Footballs Weekly Roundup #5

Premier League

We start this week with the final fixture of the weekend where reigning champions Manchester City faced their title rivals of last season Arsenal. And it was the Gunners who came out on top at the Emirates, with Gabriel Martinelli's 87th-minute strike ending a run of 12 straight defeats against the Citizens.

It was a result which ended another impressive run for Guardiola's men who lost successive Premier League games for the first time since December 2018.

Player of the Week - Scott McTominay (Manchester United)

There were several impressive performances this weekend in the Premier League, however for sheer impact it has to be Scott McTominay who takes this accolade in our books. The Scotsman came off the bench in the closing stages before scoring twice in stoppage time to flip the game on its head and send the red half of Manchester into raptures.

Championship

It was a week of fours in the Championship with three separate sides hitting a tetrad of goals across the week. 

First it was Middlesbrough who travelled 30 miles further north to local rivals Sunderland and, after a dismissal right on half-time for the home side, went on to put four past the Black Cats in what went on to be their largest ever Tees-Wear derby win at the Stadium of Light.

Later on in the day Blackburn followed suit by finding four goals of their own away at QPR to heap yet more misery onto Gareth Ainsworth's struggling side. It's six without a win now for Rangers who find themselves in the bottom three and fighting the drop once more.

Finally, to cap off the week Ipswich put distance between themselves and third-placed side Preston when they themselves found the back of the net on four occasions. The win keeps Kieran McKenna's side in second making it the best start for a promoted side after ten Championship fixtures in history.

Player of the Week - Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn Rovers)

This week's championship player of the week is Blackburn Rovers' Tyrhys Dolan who scored the opener before adding an assist to his tally for the third goal. It was an excellent performance from the 21 year old who helped his side emphatically end a run of four straight league defeats.

League One

In League one this week it was an end to one of the more dismal runs in recent memory as Cheltenham Town finally opened the scoring this season against Derby County. The hero in question was number 11 Rob Street who opened the scoring in the 39th minute before the Robins were pegged back on the brink of half time. Could this be the turning point in their season?

Elsewhere, both Reading and Wigan Athletic's poor form continued with away defeats to Leyton Orient and Stevenage respectively keeping them firmly rooted into the bottom three. For Wigan it's four wins in a row, things are looking slightly worrying for the Latics.

Interestingly enough, that game threw up more red cards than goals with both sides having a man sent off. In fact, across the weekend there were five separate red-card incidents making it a fairly busy weekend for the officials.

Player of the Week - Jordan Gibson (Carlisle United)

Our League One player of the week this time around is Carlisle United's Jordan Gibson who netted a hat trick at promotion chasing Bolton to secure a shock three points for his side.

League Two

There was change at the bottom of League Two this season as Sutton United romped to four-nil home victory over 17th placed Walsall to drop Forest Green Rovers into 24th following a sixth successive defeat.

Elsewhere, a win for Stockport and dropped points from Notts County saw the reduced to just one point at the top as Dave Challinor's side continued their impressive form. With six wins in a row now, the Greater Manchester outfit are honing in on promotion and looking to assert themselves on the league.

In other news, despite being reduced to ten men with roughly half an hour to go, Wrexham held on to secure a one-nil win over Crawley Town and return to winning ways after three matches without.

With 24 goals scored thus far the Welsh outfit are up there with the most prolific sides in the league, however a conceded column mounting to 23 is seriously starting to hold them back. Can Phil Parkinson plug the hole in their leaky defence?

Player of the Week - JJ McKiernan (Morecambe FC)

Our player of the week in League Two this week is Morecambe's JJ McKiernan who bagged a hat trick to lift his side into playoff contention. The 21 year old midfielder now has four goals this season, he could well prove to be crucial in any potential promotion charge for the seasiders.