English Premier League Highlights and Lowlights

When the English Premier League season started and Chelsea were coming off a poor preseason campaign, it seemed only natural that Eden Hazard would take some time to settle into English football.

So much for all that.

Far from under-performing, the young Belgian has actually surpassed all expectations. For his continued play, Hazard earns a headlining spot in our look at this weekend's EPL highlights and lowlights.

Who else made the list? Read on to find out.

Luis Suarez, while clearly not the most likeable footballer in the world, can sometimes seem like one of the best.

This was one of those times.

Wayne Rooney left the field near the end of Manchester United's 3-2 victory over Fulham on Saturday with a gory gash in his leg.

The wound was opened by Fulham's Hugo Rodallega, who inadvertently raked his studs along Rooney's leg while following through on a shot.

The London Evening Standard initially reported that the injury will keep Rooney out of action for at least four weeks. But the Daily Telegraph is now reporting that Rooney's layoff could extend to two months.

Martin Skrtel powered Liverpool into a deserved halftime lead against Manchester City with a thumping header off a first-half set piece.

In the second half, though, Skrtel's errant back-pass allowed Carlos Tevez to score City's late equalizer.

Thus, there's proof that you can, indeed, have it both ways.

This category had multiple strong finalists this week.

First, there's Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina and his failed flap that led to a Yaya Toure equalizer for Manchester City.

Then there's Jussi Jääskeläinen and his impressively vowel-inclusive name. Alas, the vowels are much more impressive—and even functional—than Jääskeläinen was on this Swansea cross.

But the winner is Aston Villa's Shay Given, who really, really, really should have saved this tame header by Everton's Marouane Fellaini (fast forward to the second goal). Just imagine what he would have done with this.

Tottenham Hotspur allowed a late equalizer Saturday against West Bromwich Albion. The 1-1 draw kept Spurs winless under new manager Andre Villas-Boas.

And it prompted this NSFW reaction from the club's official Twitter account (h/t Who Ate All The Pies). The tweet was quickly deleted.

With apologies to Swansea City, Michu and Michael Laudrup, this one must go to West Bromwich Albion and new manager Steve Clarke.

West Brom lost manager Roy Hodgson following the end of last season, as Hodgson took over the vacant England job. Clarke replaced him despite having no previous full-time managerial experience.

Clarke did, however, have plenty of experience as an assistant, and that experience is apparently paying off. After an opening two-match run against big boys Liverpool and Tottenham, the Baggies have an impressive four points.

Nikica Jelavic scored again for Everton this weekend, and once again, he did it with his first touch.

If you're thinking that sounds familiar, it's because it should. Football365.com reports that, since joining Rangers in August 2010 (he signed for Everton in January 2012), Jelavic has needed only 54 touches to score 48 goals.

That doesn't even seem possible.

When Stoke fans mocked Arsene Wenger and his idiosyncrasies by wearing 12th-man masks with his likeness on them, that was gamesmanship. No problem there.

When Stoke fans booed Aaron Ramsey—who once refused to accept the apology from Stoke's Ryan Shawcross after Shawcross broke Ramsey's leg—that was tacky, tasteless and unacceptable.

Joey Barton doesn't want to play for Queens Park Rangers anymore. That's not surprising. After receiving that 12-match ban for his outburst last season against Manchester City, he's not really playing anyway.

Nor is it surprising that QPR would grant him a free transfer, no questions asked (via The Daily Mail).

The surprising part—is it really, though?—is that Barton is airing all of it, from his dissatisfaction with QPR to his desired transfer destination, on his official Twitter account (per The Guardian).

Eden Hazard scored a penalty and set up Fernando Torres' goal as Chelsea comfortably defeated Newcastle United 2-0 on Saturday.

The Blues top the table with three wins from three matches. Hazard, meanwhile, has been the league's best player during that time.

The hyped-up 21-year-old Belgian midfielder has been everything Chelsea dreamed of when he signed for big money this summer. Now it's starting to look like Hazard might even surpass all the expectations.

With Hazard involved in seemingly every attack, Chelsea are looking like serious title contenders.

Or are they now the favorites?

Follow @MikeCummings37