English Premier League: Top Players from Saturday's Games

Joe Tansey@JTansey90X.com LogoFeatured ColumnistSeptember 2, 2012

English Premier League: Top Players from Saturday's Games

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    After the madness of the transfer window ended on Friday, the third week of English Premier League matches kicked off on Saturday.

    Two of the biggest stories from the last week of the transfer period involved Tottenham and Andy Carroll.

    Both Tottenham and Andy Carroll got off to great starts on Saturday, but then crashed down in flames.

    Spurs were up a goal on Norwich City, thanks to a goal from the new signing of Moussa Dembele, before they let in a goal late in the second half to their opponents.

    Carroll had a great performance in his debut for West Ham before he went off injured in the 68th minute.

    Four other matches were played Saturday, including Manchester City's 3-1 over QPR in a rematch of their final-day epic at the Etihad Stadium.

    Out of those six games, many players turned in great performances, but here are the five that stood out during Saturday's matches.

Carlos Tevez

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    Carlos Tevez ran circles around the QPR defense on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.

    Tevez played a part in all three of City's goals in their 3-1 win.

    The Argentine forward set up the first City goal after his shot was deflected and went right to goal scorer Yaya Toure.

    Tevez recorded an assist on Edin Dzeko's goal in the 61st minute before the Argentine redirected Dzeko's shot into the net in the 90th minute.

Andy Carroll

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    Andy Carroll's home debut for West Ham United was impressive for the first 67 minutes.

    Before coming off due to an injury in the 68th minute, Carroll gave the Fulham back four plenty of problems.

    Carroll's impact was felt right away as he won a header in the first minute that started the build-up to Kevin Nolan's early goal.

    Even Fulham's strong defender, Brede Hangeland, was having trouble with the lanky Carroll at Upton Park on Saturday.

    Carroll was taken off in the 68th minute with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of England's matches during the international break.

Brad Friedel

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    Brad Friedel was under pressure to have a great performance on Saturday after Tottenham signed Hugo Lloris from Lyon on Friday.

    Friedel thrived under pressure against Norwich City with two spectacular saves.

    His first save came in the 13th minute as he deflected a shot off the crossbar and out of play.

    In the 42nd minute, the 41-year-old American denied Robert Snodgrass a goal with a beautiful diving save.

    However, Friedel could not keep a clean sheet as Snodgrass got the best of him in the 85th minute to end the match in a 1-1 draw.

Steven Fletcher

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    Not many people talked about the transfer of Steven Fletcher from Wolves to Sunderland while the transfer window closed.

    Fletcher made himself known on Saturday with two goals in his new club's 2-2 draw at Swansea.

    Fletcher scored twice in the first half, both times giving the Black Cats the lead.

    The Scotsman, who scored 12 goals in the EPL last season, netted his first Sunderland goal in the 40th minute before adding his second late in extra time in the first half.

    If he continues this scoring pace, Fletcher will be the goal scorer whom Sunderland have been looking for since Darren Bent left for Aston Villa in January 2011.

Nathan Dyer

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    One of the many players who has been impressive during Swansea's amazing early-season run has been Nathan Dyer,

    Dyer was all over the pitch against Sunderland on Saturday and even provided one of his teammates with a terrific assist.

    In the 45th minute, Dyer chipped the ball past a few Sunderland defenders and found Wayne Routledge who struck home Swansea's first of two equalizers in their 2-2 draw.

    So far this season, the Swans have scored the most goals, 10, of all the EPL clubs, and they sit in second place in the table with seven points.

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