Arsenal blitzed Crystal Palace for the first half hour of the game, eventually scoring on a Saka corner that went very long, all the way to Zinchenko who headed it back to Martinelli who scored on a header that was almost saved by the Crystal Palace keeper. The Eagles seized control of the game for over 45 minutes, but the defense (with Saliba impressing) was up to the challenge, and Ramsdale had a couple of key saves to keep a clean sheet. Eventually, a counter led to a pass from Nketiah to Saka, and the center from our number 7 could not land anywhere near Martinelli as Guehi deviated it into his own net.

A few years ago, when Tony Pulis was managing Crystal Palace, I came up with a spoonerism that I cannot remembered but I propose this very similar one:

The Eagles are coached by a Pulis,

And Tony has some sizeable pensions!

There will be no extra points, just my gratitude, for the first participant who spots the spoonerism.

On Saturday, Fulham led twice against Liverpool but the game ended 2-2. Bournemouth took care of Aston Villa 2-0 and Newcastle did the same against Nottingham Forest. Leeds edged past Wolverhampton 2-1 while Everton lost 0-1 at home to Chelsea on a penalty. The noisy neighbors conceded first, but won 4-1 against Southampton. On Sunday, Leicester versus Brentford ended up at 2-2, while Manchester United lost 1-2 against Brighton. Finally, West Ham lost Fabianski to an injury after 28 minutes, then lost the game 0-2 against visiting Manchester City, with Haaland scoring both goals.

Overall, the 15 participants scored a grand total of 135 points, for an average of 9 points per participant, and we had 19 exact IKTS predictions.

Scores for the week:

ClevelandJames 13 (3)

Mulz 13 (2)

Geaux_HR 12 (2)

Ray from Norfolk 11 (2)

skinnejay 11 (2)

AsemBuckets 10 (1)

DustyGooner 9 (2)

luismamontes 9 (1)

Sonny from Suffolk 9 (1)

hansdampf 9 (0)

ben from portsmouth 8 (1)

Purple & Proud 7 (1)

billvacation 6 (1)

Seidman 5 (0)

rswansont 3 (0)

Stars of the week: Title holder ClevelandJames is in first place on 13 points (and 3 correct IKTS predictions) with newcomer Mulz is in second place, also on 13 points (but only 2 correct IKTS predictions) while Geaux_HR is in third place on 12 points (and 2 correct IKTS predictions) but Ray from Norfolk and skinnejay are right behind the lead trio.

Clever pick of the week: Only ClevelandJames had the exact score for Leeds versus Wolverhampton. There were also three correct predictions for Leicester versus Brentford, four more for West Ham versus Manchester City, another five for Crystal Palace versus Arsenal, and finally six more for Newcastle versus Nottingham Forest.

Crisis pick of the week: Only billvacation failed to predict a resounding victory for the mighty Arsenal at Crystal Palace, with a 1-1 prediction, resulting in a big fat bagel, while all the other participants claimed at least 1 point, with five claiming 3 points.

Standings after week 1:

ClevelandJames 13 (3)

Mulz 13 (2)

Geaux_HR 12 (2)

Ray from Norfolk 11 (2)

skinnejay 11 (2)

AsemBuckets 10 (1)

DustyGooner 9 (2)

luismamontes 9 (1)

Sonny from Suffolk 9 (1)

hansdampf 9 (0)

ben from portsmouth 8 (1)

Purple and Proud 7 (1)

billvacation 6 (1)

Seidman 5 (0)

rswansont 3 (0)