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A managerial clash, hair pulling, and more misery at Man United: Here's what happened in a thrilling weekend of Premier League action

A managerial clash, hair pulling, and more misery at Man United: Here's what happened in a thrilling weekend of Premier League action

Barnaby Lane

Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel had a huge bust-up after Tottenham's draw with Chelsea on Sunday.Getty/Robin Jones

There was drama aplenty in the second weekend of the English Premier League.
Chelsea's and Tottenham's coaches had a huge run-in which earned them both red cards.

A managerial confrontation was the highlight of the weekend.

—Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 14, 2022

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel clashed twice in what was a controversial affair at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Chelsea went ahead early on through Kalidou Koulibaly's superb volley but were pegged back in the second half thanks to a goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

A foul in the build-up to the goal and an offside player interfering with play, however, incensed Tuchel.

He objected to Conte's wild celebrations, ran over to him, and shouted in his face.

Chelsea took the lead again shortly after but once again Spurs equalized, this time from a corner in the 96th minute.

At the final whistle, the two coaches shook hands but appeared to not let go of each other and once again clashed, resulting in them both receiving red cards.

The pair continued their spat after the match.

—Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 14, 2022

Speaking after the match, Tuchel said that his anger stemmed from the referee.

Not only was he unhappy with Anthony Taylor's decision to allow Tottenham's first goal to stand, he was also angry that the official missed a blatant hair-pull on Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella just before its second.

"Both their goals cannot stand," he said. "There was a clear foul on Kai [Havertz] and the situation goes on and on. Richarlison was offside and when can you pull hair on a football field?"

On his clash with Conte at the final whistle, Tuchel said he was angry that he didn't look him in the eye when they shook hands.

"I thought when we shake hands you looked in each other's eyes, he had a different opinion," he said. "It was not necessary, but a lot of things were not necessary."

Conte later took a swipe at Tuchel on social media.

Sharing a video of Tuchel running past him in celebration when Chelsea scored its second goal, Conte wrote: "Lucky I didn't see you. Making you trip would have been well deserved."

Elsewhere, Manchester United's woeful start continued.

Erik ten Hag. Getty/Jan Kruger

After their team lost to Brighton on the opening day, Manchester United fans were hoping for better this time around against Brentford on Saturday.

But that certainly wasn't the case as Erik ten Hag's side found itself 4-0 down within 35 minutes courtesy of goals from Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Ben Mee, and Bryan Mbeumo.

The score stayed that way and the former United defender Gary Neville, now a Sky Sports pundit, described the team as a "joke."

"I thought United would do better but they have been mauled, bullied, messed about with like you wouldn't believe, and there's nowhere to hide," he said after the match. "I have been watching United for 42 years and I can't think of a moment when I have thought things have been as bad as that in the first half."

The defeat saw Ten Hag become the first United manager in over 100 years to lose his opening two games in charge.

Afterwards, Ten Hag accused his team of ignoring his plans.

"Brentford were more hungry. We conceded goals from individual mistakes," he said. "You can't have a tactical plan but then put it in the bin."

Meanwhile, Manchester City and Arsenal shone once again.

Kevin De Bruyne. Getty/Robbie Jay Barratt

Just as last weekend, Manchester City and Arsenal were the two outstanding performers this time around.

City swept aside newly promoted Bournemouth 4-0 on Saturday, with the pick of the goals coming from midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.

The Belgian dribbled in-between two defenders before curling the ball into the net from just inside the box with the outside of his boot.

Arsenal also scored four as it beat Leicester 4-2 at The Emirates the same day.

Summer signing Gabriel Jesus, who signed from City, scored his first two goals for the club, while Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli were also on the scoresheet.

And two Premier League legends met as managers.

Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are two of the Premier League's best ever players. Getty/Michael Regan

Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are widely considered as two of the Premier League's greatest ever midfielders and enjoyed a great rivalry during their playing days.

On Saturday at Villa Park, the two met again, but this time as managers.

It was Gerrard who came out on top, with his Aston Villa side beating Lampard's Everton 2-1.

"I think this was one of our strongest performances in terms of control and positional play. We looked really dangerous," the former Liverpool midfielder said after his side's win.

Lampard said he believes Everton deserved "at least a draw."

"I thought there was some good and bad in the performance," he said. "It was a pretty even game other than the transition goals that we gave away."

Elsewhere over the weekend, Leeds United and Southampton drew 2-2; Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham and Brighton and Newcastle saw out goalless draws; and Nottingham Forest beat West Ham United 1-0.

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