EPL Week 2: Saturday round-up - Liverpool and Hull City win; Everton, Newcastle and Southampton held

Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park on August 24, 2013 in Birmingham, England.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool (0-1):

Liverpool’s great start to the season continued as they beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park. Daniel Sturridge scored the only goal of the match in the 21st minute, a goal of the highest quality after getting on the end of a fantastic Liverpool move involving Jose Enrique and Iago Aspas.

Aston Villa would have felt they deserved at least a point as they continued to pile the pressure on Liverpool for the entire duration of the game, and could have scored at least a couple of goals had it not been for the heroics of Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet, who is having a dream start for the Merseyside club.

Everton vs West Bromwich Albion (0-0):

Everton were held for a 0-0 draw despite dominating the game with 62% possession at Goodison Park as Roberto Martinez continues to search for his first competitive victory in his new job.

The visitors’ goalkeeper Ben Foster was the star of the show, denying attempts from Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas twice besides stopping Seamus Coleman, Ross Barkley and Marouane Fellaini’s shots at goal from getting past him.

Hull City vs Norwich City (1-0):

A 10-man Hull City managed to get the better of Norwich City, defeating them 1-0 at the Kingston Communication Stadium.

Just minutes after winning a penalty for his team that was converted by Robbie Brady, Yannick Sagbo was sent off for a head butt on Russell Martin. Norwich’s attempts to break down a well coordinated home team went in vain.

Southampton vs Sunderland (1-1):

Sunderland, beaten by the Cottagers in the opening day of the season, were just minutes away from registering their first win but their hopes vanished as they saw Jose Fonte heading in a late equaliser in the 88th minute of the game at the Friends Provident St Mary’s stadium.

Earlier, Emanuele Giaccherini had opened the scoring for the Black Cats in the 3rd minute. Southampton dominated the possession with Rickie Lambert coming close to scoring on a number of occasions.

Newcastle vs West Ham United (0-0):

Newcastle picked up their first point of the season courtesy of a goalless draw against West Ham at St James’ Park. While West Ham created the better chances, Hatem Ben Arfa had numerous efforts from the long range for the home team.

Stoke City vs Crystal Palace (2-1):

Stoke City, helped by goals from Charlie Adam and Ryan Shawcross, won 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium. Mark Hughes’s side were down by a goal early into the game as Maroune Chamakh put one past Stoke goalkeeper Begovic in the 31st minute.

In the early kick off the day, Arsenal, amidst all the controversies surrounding them for the lack of transfer action in this summer transfer window, thrashed Fulham 3-1.