Another round of Premier League play has passed by, and while there wasn’t a big event to discuss, it brought another set of observations, talking points and general football chatter for us to mull over this week.

Officiating

Every week it seems that instead of focusing on the qualities of a football match, analysis needs to focus on the performance of the match officials, for when they get it wrong, it can have massive effects on the outcome of the match.

Last round there was the card-happy Mike Dean making headlines for his antics in the Arsenal versus Chelsea match, awarding two red cards under highly questionable circumstances. This week the focus is on three offside decisions during Tottenham’s defeat over Manchester City.

Kevin De Bruyne was marginally offside when he scored City’s opener, though the speed of the play and tight margins could be argued as a case of the benefit of the doubt going to the forward, as is common practise.

Indefensible, however, was a linesman missing Kyle Walker being at least four yards offside before sending in a cross pass for the equalizer. Again it could be said of Harry Kane, who was in an offside position at a free kick, a call that should have been easy to make, as he was the only player in the penalty area.

He would score from the resulting scramble and condemn City to another loss and while Spurs deserved their win, one must wonder what the end result would have been if these calls were made properly.

Goal droughts ended

Speaking of Harry Kane, he was among several players this weekend who broke significant scoring droughts, as the young Englishman finally scored his first goal of the season.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Wayne Rooney also broke his 11-match league streak with a goal, scoring a tap-in during Manchester United’s win over Sunderland. In all honesty the goal was nothing special, but the significance of the captain scoring goals cannot be overstated, especially when the manager considers him un-droppable regardless of form.

Daniel Sturridge ended his long wait for a goal, having not scored, nor played, since March due to a succession of injuries keeping him on the sidelines for much of last season. Arguably the second best striker in the league when on his game, he announced his return to Liverpool’s starting lineup with two goals against Aston Villa, with the first goal being a volley of the utmost quality.

Finally Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal ended his 14-hour drought in spectacular fashion, scoring a hattrick against Leicester, with the third goal a particularly fine effort.

Stray musings

It would seem that the issues with Chelsea are far more than an early season blip in form, as they had to come from two goals down at a winless Newcastle to snatch a point and are still languishing in fifteenth place at the time of writing.

I’m not sure what they’re feeding their strikers on Leicester, but Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez currently occupy the top two spots in the scoring charts, combining for a very impressive 11 goals and helping the Foxes to their current lofty position.

Already this season has been a strange one, with everybody beating everybody, tiny point gaps between key positions and clubs nowhere near their usual position in the table. I for one am loving the Premier League so far this season and hope the unpredictability continues.