After the coronavirus pandemic cancelled soccer games across the globe in March 2020, the Premier League finally returned in June, to restart the interrupted season. When Liverpool came out victorious this past season, teams were eager to get back at it, and as a result of the elongated season that ended on July 26, the Premier League quickly started back up again on September 12. With red cards and stoppage time goals, the Premier League is far from boring! Needless to say, this season has already gone off to an explosive start!

Players to look out for this season include Harry Kane of Tottenham, having scored over 200 goals in 300 Tottenham games. He is the captain for Tottenham, and also plays for the England national team. In his latest Premier League game he scored the winning goal against West Bromwich Albion F.C., securing 3 points for his team, and boosting Tottenham to second in the rankings ahead of the international break. Another player to keep an eye out for is Mohammad Salah of Liverpool F.C. He plays for Egypt’s national team and is known for his finishing abilities and dribbling. Salah scored a hattrick during the first game of the season, earning Liverpool a crucial 3 points against Leeds United, who proved to be formidable opponents.

Leeds United, a team that was relegated from the Premier League for 16 years, finally returned for the 2020 season, and their start has been impressive. Up against Liverpool, the winners of last season, for their first matchup of this season, Leeds handled themselves well, and kept up with Liverpool’s fast pace. The game ended in 3-4 for Liverpool, but their ability to keep Liverpool on their toes as the new kids on the block proved that they’re a force to be reckoned with. Their star striker, Patrick Bamford has been instrumental for the success of the team so far, already scoring 7 goals this season.

On October 18, Tottenham was set to take 3 points during their game against West Ham United, having scored 3 goals in the first 16 minutes of the game. They held this lead until the 82nd minute, when defender Fabián Balbuena, a soccer player for Paraguay’s national team, scored a goal that seemed a little too late for West Ham, with only 8 minutes to go. However, his goal would prove to be important because shortly after, an own goal by Tottenham in the 85th minute suddenly brought their lead down by one. West Ham players were revitalized, and with five minutes of stoppage time added, the game seemed winnable. The equalizer came in the 94th minute by Manuela Lanzini, an Argentinian national team player, who scored an absolute gem of a goal that reached the top right corner of the goal. This goal was monumental, and resulted in the first time a team escaped defeat having trailed 3 goals in the 81st minute.

Coming up on December 12th is the Manchester Derby, which is a game played between rivals Manchester City and Manchester United, and it is destined to be a good matchup. With their stadiums only 4 miles apart, both teams claim that Manchester is ‘blue’ (City) or Manchester is ‘red’ (United), and they battle it out on the pitch as natural rivals. Manchester City is currently coming in at 10th place on the rankings, and Manchester United is 14th. Both teams have had decent starts to the season, so the game is expected to be as competitive as always. Although both teams have not had the beginnings they had hoped for, as a red card in the 28th minute led to a 6-1 loss for United, and City lost 5-2 against Leicester City, their proximity in rankings is bound to further escalate the competition.

Watch the Premier League on NBC Sports every weekend!