We begin the new week after a weekend like no other.
One belonging to the minnows, the battlers and those basking in the misfortune of giants.
Winners
The English Bottom Three
In a rare week for the Premier League, all sides sitting in the bottom three at the beginning of the round came away big winners – with West Ham and Watford jumping out of the drop zone as a result.
Bottom of the table Norwich picked up three priceless points over Leicester City in the weekend’s second biggest upset, with the Canaries now sitting six points inside the relegation zone as a result of Jamal Lewis’ winning goal.
Meanwhile at the London Stadium, West Ham United got the job done over Southampton with debutant Jarrod Bowen opening the scoring in the 15th minute before Sebastien Haller and Michail Antonio sealed the win.
But the weekend’s biggest surprise came at Vicarage Road.
As seasons changed overnight, Liverpool’s winter invincibility fell at the first sign of spring, going down three-nil to lowly Watford – ending a 27-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Those sitting at Jubilee Oval would have felt a sense of déjà vu when Mitchell Duke stuck another dagger in the hearts of Sydney FC.
Like the last time these two sides met, it was the Wanderers captain who dragged his side over the line – using his head to good effect – heading home the game’s winning goal in the 81st minute to send the away fans into raptures.
While the Wanderers lost Daniel Georgevski midway through stoppage time, it mattered little for the visitors who executed the blueprint for beating the Sky Blues they had set earlier in the season.
The Wanderers are now four games unbeaten under Jean-Paul de Marigny and sit two points outside the top six ahead next week’s match away to Brisbane Roar.
Max Burgess
After 44 A-League appearances not only did Max Burgess finally score his maiden A-League goal – he went one better and scored his first professional hattrick.
It took the NPL NSW product just 18 minutes to score his first half hattrick – regaining the lead for his side in the 25th minute after Chris Harold’s equaliser, before adding further damage to the scoreboard as Western United romped home to record a 6-2 win.
Losers
Liverpool
There were plenty of fans who found plenty of joy in Liverpool’s misfortune at the weekend. The Reds had their unbeaten run come to an end at the hands of relegation threatened Watford – causing the Premier League’s biggest upset of the season so far.
The Reds barely fired a shot, with Watford pulling away midway through the second half through a six-minute Ismaila Sarr brace before Troy Deeney sealed an emphatic win for the Hornets in the 72nd minute.
Adelaide United
It was not the best weekend for those supporting red coloured sides with Adelaide United going down late against Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.
Despite taking the lead in the seventh minute through Kristian Opseth, the Reds were unable to hold on – slumping to their second straight defeat ahead of next week’s six-pointer against Western United.
While Adelaide was on the back foot for most of the match, it was not as though the side did have its chances with George Blackwood hitting the cross bar twice in the second half, while Mo Toure had an 87th minute attempt saved by Lawrence Thomas.
The Reds have now shipped seven goals in two games and sit just one win inside the top six.
Lecce
Lecce’s goal difference took a significant hit in its seven-two loss at home to a red-hot Atalanta.
The two sides actually went into the break level after Riccardo Saponara and Giulio Donati recovering a two goal deficit to draw level at two-all.
But not even the most pessimistic Lecce supporters could foresee what happened next as Atalanta piled on five second half goals – with Duvan Zapata completing his hattrick – to hand Lecce its biggest loss of the season.
While Lecce remains three points clear of the bottom three, its goal difference sits at -22 having conceded 56 goals so far this season.
