PL Heroes and Villains: Man Utd go top, worrying Northeast struggles

Another enjoyable weekend of Premier League action has come and gone, with no less than 36 goals being scored over two exciting days of top-flight action.

Following matchweek seven, Coral bring you our latest heroes and villains, featuring top tier stars that shone out for their clubs and those who endured a woeful weekend.

Heroes
Man Utd
For the first time since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United returned to the summit of the Premier League, thanks to a dominant 3-0 triumph over a struggling Sunderland side at Old Trafford.

Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils are now 4/1 to clinch the club’s 21st domestic title this season, after a superb start to the campaign. Skipper Wayne Rooney ended his goal-drought on home soil, Memphis Depay netted his first league strike and Juan Mata rounded the win off against the Black Cats.

Alexis Sanchez
Arsenal’s clinical Chilean Alexis Sanchez got off the mark for the campaign in sensational fashion against high-flyers Leicester City, hitting a hat-trick in an eventual 5-2 victory at the King Power Stadium.

With his Foxes treble, the former Barcelona marksman became the first player in history to have bagged hat-tricks in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. A great achievement for a truly talented Gunners forward.

Daniel Sturridge
Under-pressure Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will have wished Daniel Sturridge’s return to action came a lot sooner this term, but the Anfield attacker marked his comeback with a crucial double against a defiant Aston Villa.

Helping to earn a narrow 3-2 win at Anfield, Sturridge returned from injury to net his first goals since March and relieved some of the pressure on his under-fire manager. Can he be the man to help save Rodgers’ job on Merseyside?

Villains
White Hart Lane officials
Manchester City were taken apart by Tottenham at White Hart Lane with a 4-1 victory, but it was thanks to several missed calls from the officials in London that proved to be costly for Manuel Pellegrini’s men.

Although, both sides did have cause for complaints, as the officials haplessly failed to spot players in offside positions for three of the five goals in London.

Kevin De Bruyne was marginally ahead of Spurs’ defensive line before his opener, but it was City who would eventually pay the price, with Kyle Walker clearly in an offside position for his part in Eric Dier’ strike, while Harry Kane was also wrongly adjudged onside for his goal.

Northeast duo
The Northeast has long been associated with a passionately thriving area for football, but fans of both Newcastle United and Sunderland haven’t had much to celebrate so far this season.

Steve McClaren’s Magpies blew a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with champions Chelsea in their last outing, while Sunderland were comfortably outgunned 3-0 by Man Utd, leaving both clubs without a win and worryingly in the bottom two places.

Stuttering Swans
Garry Monk has worked wonders at Swansea City since taking charge, but there have been signs of a slight decline in recent showings, with the Swans’ previous 3-1 defeat to Southampton meaning they are without a win in four outings across all competitions.

The Welsh outfit have been knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Hull City, held by Everton and overcome by both Watford and the Saints since their superb 2-1 triumph over Man Utd on August 30th.

Is there a cause for concern in Swansea? The club are 14/1 to incredibly face the drop down divisions this term.