st minute.

Five minutes into the second half Demarai Gray shot Everton back in front but Leeds United with their resolute display got their equaliser in the 71st minute through Raphinha.

Hard as both sides tried to snatch a late winner, it proved abortive as the game ended all square at 2-2.

In the day’s other games, both Liverpool and Aston Villa secured identical 2-0 wins over Burnley and Newcastle United respectively.

Jurgen Klopp’s men top the EPL table having secured the maximum six points from the two games played so far this season and they are yet to concede, scoring five goals in their first two matches.

Romelu Lukaku scored his first ever Chelsea goal – almost a decade after his debut – as Thomas Tuchel’s team deservedly beat Arsenal.

Lukaku, who was at Chelsea as a teenager, started at the Emirates after his £97.5m signing from Inter Milan and looks to have given the Blues an ominous new dimension.

His hold-up and link-up play caused Arsenal problems all day – and the Belgian duly gave them the lead.

Lukaku was involved in the build-up and then finished the move from close range into an empty net from Reece James’ pass.

James got the second himself as he slammed the ball into the roof of the net from Mason Mount’s pass to make it two wins from two in the league.

Lukaku almost made it 3-0 but his header was tipped onto the bar by Bernd Leno.

Arsenal, missing centre-back Ben White through Covid, have now lost more London derbies in the Premier League this season than last – after just two games.

It is only the third time Arsenal have lost their opening two Premier League matches in a season.

Has Lukaku made Chelsea the complete package?

European champions Chelsea were already being tipped as major title contenders, having been one of the best teams around since Tuchel’s arrival in January.

The one thing they lacked last season was a prolific goalscorer – but they now have that in Lukaku.

Five days short of a decade after his Chelsea debut, this was his 16th appearance for the club – having been at West Brom, Everton, Manchester United and Inter Milan in the interim.

And he gives the Blues a focal point up top and the clinical finisher that they have missed.

The 28-year-old opened the scoring when he held the ball up before playing it to Kovacic and then leaving Pablo Mari on the turf as he raced into the six-yard box to finish from James’ cross.

He was also tackled by Granit Xhaka in the build-up to the second goal.

Chelsea could have had more goals – with Lukaku having eight of their 22 efforts himself – including the one Leno tipped onto the woodwork.

Kai Havertz went close to a third as well from Lukaku’s pass but Leno stopped his shot with his legs.

The worry for Chelsea’s title rivals will be in trying to find any weaknesses.

Their defence is almost unbreachable at times, midfielders N’Golo Kante – who was a second-half substitute – and Jorginho are two-thirds of the shortlist for the Uefa player of the year award, and Mount and Kai Havertz support Lukaku up front.

Next up will be their biggest test of the season yet, away to Liverpool – who are also on six points – on Saturday.

Arsenal make unwanted piece of history

Arsenal had never opened a league campaign with two defeats and no goals in their previous 117 seasons of existence – until now.

The Gunners, who lost 2-0 to Brentford in the season opener, started the game well in front of their biggest home crowd in almost 18 months.

Bukayo Saka laid the ball off for Emile Smith Rowe, whose 25-yard shot was saved early on.

The fans were on their feet cheering a good Nicolas Pepe run, but it eventually led to nothing – and they looked beaten from the moment Lukaku scored.

Their left side was exposed by James for both goals.

James was involved at the other end too – Arsenal felt they should have had a penalty when he shoved over England team-mate Saka. After a long video assistant referee review, the referee’s decision not to give the penalty stood.

If Rob Holding had scored with a header from eight yards out in the second half, that could have sparked a comeback but he headed wide.

Arsenal have injury and illness problems – with £50m centre-back White out with Covid, Alexandre Lacazette recovering from the illness and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang only fit for the bench after catching the virus too.

But all signs are already pointing to another season of struggle. After two eighth-placed finishes in a row, could it get even worse?

August 1992 was the first month of the Premier League. That was the last time before now Arsenal were in the relegation zone at the end of a day with more than one game played.

Mikel Arteta’s side play West Brom in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, and their next league game is at champions Manchester City next Sunday.

Lionel Messi‘s exit from Barcelona  prompted a plethora of reactions with everybody having their say, with West Ham vice-chairman Karren Bradyweighing in with a harsh criticism of the club.

Brady pointed to the money that Messi was on at the Catalan club as unjustifiable and surely having played a role in their inability to keep him, as well as their financial struggles more generally

“Lionel Messi might have been the greatest player of all time but at a reputed 70 million euros per year he was a cash incinerator,” wrote Brady in her column in The Sun.

“He was, it is said, prepared to halve that wage in a new deal but still had to head for Paris.

“The job as hatchet man has fallen to club president Joan Laporta. He blames the whole mess on his predecessor, Josep Maria Bartomeu who resigned last year when it became clear he had floored the Catalan giants.”

Brady harshly criticises Barcelona’s descent into disaster, blaming mismanagement by Josep Maria Bartomeu‘s board and a surplus of pride which led to the club overspending on an unsustainable scale.

However, for Brady, the real story in all this mess, something a little more positive, was Pique’s gesture to help the club out. She praised the defender’s commitment to the team he loves and mentioned the prospect of him one day becoming president himself.

“There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth as proud Catalans view the progress of PSG whose spending sprees owe little to bringing through great players of their own but rather to the well-oiled owners from Qatar Sporting Investments,” wrote Brady.

“I prefer something more organic. Which is why my headline from Barcelona was not Messi’s  move but Pique’s  devotion.

“The guess among members is possibly in the future, the captain will be president. And that isn’t for politics, it’s for love.”

Nigeria’s longest serving national football team, Gernot Rohr is expected to release the provisional 30-man list ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde next month.

Sources close to the team informed that the list could be released on Monday. The Super Eagles who had a World Cup unbeaten streak up till their last qualifiers against Algeria four years ago are expected to open another account.

Hitherto, they had a record making 36-match unbeaten run which was terminated in the boardroom following FIFA’s overturn of a 1-1 draw with Algeria in November 2017 to a 0-3 loss on account of fielding an ineligible Shehu Abdulahi. 

Before then, the Super Eagles’ on-field last defeat was a 1-0 loss to Angola in Luanda on 20 June 2004. Since that loss which contributed largely to failure to qualify for Germany 2006, Nigeria went 36 matches undefeated.

The new account begins with the 3 September home game with Lone Star of Liberia at the Teslim Balogun Stadium and four days later will play away at Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks in Group C matches to mark the first two days of the series.