Weekend awards: Best apology, unluckiest moment and more!

Adrian Kajumba looks at the standout players and moments from Matchweek 2.

Best apology: Yves Bissouma 

Yves Bissouma had some bridge rebuilding to do, both with his manager and team-mates, after an off-the-field misdemeanour ahead of the new season. 

His punishment was a club-imposed ban from Spurs’ opening game against Leicester City, which provoked an instant reaction from Bissouma.

"You know what it's like when you punish your child and they do everything right for the next two days? He's first in the meetings, doing everything right,” head coach Ange Postecoglou said. 

But there is no better way to make amends than with what he does on the pitch, and Bissouma could hardly have picked a more ideal time to score his first Spurs goal than on his return from the suspension against Everton.

Bissouma’s spectacular 14th-minute strike from outside the box, crashing in off the crossbar and marked with a gesture of apology to the fans, was the highlight, but he was heavily involved throughout.

Bissouma's sensational goal v Everton

He finished the game with the second-most attempted passes, with 80, and completed passes (74), but was leading the way when he was substituted in the 72rd minute.

He was also third for touches, with 86, highlighting how central he was to Spurs’ convincing 4-0 win, earning praised from Postecoglou for the under-the-radar work he did “to mop up second-balls and intercept things”. 

Bissouma had played 56 times for Spurs across his first two seasons without scoring, but his long wait is now over following a performance Postecoglou will hope is a new benchmark for the midfielder.

Unluckiest touch: Joshua Zirkzee

Last-gasp matchwinner one week, inadvertent role in the key and costly incident as Manchester United fell to defeat the next. 

Having fallen behind in the first half, United thought they had completed their turnaround when Alejandro Garnacho capped off a slick move by tapping in Bruno Fernandes’ cross.

But just before the ball crossed the line it hit the knee of Joshua Zirkzee, who was in an offside position.

Seconds earlier, Zirkzee had slid in to try and convert Fernandes’ cross himself. His momentum continued taking him towards goal and he was unable to get out of the way of Garnacho’s goal-bound shot, and United were denied.

That happened in the 70th minute, when Erik ten Hag’s side were in the ascendancy and looking the more likely winners.

But instead Brighton remained level, were eventually able to regain the initiative, with help from their flurry of late subs, and it was the Seagulls who made it two wins from two thanks to Joao Pedro’s stoppage-time header.

Sorry, not sorry award: Noni Madueke 

Noni Madueke was guaranteed to be Public Enemy No 1 at Molineux after an overnight social media slip revealed a less than complimentary view about the city of Wolverhampton.

The less-than-welcoming reaction to him from Wolverhampton Wanderers fans the following day once the game kicked off was inevitable.

To his credit, Madueke did hold his hands up and say sorry in his post-match interviews afterwards.

But only after pouring salt in Wolves' wounds with a 14-minute hat-trick as Chelsea blew their hosts away in the second half of their 6-2 rout.

Wolves would no doubt have preferred to see an apology of a performance from the right winger, too. 

All three of Madueke’s clinically taken goals were set up by Chelsea’s talisman Cole Palmer.

This was only the fifth time in Premier League history that a player has assisted a team-mate three or more times in the same match. 

Madueke's third goal v Wolves

And as he tries to fit the pieces of his Chelsea puzzle together, at Wolves there were more promising signs of a potentially fruitful partnership between exciting young talents Palmer and Madueke for head coach Enzo Maresca to build around. 

Palmer set up two of Madueke’s four open-play Premier League goals last season, but that tally has now already been topped in 2024/25. 

And given his start to the season, scoring four goals in all competitions, Madueke has done his chances of also claiming a regular spot in Chelsea’s attack no harm at all. 

Assist of the weekend: Micky van de Ven 

A viral video showcasing his incredible recovery pace to make a goalline clearance ensured Micky van de Ven arrived at Tottenham Hotspur last summer with a reputation for being able to travel long distances at high speed.

On Saturday against Everton, he gave the best example yet that he can do the same with a ball at his feet, too. 

Son Heung-min’s second goal against Everton owed much to a lung-busting run from Dutch defender Van de Ven.

Not long after Max Kilman produced his own assist of the weekend contender, with a solo run to set up Jarrod Bowen’s goal for West Ham United, Van de Ven ran even further, charging from the edge of his box to the other before teeing up Son to score.

Van de Ven’s searing pace makes him a huge asset for Spurs, particularly given Ange Postecoglou’s high-line approach. 

It also aids his ball-carrying qualities, allowing him to offer Spurs a route out of trouble when needed or, even better, quickly turn defence into attack like he did against Everton.

Ball carrying is an area where Van de Ven stood out during his final season at Wolfsburg in 2022/23, with no central defender boasting a higher average-carry distance than his 11.8 metres.

In the Premier League so far this season he is impressing again, ranking sixth for carries among all top-flight players, with 120, and 11th for total carrying distance (506m), a current total boosted by his exploits against the Toffees.

Save of the weekend: David Raya 

Arsenal have made a perfect start to the season but are indebted to their goalkeeper David Raya as much as their goalscorers for picking up maximum points.

His save against Wolves to keep out Jorgen Strand Larsen’s header was outstanding, helping Arsenal keep their noses in front at Emirates Stadium. 

Somehow he topped that at Aston Villa to thwart Ollie Watkins, in an even bigger game and at an even more crucial point in proceedings.

Watkins seemed certain to score when Amadou Onana’s deflected effort looped back his way off the crossbar. 

Raya looked down and out, on the ground following his attempt to save Onana’s initial effort.

But years of practice paid off for Raya, last season’s Golden Glove winner, who sprung back up and flung himself to his left to push Watkins’ header away.

While Watkins had plenty of the goal to aim at, take nothing away from the save, which almost defied belief. Raya’s reactions were remarkable. 

Raya's superb save to deny Watkins

And in a game featuring a number of crucial incidents, Raya’s stop was perhaps the most pivotal. 

The score was 0-0 at the time, but he kept Arsenal in the match before they went on to secure the victory, thanks to late goals from super-sub Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey.

“It was a key moment, a fantastic save,” Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery said.

Raya’s manager Mikel Arteta admitted: "I see the striker in that position and normally it’s a goal. David’s reaction is unbelievable.”

Hero of the weekend: Tomas Soucek

Tomas Soucek was a hero for West Ham and also for one of the Selhurst Park ball assistants after coming to his rescue.

Hammers midfielder Soucek was quickest to react as the ball pinballed around Crystal Palace’s area to open the scoring, setting his side on their way to a first win under Julen Lopetegui.

And he was equally alert to prevent a ball assistant from suffering an injury in the celebrations.

While delirium broke out in the away section, Soucek was first to spot the danger after one of the advertising hoardings fell on the youngster, lifting the advertising board to free him.

Bowen, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kilman were also quick to show their concern and comfort the boy while the celebrations continued. 

Hammers captain Bowen said: ‘It’s just instinct. Especially when you’re parents, you see anything with a child and try and rush to the rescue. 

"The main thing was the kid is alright. He got my shirt, whether he wanted it or not, and he said he has got a game tomorrow [Sunday], so he is ready for that.” 

From an eventful trip to Palace that also included a half-time team talk outside in the rain, West Ham returned to east London with the three points and plenty of credit after showing their human sides, too.