Matt Maher: It’s a funny old game – and long may it last

Though hopefully, not for some time yet.

The latest entry into the category of results you would never have predicted was Leicester’s 4-1 win at Leeds on Monday night.

Leeds went into the match with momentum after a resounding 3-0 win at Villa but were handed a hammering by a Leicester team missing a host of first-team regulars.

Victory saw the Foxes climb to second in an early season table which, after seven rounds of matches, also features Southampton, Everton and Wolves in the top six.

Brendan Rodgers’ team have gone to Manchester City, Arsenal and Elland Road and won. But they have also been thumped 3-0 on their own patch by a West Ham outfit who dished out another heavy defeat to Wolves but have taken just two points from their other five fixtures (though one of those was a remarkable comeback to draw 3-3 at Tottenham).

Admittedly, the very top of the table has a familiar look, with reigning champions Liverpool at the summit. Jurgen Klopp’s men have only lost once, though that was a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of Villa, who appeared immune to the madness when they conceded just twice in their opening four fixtures, before promptly letting in seven in their next two.

Their match at Arsenal on Sunday is a meeting between the only two clubs, other than Leicester, yet to have drawn a match this term. The Gunners’ results (wins over West Ham and Manchester United but defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool) have been among the more predictable.

United, meanwhile, sit 15th in the standings having taken just one point from a possible 12 at Old Trafford, including a 6-1 thrashing from Tottenham.

The largely excellent form so far of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team in Europe, with impressive wins over Paris St Germain and RB Leipzig, has added to the general weirdness.

It has, to put it bluntly, been terrific entertainment and a welcome distraction from the reality of life during the coronavirus pandemic.

For the first time the Premier League can actually provide evidence to back its claim of being the world’s most competitive. The Championship, long established as the craziest division in European football, has almost been pedestrian by comparison.

No-one has appeared infallible. When Villa were beaten by Leeds, it meant every team in the top flight had conceded at least three goals in a match.

The extraordinary results have not, however, seen a dramatic increase in the number of goals.

Though the total tally has slightly increased compared to this stage a season ago, with 221 scored in the first 68 matches compared to 205 in the first 70 last year, the key difference has been who is doing the scoring.

Last year almost a quarter of the goals scored in the first seven rounds of matches came courtesy of Liverpool and Manchester City.

This time around things are far more evenly spread, the greater parity also translating to points totals. Already 13 clubs have reached double figures, the highest number ever at this stage of a Premier League season.

It means the top two-thirds of the table remain heavily congested with Liverpool just six points clear of Crystal Palace, who occupy 13th spot. To put that into context, last year the Reds also sat at the summit but had a 14-point advantage over then 13th-placed Wolves.

Of course, when looking for reasons behind the unpredictability it is impossible to ignore the conditions in which this campaign is being played, with turnstiles still locked.

Many of those fortunate enough to be permitted access to behind closed doors matches have noted a discernible difference in tone compared to those which took place following Project Restart at the end of last season.

Back then the Premier League had the feel of a summer tournament, with each club playing every four to five days and teams fighting for European qualification or against relegation knowing precisely what was on the line.

Matches at the start of a season never carry the same tension as those at the finish and with no supporters present there is a sense that has been exacerbated, leading to some passages of play which have been barely believable.

Without the noise from fans to provide motivation, teams who fall two or more goals behind have found it hard not to lose heart. Conversely, others have been guilty of switching off after finding themselves in a seemingly comfortable position, witness Tottenham’s late capitulation against the Hammers or Southampton’s near miss at Villa Park last weekend, when a 4-0 lead almost became a 4-4 draw in the space of half-an-hour.

No doubt the lack of nervous energy is also prompting some players and teams to try things they otherwise wouldn’t. Entertaining matches have often been decorated with superb goals.

Perhaps the simple explanation for why the Premier League season has been so strange is because, with crowds absent, we are now watching a different version of the game.

It is not the one anyone wants but it is the only available for the foreseeable future. Until now, it has been rather fun.