This week certainly sparked a problem or two for the big-name clubs. But ESPN drew record numbers for soccer in America, and on a Monday afternoon to boot. ManU may have beaten up on a lower-class opponent, but the chinks in the armor are showing, and getting bigger. After the jump, we’ll recap Week 2 in the League.

The big news of the week, obviously, was the downfall of the two Liverpudlian teams. Liverpool went down in flames 3-1 to Aston Villa behind a penalty strike from Ashley Young and an early own-goal by Lucas off a free kick. Liverpool’s backline and midfield are shaky at their best, and unless Rafa acts quick, they won’t be able to solidify before the transfer window closes. Everton, meanwhile, are bottom of the table after finally dealing their maligned defender Jolean Lescott. Losing to Burnley (more on them later) deals another crushing blow to a team that was struggling to prove themselves as top-class.

Lescott, meanwhile, gets a lifeboat to the promised land of Eastlands. ManCity shells out another 12m or so to boost their summer to 120m in transfers. They also picked up Sylvinho to get some backline work. Remember in the previews how I said if they manufactured a defense, they’d be a hell of a threat? We’re going to upgrade this to Threat Level Orange. ManCity are downright scary now.

In London, however, things are fine and dandy like sour candy. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham are not only top of the table, they’ve done it convincingly. Arsenal get their first test this weekend in the Theater of Dreams against ManU. Should be fun to see if they keep up their offense. Chelsea seems to be in cruise control until their run-in with Spurs on 9/20, when Into the Wall has scheduled its first in-season field trip.

After this weekend is the International Break for World Cup Qualifiers so England can take on Croatia. ITW will see you again on Friday to preview the weekend’s fixtures and take a look at any late-window signings.

What a day for the little ones! Burnley upset the titleholders in the Premiership. A 1-0 defeat of Manchester United put Robbie Blake and the Clarets on the map, at least for a time. Wayne Rooney couldn’t find the net with a GPS System and a compass, and Brian “The Beast” Jensen stonewalled the entire squad, including Michael Carrick on a penalty kick just before the half. ManU are bloodied, but far from beaten. Long way to go in this season, but if all the weeks are eventful as the first, it will be a hell of a ride.

After the jump, we’ll review the other mid-week fixtures.

Liverpool came back with the thunder, beating up on Stoke 4-0. Fernando Torres struck early, and was struck late, getting a nasty gash over his eye. Rafa’s men, perhaps fueled by the mid-week rumors of his sacking, ran roughshod over the hapless Stoke team.

Chelsea were stunned early by Sunderland before storming back in the Stadium of Light for a 3-1 victory behind a snapshot by Ballack and a penalty kick by Lampard before Deco sealed it all up late. There were even fans chanting for late-sub Shevchenko, marking the first time someone didn’t add “Lazzy ass bum” in front of his name in years.

Tottenham continued their early presence after their Liverpool win by demolishing Hull 5-1 behind a Jermain Defore hat trick. Spurs are not likely to ease up soon, drawing West Ham and Birmingham to finish the month, with a spot against the Doncaster Rovers in Carling Cup action.

Birmingham almost became the first team to draw this year before hitting a spot kick against Portsmouth in extra time. Thankfully for the soccer neophytes that ESPN has brought into the fold, no draws the first week, plenty of exciting matches, and early word is that ESPN’s showing of Chelsea/Hull at 7:45 AM on a Saturday drew more viewers than Fox Soccer gets for their prime games. Up, Up, and Away and whatnot.

Into the Wall will be reviewing the fixtures more-or-less as they happen. Today, we’ll recap the first fixtures of the week, and give a preview of the mid-week fixtures as well.

Well, then. Arsenal and their fans wanted to make a statement this weekend to all the doubters (including me), and did so with the absolutely destruction of Everton 6-1. Everton, no doubt distracted by the rumors of Lescott signing for top-dollar at ManCity, gave up the ghost and their reputation for a stingy defense all in the span of 90 minutes. Will be fun to see if they can keep this up. While they aren’t playing mid-week, they are set to face Celtic in a Champions League Qualifier. Which Arsenal will show up? Pass-pass-pass-pass-pass-pass-miss Arsenal? Or “We wil destroy you and everything you hold dear” Arsenal?

ManCity made a headline or two, with Adebayor ringing in the new season in just the third minute. As expected, ManCity’s atrocious defense made it interesting the entire game, but Stephen Ireland locked the game up late with a scorcher.

Tottenham made the biggest waves of the weekend, however, dealing Liverpool one hell of a brushback with a 2-1 win in which Liverpool were outclassed pretty much everywhere all over the pitch. Stevie G got a penalty kick a bit after the half, but otherwise, Liverpool had no shot at this one.

And of course, Chelsea and ManU displayed their goliath-like percision. Nothing fancy, nothing amazing (outside of Drogba’s miracle shot), just a win against teams that they should win against.

As for the mid-week fixtures, it’s another round of teams that are facing lower-level squads that they, by all rights and practices, should beat soundly. Chelsea faces Sunderland in the Stadium of Light, ManU take on Burnley, and Liverpool square off against Stoke.

ITW will be back later this week to recap these features and preview the weekend ahead.

Welcome to Into the Wall’s Team Previews for this year’s Premier League Season. Every team starts from scratch with hopes for Europe. Some teams will have those hopes dashed by October, hoping only to survive. Today, we start previewing teams in the order Into the Wall believes they will finish. Today, we preview those competing for a Champions League spot.

4. Manchester City

The Manc opened up the pocketbooks this past season, bringing in Robinho and doing everything short of giving him a lapdance to bring Kaka in before he went to Madrid. This transfer window they went above and beyond, bringing in Carlos Tevez, Adebayor, and Gareth Barry, among others. The problem that will keep them from breaking into the top 3 is the fact that they have no defenders. They’ll be playing 2-4-4 all year. They’ll score 5,000 goals, but allow 4,950. It will be enough to cause them to finally break the Top Four Stranglehold, but it won’t be enough to topple their cross-town rivals. ITW Prediction: 85 points

3. Manchester United

The Reds will take a tumble this year. When your biggest signing in Michael Owen, and you lose the best player in the world, you’re not going to stay in top form. Add in that the players are exhausted from last year’s campaign, the injury to their top keeper, and the rumors that SAF is finally nearing his last hurrah, the Red Devils will not be able to keep their championship. ITW Prediction: 89 points

2. Liverpool

Rafa’s squad are as talented as ever, despite their loss of Xabi Alonso and assorted second-team players. Transvestite Torres just signed a new deal, and he’ll be in the running for the Golden Boot this year as Liverpool will make a run deep into all the cup competitions. However, they will not be able to hold off the late-running Blues. ITW Prediction: 92 points

1. Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti will lead the team to a resurgance this year. Chelsea brings back the core of the team, while adding in Yuri Zhirkov to plug the hole in the midfield that was in the shape of Michael Ballack. Golden Boot winner Anelka leads the charge with Drogba recovering from being in Scolari’s doghouse last year. It all ends in May with the Blues holding the trophy aloft once again. ITW Prediction: 94 points

Welcome to Into the Wall’s Team Previews for this year’s Premier League Season. Every team starts from scratch with hopes for Europe. Some teams will have those hopes dashed by October, hoping only to survive. Today, we start previewing teams in the order Into the Wall believes they will finish. This evening, we preview the teams making a run for the Europa League.

9. Fulham

Fulham farmed out their young stars, but their core remains the same. They’ll be the same mid-table team they have been the last few years. The Misfits of West London won’t be able to move into the upper tier of the league until they made a stellar signing or two. They have some time to move up in the world, but they’ll need to act quick to pass the teams ahead of them. ITW Prediction: 66 points

8. Aston Villa

The Villains brought in Stewart Downing to fuel their run to the top flight, hoping to crack the Champions League portion of the table. They’re going to make a valiant effort, but come up a bit short of their European Dreams. ITW Prediction: 71 points

7. Everton

The Evertonians are striving to become the top Scouser team, and we can only hope for the day it happens. Until then, they’ll  be battling for a Europa spot. They resecured Jo from ManCity which will help them on their quest. I try to hate this team because of where they’re from, but I can’t help but like watching them. ITW Prediction: 75 points

6. Tottenham Hotspur

The Spurs brought in Peter Crouch to get them to crack the final hurdle, but he may be hurt by the time I finish this post. That alone should be enough to knock them down, but Tottenham have a habit of never dying. They hang around forever…and bug you. They’re like my ex. Just when you think you’re done with them…they pop out again to piss you off. ITW Prediction: 79 points

5. Arsenal

This is the year. The strangelehold on the Top Four will be broken for the first time since 2005. The Professor may have gotten his arse shaven, but he hasn’t brought in a single new soul, while they lost Adebayor. That’s a hell of a piece to lose without replacing. They’ll still be in Europe next year, but the Champions League spot will belong to another. ITW Prediction: 82 points

Welcome to Into the Wall’s Team Previews for this year’s Premier League Season. Every team starts from scratch with hopes for Europe. Some teams will have those hopes dashed by October, hoping only to survive. Today, we start previewing teams in the order Into the Wall believes they will finish. Today, we continue with teams 14-10.

14. Portsmouth

Pompey lost Glen Johnson and the perpetually injured Peter Crouch but added Steve Finnan and Antti Niemi from the free list. They’ve had a rough go the last few years with some stunningly bad luck, and it will continue this year. ITW Prediction: 51 points

13. Sunderland

The boys from the Stadium of Light were a surprise in staying afloat last year, and they look to keep their spot. They’ve brought in Frazier Campbell and Darren Bent to lead the offense which saw only 13 goals scored away from home last year. They’ll make a few waves and finish safe and floating. ITW Prediction: 54 points

12. Wigan

Another team that few expected to survive the trip through the year last season was Wigan. They made a run for a European spot early, but faded to mid-table. They look to improve with Scott Sinclair on loan from Chelsea and a duo from Espanyol, but the top guns reloading will hold them off for another year. ITW Prediction: 56 points

11. West Ham

The Hammers completed their return from relegation with a 9th place finish last year. They got shut out of the big transfer market, though, and will drop back a bit before they can reload next year. ITW Prediction: 60 points

10. Bolton

The Wanderers are trying to finish in the top half of the table for the first time since 2005, and Paul Robinson’s transfer from West Brom may do it. Adding Zat Knight will give the English keeper a boost and Bolton will secure a mid-table finish. If they can re-up in the January window, they may have a shot at a qualification for Europe. ITW Prediction: 62 points

Welcome to Into the Wall’s Team Previews for this year’s Premier League Season. Every team starts from scratch with hopes for Europe. Some teams will have those hopes dashed by October, hoping only to survive. Today, we start previewing teams in the order Into the Wall believes they will finish. Today, we start with 20, and work our way to 15.

20. Burnley

Burnley is an Into the Wall sentimental favorite, but they are not ready to stay up in the top flight of football for more than a year. After pulling off their shocking upset in the Championship to earn promotion, Burnley has done its best to improve, signing the best they could find that would otherwise remain in the Championship. The key players among them were David Edgar from Newcastle and and Tyrone Mears from Derby County. They haven’t lost much of their core, so they may try to put up a fight to survive, but ultimately, they’ll be sent back to the Championship. ITW Prediction: 32 points, demoted.

19. Stoke City

Stoke made a valiant effort to stay up last season, finishing 12th in the standings. However, with the other sides going into spending sprees, Stoke stayed silent, only bringing in Dean Whitehead from Sunderland. Stoke made a heck of a showing, but that will not be enough. ITW Prediction: 37 points, demoted.

18. Birmingham

Birmingham did their part to load up, signing Lee Bowyer and getting Joe Hart from ManCity on a loan, and the recent signing of James O’Shea. They’ll be in the heat of the relegation battle, facing Burnley the second to last week of the season, but their undoing will be a three-week stint in March and April that has them facing Arsenal, Liverpool, and ManCity in consecutive weeks. That will be their undoing. ITW Prediction: 38 points, demoted.

17. Hull City

Hull City, barely surviving relegation in May, will just barely survive once again. Buoyed by the recent signing of American sensation Jozy Altidore at striker, Hull will benefit from facing the lower-tier of the league in March and April, netting them just barely enough points to survive. ITW Prediction: 40 points

16. Wolverhampton

Wolves ran away with the Championship and have a talented squad. They will be down in the table the entire year, but they will also benefit from an easier schedule in the homestretch. They’ve got their core players signed long-term and will continue last year’s cruise-control. They’ll need to rearm if they want to compete in the league, but they’ll survive for a year to get a shot. ITW Prediction: 42 points

15. Blackburn

The Rovers got Franco DiSanto on loan from Chelsea to help them stay up. DiSanto’s striking ability will lead the team while newcomer Lars Jacobson will solidify the backline that started to crack last year. ITW Prediction: 47 points

Yesterday was the unofficial start to the Premier League Season, in which the FA Cup winners and the winners of the league face off in a charity match before competitive games start this weekend. This year, Chelsea and Manchester United squared off in the new Wembley Stadium.

Usually, this game is a friendly contest without too many yellow cards or hard tackles, as both teams want to remain healthy for the beginning of the season. But this is Chelsea and ManU. These teams hate each other. Both teams think the other are arrogant asses who spend money on talent already developed. This contempt got put on display quickly as Emo Bangs-wearing Dimitar Berbatov waited near a free kick ball and swatted it away just to be annoying in the 4th minute, earning himself the first yellow card of the season.

Things got serious when Nani scored the first goal at the 9 minute mark, flipping about in celebration. It went a long way to showing that Nani could be the long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. He blazed down the pitch and parked a shot from outside the penalty box that fooled Chelsea keeper Peter Cech and was in the back of the net before anyone realized what had happened. Chelsea’s backline was caught flatfooted and unorganized, and Nani took advantage of it.

Chelsea began to press forward and it was quickly apparently ManU’s keeper Ben Foster was not going to be able to stand up to the pressure. Foster, filling in for injured keeper Edwin Van Der Sar, made fingertip saves and flailing gestures to save shots from Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.

After the half, Chelsea evened it up. Ashley Cole took a moment from counting his money to cross in a ball to Drogba, who leapt for a header before colliding with Foster, tumbling to the ground. The problem for ManU was the ball floated through the air, allowing Ricardo Carvalho to launched himself toward the ball and headed in the game-tying goal.

Just after that, John Terry collided with Nani. The collision took Nani out of the game with a shoulder injury. That was only the beginning. About ten minutes later, Berbatov was down on the sidelines nursing an injury, and Patrice Evra and Michael Ballack collided. Who initiated the collision depends on who you talk to, but the end result was undeniable. Evra fell to the ground, leaving Chelsea at full strength with two ManU players on the ground. Chelsea capitalized by running a 3-on-2 advantage before Frank Lampard fired a shot straight through Ben Foster to go up 1 with 20 minutes to go.

ManU players, furious at the ref for not stopping play due to the men on the ground, protested for a few moments before, shockingly, Wayne Rooney calmed his players down, showing rare leadership. That didn’t stop Evra from sliding into Ballack with a fierce tackle to get back at him. Ballack shrugged it aside while Evra picked up a yellow card.

Things were looking up for Chelsea as they went into stoppage time still up 2-1. But just as I was remarking to friends about how despite the loss, ManU will still be at the top due to Wayne Rooney growing up and becoming a leader, and just as I mentioned that I would never like Rooney, but was starting to respect him, he strode downfield and locked in an amazing goal to tie the game with mere seconds to go.

Fuck Wayne Rooney.

The Community Shield’s rules negated any extra time, sending the game straight to penalties. Peter Cech came up big on the first penalty by stopping Ryan Giggs cold. Lampard, Ballack, and Drogba netted their penalties, with the killer stop coming by Cech on the clearly-rattled Evra. Evra is normally a great penalty taker, but his shot dribbled in like a marble rolling across the plains. Cech easily stopped it, all-but-securing the victory. Soloman Kalou netted the final penalty, giving Chelsea their first shootout victory since 2005.

Chelsea take home the Community Shield and start Carlo Ancelotti’s campaign off with a trophy. Sir Alex’s ManU squad go home empty-handed and with a few gaping holes to patch up before the season begins.

Into the Wall will be here all week previewing the Premier League season. Stay tuned. It’ll be a hell of a year.

• 6:58 PM ReasonableDoubt - We may be using this to liveblog AC Milan and Club America this evening. We’ll see how it goes.
• 7:03 PM ReasonableDoubt - Well, looks good enough to me. Waiting for the lineups and kickoff.
• 7:06 PM BurritoBrosShits - Unless you’re in the upper deck, I would think the Dome would be a shit place to watch a match.
• 7:06 PM imeanwegotguys - Stopping in to say hi, but I’m watching baseball instead
• 7:07 PM ReasonableDoubt - Most domes are probably going to be bad for soccer. They aren’t built for the sport.
• 7:09 PM ReasonableDoubt - Navarette in goal for Club America, the Rojas Brothers and Masqueda forming the back line, Pardo, the Martinez twins and Esqueda in the middle, with Beausejour and Cabañas up front. Cerda playing up front as well this time around. Substantially the same lineup they threw out for Inter.
• 7:10 PM ReasonableDoubt - Storari in goal for AC Milan–Antonini, Nesta, Favalli, and Jankulovski in the back–Flamini, Seedorf, Gattuso, and the Horse-Face in the midde, Inzaghi and Siggni up front.
• 7:10 PM BurritoBrosShits - Ronaldinho is the case for not having futbol in hd.
• 7:12 PM ReasonableDoubt - ESPN going back to the overhead shot that they used in Palo Alto. I may need binoculars.
• 7:13 PM BurritoBrosShit - ESPN needs to figure out the camera angles ahead of time. I’m getting motion sickness watching this.
• 7:14 PM ReasonableDoubt - These players look pissed off that they’re playing on turf. The ball is bouncing like a pinball.
• 7:15 PM ReasonableDoubt - ManCity just offered John Terry a million pounds a month to join up. Good lord, just sell the man at this point.
• 7:16 PM ReasonableDoubt - AC Milan’s back line is getting butchered by Club America. I don’t know if it’s because it’s their first game, the turf, or what, but they look sloppy.
• 7:19 PM ReasonableDoubt - Esqueda with a snapshot to try and slot it past Storari. Just barely missed on that one
• 7:20 PM BurritoBrosShit - I would assume that there is a majority of America supporters in there.
• 7:20 PM ReasonableDoubt - That seems about right–they were there in large numbers on Sunday in Palo Alto–I can’t imagine many Milan fans in Atlanta
• 7:22 PM ReasonableDoubt - Milan makes a play for the goal, but Horse Face mistimes the pass and the threat ceases
• 7:26 PM ReasonableDoubt - Milan has the bulk of their players playing back now. They’re desperate not to give up a goal to the Mexicans
• 7:27 PM ReasonableDoubt - America has 5 shots on goal so far–Milan? 0.
• 7:28 PM ReasonableDoubt - Cabañas with a heel shot, but saved by Storari nicely.
• 7:32 PM ReasonableDoubt - Seedorf has a long-range attempt for Milan, but it sails far over the bar
• 7:33 PM BurritoBrosShit - Lalas is good in the booth in that he actually knows when to shut up.
• 7:33 PM ReasonableDoubt - Someone needs to disable the zoom button on this camera. The operator is giving me Blair Witch Syndrome
• 7:35 PM BurritoBrosShit - Atlanta would be a great place for an MLS team, but the stadium would be tough. Good futbol community for the four years I was up there.
• 7:36 PM ReasonableDoubt - Silva making a great attempt but sails it juuuuuust wide
• 7:37 PM ReasonableDoubt - Yellow card for Flamini. Bad tackle.
• 7:38 PM ReasonableDoubt - Seedorf rushing a shot again. Milan hasn’t made a serious threat at all tonight
• 7:40 PM ReasonableDoubt - Cabañas almost nets one, but hits it with the top of his head and not his forehead, sails above the bar
• 7:42 PM ReasonableDoubt - Horse Face Ronaldinho with an incredible shot that nearly made a 90 degree turn midair but it strikes the bar and goes out. Standing ovation from the supporters from both sides on that one.
• 7:48 PM ReasonableDoubt - Milan living and dying by the offside trap–keeping their players out of the penalty box. If Club America can fool them once, they’re through.
• 7:48 PM ReasonableDoubt - The ref refusing to buy into Ronaldinho’s flopping tonight. Three times he’s waved off Horse Face’s antics.
• 7:49 PM ReasonableDoubt - ANTONINI! JUST MISSED! Beautiful pass, horrible shot.
• 7:50 PM ReasonableDoubt - 40 minutes in, and Club America has been shut down by Milan’s 8-man defense, and Milan, outside of Horse Face, have been bland.
• 7:55 PM ReasonableDoubt - Halftime in Atlanta–not a good showing from either side so far–maybe they can change it around in the next 15 minutes
• 8:13 PM ReasonableDoubt - And Onweyu makes his Milan debut. The American takes a huge leap in class. Hopefully he can do the country proud.
• 8:22 PM ReasonableDoubt - Horse Face JUST BARELY misses! Fantastic header the bounces off the near post and back at him
• 8:23 PM ReasonableDoubt - Enrique Esqueda scores for Club America!!!
• 8:24 PM ReasonableDoubt - Beautiful long pass, the American loses his man, poor poor debut for the newcomer.
• 8:30 PM ReasonableDoubt - Ooh! Fight! Fight!!
• 8:30 PM ReasonableDoubt - Gattuso goes in hard, and both teams start pushing and shoving all over the pitch
• 8:31 PM ReasonableDoubt - Gattuso gets a yellow card out of the deal, and after the pushing and shoving, loks like that’s all that will happen
• 8:31 PM ReasonableDoubt - Nice to see someone woke Milan up, though.
• 8:32 PM ReasonableDoubt - Club America up 1-0 in the 64th minute. Another yellow card for Milan
• 8:34 PM ReasonableDoubt - INZAGHI! This man does not age! Beautiful strike on the breakaway to tie the game at 1 in the 66th minute
• 8:37 PM ReasonableDoubt - And on come the subs.
• 8:42 PM ReasonableDoubt - Milan making some half-hearted attempts at goal, both teams trying to game each other to avoid penalties
• 8:46 PM ReasonableDoubt - Inzaghi throws his head up to try and make contact, but misses. 12 minutes for someone to slot home a winner.
• 8:52 PM ReasonableDoubt - MARQUEZ! Beautiful goal by Club America off a long cross. America up 2-1 in the 84th minute
• 8:56 PM ReasonableDoubt - ESPN got 87 minutes in before talking about Beckham.
• 9:01 PM ReasonableDoubt - Ronaldinho hits a free kick directly to the keeper. Looks like America has pulled out win #2 here tonight.
• 9:02 PM ReasonableDoubt - And that’s full time! Club America beats AC Milan 2-1. Can they complete the trifecta against Chelsea this weekend? We’ll find out on Into the Wall. Join us Friday night for AC Milan’s chance to rebound against Chelsea from Baltimore. Good night, all.

81,224 fans packed the Rose Bowl last night to watch Chelsea have Carlito’s Way with his new/old nemesis Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan. Chelsea’s key African players made their preseason debut (Drogba and Essien being the top examples), and made short work of the slapped together Milan back four. Drogba hit a long-range kick with no marking on him, pinpointing it to the far post in the 11th minute.

Chelsea looked much the best all night long, running past Inter’s defenders with some major close calls all through the 1st half. And when the second half started and the subs started pouring in, it got no better. Deco and Daniel Sturridge are working on a stellar one-two punch, twice making a go of things. The first time, Deco’s cross had to be blocked by Cordoba’s hand. That gave Frank Lampard a chance to convert from the spot to put Chelsea up 2-0. The second time, it looked to be a beautiful counter to the offside trap, but Sturridge sailed the kick over the crossbar, looking disappointed with missing out on what would have been a highlight reel shot. Franco DiSanto did the same thing just before the whistle. Hopefully they can get their timing down be–oh who am I kidding? They’re not going to be first teamers in the next few years.

Chelsea take the lead after two games into the World Football Challenge. Tonight, AC Milan and Club America face off in the Georgia Dome. Join us here at ITW for live coverage, beginning at 7 PM Eastern time.