EPL Week 1: Day 2 round-up: Tottenham, Chelsea prevail over new boys

Chelsea players celebrate after English midfielder Frank Lampard scored his team’s second goal with a free kick during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge in London on August 18, 2013.

Day 2 of the English Premier League saw Tottenham take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, while Chelsea took on Hull Tigers, formerly known as Hull City, at Stamford Bridge.

As expected, both Spurs and Chelsea emerged victorious in their respective games, albeit under different circumstances.

Tottenham Hotspur managed to eke out a close 1-0 victory against new boys Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park to kick off their EPL campaign in the best possible way.

Roberto Soldado, who was recently purchased by Spurs for £26 million, made no mistake as he calmly slotted the ball in the bottom right corner as the keeper dived the wrong way to score the only goal of the game in the 50th minute.

Crystal Palace, too, had a few chances, but Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris was equal to the task. The Frenchman made a tremendous double save in the 89th minute off Crystal Palace’s no.8 Kagisho Dikgacoi to ensure that his team ended the game with all three points.

Meanwhile at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea took on the other newly-promoted team, Hull Tigers, in an extremely one-sided encounter and came out worthy winners as the scoreline read 2-0.

Chelsea, playing under Jose Mourinho as he returned to the Bridge for the first time since 2007, dominated the game from the first minute to last as Hull were made to defend in their own half for large parts of the game.

Fernando Torres won a penalty for the Blues in the 6th minute of the game as Hull keeper Allan McGregor brought the Spaniard down in the box. Frank Lampard stepped up to take the penalty, but McGregor made amends by guessing the right direction and parried Lampard’s penalty to keep the scores level.

Chelsea, however, continued to press forward and were rewarded for their efforts soon after. Oscar opened his and Chelsea’s account for the season in the 13th minute as he got on the end of a fine move that involved Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne.

Chelsea kept creating plenty of chances till Torres won yet another free kick 30 yards from the Hull goal in the 25th minute. Lampard more than made amends for his earlier penalty save by scoring a sensational free kick that left McGregor with no chance.

Although Chelsea didn’t score any more goals, they were clearly the superior side on the night and gave Hull Tigers no chance in the game as they dominated possession and didn’t allow Hull to make any meaningful progress over 90 minutes.

Both managers – Andre Villas Boas and Jose Mourinho – could not have wished for the better start and will be hoping to build on the momentum of tonight’s performance.

You can catch up on Day 1′s round-up here: EPL Gameweek 1: Day 1 round-up – Liverpool, Manchester United start victorious, Arsenal stumble at home