Sir Alex Ferguson proclaimed this week that the Premier League title race would come down to five or six teams. Was he serious? Probably not, as most of us believe it's truly down to three sides: Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. Saturday's results reinforced that perception, with all three winning.
It was Chelsea and United that I focused on (hats off to Sergio Aguero, who scored a hat trick in City's 3-0 win over Wigan), since these two teams will square off Sept. 18.
In watching these two matches, I was reminded of something French defender Bixente Lizarazu once said about Zinedine Zidane. "When we didn't know what to do," Lizarazu said, having played with Zidane at Bordeaux and France, "we just gave the ball to Zizou and he worked something out."
That's the type of player Chelsea thought it acquired in Fernando Torres. While not an apples-to-apples comparison in terms of positions, the point is that teams need a player who will raise the games of those around him, score goals and get results when others are failing to produce. Torres isn't it -- he didn't even start today -- while Manchester United can look to a host of difference-makers, from Wayne Rooney and Chicharito to Phil Jones at the back, to make things happen.
Here are some more reflections from the matches.
The Rooney and Chicharito show
It took Javier Hernandez all of five minutes in his first league start of the season to score. Once again showing his instinct for finding space, he darted forward in anticipation of Nani crossing the ball from the right. The details of the Mexican international's run made it so brilliant, first going behind Gary Cahill before almost instantly reappearing in front of the defender, spinning him like a top. From there, Chicharito had a point blank-range finish, the poacher getting on the end of a splendid pass from Nani and, as usual, making the difficult look easy.
His partner up top, Rooney, also had a brilliant match, scoring a hat trick. At times he was helping clear United's line in front of goal to save David de Gea's skin and at others he was running behind the defense to cause trouble in front of goal. In the 20th minute, Rooney got on the end of a splendid pass from Jones and caressed the ball with his toe to redirect it into the goal.
Rooney's third goal was all about Jones' endeavor and further evidence of United's versatile squad. Showing his adaptability by playing "out of position" at right back, Jones -- a star in the making -- charged forward in the 25th minute and, flashing his skills on the ball, shook Zat Knight with a quick fake to take the shot in the box. The deflection from keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen ended up right at Rooney's feet. There would be no missing from this range for the striker, who is in the form of his career. Later, when Jonny Evans took a knock and came out, Chris Smalling, who had been filling in at right back in previous games, entered the fray in the center of defense alongside Rio Ferdinand.
Overall, United's movement was superb, playing at a high tempo. The speed of movement, awareness of space and knowledge of each player's position combine for an experience that you could almost say was Barca-esque. Quite amazing when you consider the team lacks a midfield maestro in the mold of Xavi.
The players refused to take their foot off the pedal in the second half. Rooney scored his third goal after Nani picked him out at the top of the box. That made eight goals in four league matches for Rooney. Wave after wave of attacks overwhelmed Bolton, though credit Owen Coyle's men -- they came to play at the Reebok. While his side has a reputation for being overly physical, aside from striker Kevin Davies, who took out Tom Cleverley before earning a yellow in the 13th minute, Bolton tried to pass and play. There was nothing negative about their tactics. The same couldn't be said of Chelsea's opponent.
Blues get the business done
While United competed with abandon, Chelsea was a bit more plodding and slower in attack. Andre Villas-Boas has been wanting to add pace to the side, and as new players such as Juan Mata, Romelu Lukaku and Raul Meireles get more playing time, we may yet see a more entertaining and less methodical Blues side.
As it was, AVB saw his team earn all three points with a 2-1 win, and in doing so, the manager made it clear that this was his team. When he told the media Friday that he wouldn't let Torres' lack of production hurt Chelsea's campaign, most people probably thought the Blues' boss was going to give the struggling striker at least another runout before lowering the boom. His team was facing Sunderland, after all, an impotent-looking side that lost one of its prime goal scorers, Asamoah Gyan, to a loan deal hours before kickoff. Didier Drogba was still out of action as he continues to recover from a concussion, and "Drogba Light" Lukaku wasn't even on the bench.
Yet Villas-Boas let Torres ride the pine and started with Nicolas Anelka and Daniel Sturridge. Unlike the days when there was an impression that former boss Carlo Ancelotti was being pressured to play Torres, who has scored just once in 22 matches, Villas-Boas has put his stamp on matters. Players who produce will be rewarded.
Sturridge demonstrated what it means to finish your chances. On a Sunderland break, Nicklas Bendtner gave the ball away way too easily to Ashley Cole. (The Dane also missed a free header earlier, picking up where he left off on his disappointing Arsenal career.) Chelsea's left back hit a wonderful, driving ball to Sturridge, who stayed just ahead of Wes Brown. As Simon Mignolet tried to close Sturridge down, he hit an audacious backheel with his right foot. The ball slowly, inexorably rolled toward goal, with Brown chasing it. Sturridge also was the one who picked out John Terry at the far post, which led to the captain scoring Chelsea's first goal. Cynics may point out that the entire sequence was started with Anelka conning the ref into getting a free kick after Lee Cattermole barely grazed the Frenchman before Anelka theatrically hit the turf. Veteran move by a veteran player.
It's hard to draw any big conclusions from the match. Sunderland's performance bordered on abject, reminiscent of Villarreal's lackluster opening La Liga match against Barcelona a couple of weeks ago. Steve Bruce's men played not to lose, failed to press and looked sapped of energy until stoppage time, when the Black Cats took advantage of a Chelsea defensive lapse and Dong-Won Ji scored his first Premier League goal (still waiting to see if Bendtner claims credit for the flick on). Sunderland is a sinking side that has won four of 20 matches since Darren Bent left the club. It has lost eight of its past nine at home. Stadium of Light? Don't think so.
On the bright side was Chelsea's Mata, especially in the first half. He picked his passes well -- in particular a nice through ball to Cole in the 10th minute and another to Anelka in the 34th -- and drew defenders out to create space between the back line and the midfield. He also had Phillip Bardsley stamp on him, a move that could see him suspended when the FA reviews the tape.
In the end, it was a workman-like win that sets things up nicely for next Sunday at Old Trafford. It's easy to get carried away with results in September, but the match will have the feel of being a title tilt.
But Ferguson knows better, saying before Saturday's game that it's where the team is in December that matters. "It's always a significant indication of how successful you're going to be in the league," he said.
For now, the defending champion is setting the standard quite high.