The shine of the new season begins to fade, Fantasy Football teams are left unchanged and bold title predictions are made with false confidence. The Premier League is back in full swing.
The second week of the 32nd Premier League season brought fewer goals than the first (27 to 28) but five times as many red cards (five to one). Yet, those that did stay on the pitch produced some sparkling displays.
Here are the best performers from gameweek 2 of the new campaign.
Premier League team of the week: Gameweek 2
GK: Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham)
Across the second weekend of the Premier League, no goalkeeper made more saves than Tottenham Hotspur's Guglielmo Vicario, working hard to keep a clean sheet against Manchester United.
The Italian nicknamed Venom rebuffed half a dozen efforts, particularly impressing with rapid reflexes to deny both Marcus Rashford and Casemiro from close range. Although, some United fans may snipe that Cristian Romero made the best save of the match.
RB: Serge Aurier (Nottingham Forest)
Serge Aurier was once an infamous liability but reliability is what he now offers Nottingham Forest on the right side of defence - as incredible as that sounds.
The prickly defender had a hand in both of Nottingham Forest's goals as Steve Cooper's side recorded what could prove to be a crucial 2-1 victory against newly promoted Sheffield United on Friday night.
CB: Ethan Pinnock (Brentford)
As recently as 2016, Ethan Pinnock was playing non-League football for Dulwich Hamlet. Now the Jamaica international is one of Brentford's rotating carousel of hulking central defenders mixing it with the Premier League's elite.
Pinnock promised to "give everything for three points against Fulham" and lived up to his word, making a team-high number of interceptions and blocks to blunt the Cottagers in front of their own fans.
CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
There was a brief moment of uncertainty as the visiting supporters feared the referee's whistle, but once it became clear that William Saliba had cleanly - and emphatically - dispossessed Jordan Ayew with a crunching tackle inside Arsenal's penalty area, the rhythmic chant in honour of the defender bounced around Selhurst Park.
After a desperately nervy conclusion to Arsenal's narrow 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, Mikel Arteta breathed a sigh of relief and admitted: "I loved it." It looked like Saliba enjoyed the last-ditch defending as well.
LB: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa)
Any meeting between Aston Villa and Everton carries the weight of history around its neck as the most frequent top-flight fixture of all time. But for Lucas Digne, it serves as an ample opportunity to inflict revenge upon his former employers.
The French left-back recorded his fourth consecutive victory against the Toffees in a resounding 4-0 thrashing at Villa Park on Sunday. The 5-1 humbling dished out on the opening weekend by Newcastle United provided even more motivation as Villa and Digne delivered the perfect response.
CM: James Ward-Prowse (West Ham)
West Ham United's first home game of the 2022/23 season provided fans with their first glimpse of a menacingly repeatable goal; Kevin De Bruyne sliding the ball through for Erling Haaland. One year later, James Ward-Prowse marked his debut with a set-piece routine that could very well be a feature of the coming campaign, swinging a corner onto Nayef Aguerd's head for the opening goal against Chelsea.
Ward-Prowse teed up Michail Antonio after the interval for a more anomalous strike but it put the Hammers on course for three precious points in what David Moyes described as an "extremely satisfying" win.
CM: Yves Bissouma (Tottenham)
A picture of composure even under the fiercest pressure, Yves Bissouma has blossomed into a rampaging totem of Tottenham's new midfield under Ange Postecoglou.
While Manchester United failed to plug the yawning gaps in their midfield, Bissouma was all too keen to surge into the chasms. The £25m arrival last summer dovetailed devilishly with Pape Sarr and James Maddison - two individuals that arguably warranted a place in this TOTW.
RW: Solly March (Brighton)
After Solly March scored his first goal in two years last December, Roberto De Zerbi immediately demanded more from his winger. "I don't know if I'm helping him but I have a big confidence [in him]," the Italian declared. "I want him to believe more in himself. I think he can score more." Nine months later, March is the top scorer of the new Premier League season.
Fresh from a brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers, March took his tally to 15 direct goal involvements across his last 19 starts for Brighton. De Zerbi, however, is still not satisfied, and has set March the target of 15 goals for the season.
AM: Phil Foden (Man City)
Newcastle United arrived at the Etihad intent on containing the reigning champions but Phil Foden spent the entire contest happily picnicking in the pockets of space between the black and white stripes.
As a player born on the half turn, Foden thrived in his new central role - filling the void left by Kevin De Bruyne's injury - and created seven chances from open play, his highest tally in a single Premier League game.
LW: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)
"I four-one am really enjoying this season so far," Brighton's official X account cheekily posted after a second successive victory by the same 4-1 scoreline. Kaoru Mitoma was a large part of both triumphs and the unbridled joy radiating out of the south coast club.
The university-educated dribbling specialist provided another example of his expertise in the area with a slaloming run against Wolves. De Zerbi is surely not alone in his assertion that: "In terms of one-v-one, attacking the space, he is the top."
ST: Yoane Wissa (Brentford)
Across Brentford's last seven games without Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa has scored six goals (incidentally, Bryan Mbeumo has found the net seven times).
Wissa cracked open what threatened to be a tricky derby against their west London rivals Fulham just before the interval and won a dubious penalty which Mbeumo converted. As his cheerful manager Thomas Frank reflected after the match: "He has that nose for goal and being in the right position."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Premier League team of the week: Gameweek 2.
