MTN 315: The Best of August

Goal is delighted to introduce our new MTN 315 feature, reviewing the best of football over the last month.

In this series, we’ll pick out three teams, one coach and five players who have impressed us over the previous 30 days of football.

After the malaise of last season, Swansea are the early pace-setters in the Championship, having taken 16 points from their opening six games to remain—along with Charlton Athletic—the only unbeaten side in the division.

They’ve also welcomed Andre Ayew back to the fold, after the Ghana international had appeared destined for the exit door, and the Black Star should have a big role to play over the coming months.

In the Premier League, Liverpool have set the tone for a strong campaign—and a title race—with four wins out of four to start the season.

They eviscerated Norwich City in their opener, and have followed that up with some sterling performances, notably with a victory over Arsenal.

As well as a maximum of12 points heading into the international break, they also won the Uefa Super Cup by defeating Chelsea.

In the Bundesliga, RB Leipzig are the most impressive team so far, having won three matches out of three so far.

They’ve seen off Union Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach, and while Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have dropped points, Leipzig retain their 100 percent record.

Can they insert themselves into the title race this term?

The manager we’re choosing to celebrate as part of our MTN 315 this week is Leicester City’s Rodgers.

The Foxes have enjoyed a fine start to the campaign, taking eight points from their opening four matches, and head into the international break on the back of a fine victory over Bournemouth.

The initiatives that Rodgers began to introduce last season are finally bearing fruit, and this young team could be one of the surprise packages of the Premier League this term.

It’s been a tricky month for new Chelsea coach Frank Lampard; he lost the Uefa Super Cup to Liverpool, is yet to win at Stamford Bridge, and has taken just five points from the first 12 available in the Premier League.

However, in Abraham he appears to have found an answer to the club’s scoring problems, with the Anglo-Nigerian striker netting four in his last two to end the month in style.

After missing a penalty in the Super Cup final, Abraham was subjected to vile racist abuse, and he deserves immense credit for responding so emphatically.

Ahead of Abraham in the goalscoring stakes is Norwich City striker Pukki, who’s taken to the Premier League like a duck to water with five goals in his first four outings.

Behind only Sergio Aguero in the goalscoring charts, Pukki has defied critics who suggested he was a mere journeyman forward who excelled in the Championship, and his quick-thinking goal-poaching has translated well to the top flight.

While the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Mohamed Salah have stolen the headlines so far this season, Firmino has gone under the radar as—arguably—the finest player in the Prem over the opening four gameweeks.

The striker has scored twice and contributed two assists so far this term, while his selfless work has helped Liverpool get the best out of Salah and Sadio Mane.

It hasn’t been an easy start to the season for Paris Saint-Germain.

They’ve already been beaten in the league, have lost Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe to injury, and had to endure Neymar’s ongoing transfer saga.

However, Choupo-Moting has stepped into the breach scoring three goals in one Ligue 1 start and one substitute appearance to date.

Once a figure of fun, the Cameroon captain is winning round doubters, notably after netting twice having come off the bench against Toulouse.

At 31, Lewandowski could be forgiven for slowing down. However, his goalscoring qualities appear as refined as ever after he’s started the Bundesliga season in some style.

The hitman has six goals in his first three appearances, including a hat-trick against Schalke 04 during a 3-0 victory for Bayern Munich.

In his last five matches in all competitions, the striker has 11 goals in five outings.