Three goals in four games was the meagre haul from Saturday afternoon’s Premier League card but they were good enough for three valuable wins.
Norwich new boy Nathan Redmond gave the Canaries their first league victory of the season at Carrow Road. Redmond, a €3.8 million capture from Birmingham this summer, grabbed what was the only goal of his side’s 1-0 victory over Southampton.
The 19-year-old produced a superb cutback from the left wing before firing a low shot into the bottom corner of the net past Artur Boruc in the 68th minute.
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The visitors had gone close in the first half when Adam Lallana hit a post, the midfielder also being denied a penalty when Bradley Johnson appeared to handle his shot. Referee Howard Webb also dismissed appeals from the Canaries when a Ricky van Wolfswinkel header struck the hand of Calum Chambers.
At Upton Park, Jermaine Pennant scored his first goal for 63 matches to give Stoke a 1-0 triumph at West Ham.
After Hammers goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen had made a trio of fine saves in the first half, he could do nothing about Pennant’s superb 25-yard free-kick in the 82nd minute, just five minutes after coming on as a substitute.
There was also a late winner for Newcastle as they edged past Fulham 1-0 at St James’s Park, with Hatem Ben Arfa thumping home an 86th-minute left-footed strike for United’s first goal of the season.
Perhaps the biggest story from the game, however, was the appearance of Yohan Cabaye in the 65th minute. The French midfielder was included in the 18 for the first time this season despite his future remaining uncertain, with Newcastle having turned down a €11.5 million offer from Arsenal in the opening week of the season.
After a stunning 3-2 win over Manchester City last weekend, Cardiff managed to hold visitors Everton to a goalless draw on home soil.
Under new manager Roberto Martinez, the Toffees have started the league season with three successive draws. They should arguably have taken the win, only for referee Anthony Taylor to turn down what appeared to be a clear penalty in the first half when Leighton Baines was brought down by Gary Medel.
In the early kick-off, Manchester City bounced back from that shock defeat at Cardiff with a routine 2-0 victory over Hull at the Etihad Stadium.
On the back of a clean sheet from Joe Hart, who had been heavily criticised in the wake of his poor performance against Cardiff, second-half goals from Alvaro Negredo and Yaya Toure were enough to see off Hull.
For Negredo, a €24 million summer buy from Seville, it was his second goal in two matches after his late strike in south Wales, and again after coming off the bench. The Spaniard opened the scoring in the 65th minute with a close-range header, but it was not until the 90th that City finally made the game safe via a stunning free-kick from Toure.
