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The 22nd Season of the Premier League got off to an explosive start as Manchester United beat Leicester City 2-1 in a thrilling game on Friday night at Old Trafford.
Manchester United took the lead thanks to a third-minute penalty from World Cup winner, Paul Pogba, and then extended it in the 83rd minute through Luke Shaw. Leicester got one back in injury time after Jamie Vardy pounced on a ball from Ricardo Pereira.
Despite the rumours of a fallout, Jose Mourinho named Pogba as his captain for the first game of the season. World Cup semi-finalist Romelu Lukaku started on the bench for United. Another World Cup semi-finalist, Jamie Vardy was on the substitute bench for Leicester.
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United was awarded a penalty in the third-minute as Daniel Amartey handled the ball in the box. Pogba made no mistake from the spot as he opened the scoring. Leicester slowly grew into the game but couldn’t find the net thanks to two brilliant save from De Gea either side of halftime. He miraculously stopped James Madison’s shot in the first half and pulled off another save in the second half to deny Demarai Gray.
Then in the 83rd minute, Shaw’s persistence saw him scoring from a fortuitous bouncing ball to put United up 2-0. Later in the game, Jamie Vardy’s awareness, and position helped him opening his account for the season.
Here are the five things that we learned from the matchday 1 of the Premier League:
#1 Manchester United’s Pre-season problems
Most of the last few weeks have been spent with Mourinho mourning about how the owners were not backing him in the transfer market. United's manager was desperate to sign a central defender and had sights on a host of players including Leicester City’s Harry Maguire. In the end, they signed nobody and were forced to start this game with Bailly and Lindelöf.
United seemed to have put all those worries behind them as they took the lead in the third minute. However, Leicester slowly grew into the match and started controlling it.
In the end, Mourinho showed to the world that he knows how to win a game despite not controlling a match from start to finish.
It wasn’t an excellent performance, but in the end United delivered. An opening day victory against a top half club will boost their confidence a lot.
They will only get better from here especially once Lukaku, Young, and Matic comes back.
#2 Demarai Gray is finally showing his potential
Gray was continually running at the United defense and gave them a constant headache throughout the season opener. He was the central focus of Leicester’s attack with his dribbling and crosses creating chaos among the United defense and pushing them to their limits.
Ever since he was signed from Birmingham City in January 2016, Leicester has been waiting patiently for Gray to show what he is made of. He has shown what he is capable of in the past but has been inconsistent.
Yet, if we believe anything we saw yesterday, then this could be the season where he is finally going to arrive. With Mahrez gone to Manchester City, Gray has increased responsibility this season. He proved yesterday that he could step up when needed.
He was unlucky not to score in the 75th when Jamie Vardy took advantage of a mistake from Luke Shaw. His cross met the boots of Gray perfectly but he was denied by a brilliant save from David De Gea.
#3 James Maddison could be one of the signings of the season
James Maddison was consistently linked to a move to the Premier League during the last three transfer windows. However, his reported admirers, Liverpool and Tottenham, never made a bid for the player. Then finally this summer, Leicester saw an opportunity and paid £24m to Norwich to bring him to the King Power Stadium.
It’s not an easy task to step up from Championship to the Premier League but Maddison found it comfortable.
Starting in the number 10 position, Maddison ran the show for Leicester as he ran up and down the pitch to pick up the ball and launch Leicester’s attack. Still, only 21, Maddison’s fantastic passing range and confidence on the ball was a joy to watch.
He was unlucky to score in the first half when David De Gea spectacularly kept his shot out. Overall, Maddison enjoyed a tremendous 60-minute debut for the new club.
#4 Fred needs time
Manchester United stole Fred from under the nose of Manchester City this summer. United was looking for a longterm midfielder to succeed Michel Carrick and decided the Brazilian was the one they wanted. They paid £52m to Shakhtar Donetsk for the Brazilian international.
To be honest, Fred didn’t disappoint at all. Overall he made a decent debut. He completed 92.3% of his 52 passes, the highest by a United player. His three interceptions and two clearances was also a worthy contribution to the team.
However, he may need to control his temper. He was lucky his kick aimed at Demarai Grey went unnoticed by the referee. That is what he has to learn. This type of aggression and provocation won’t work in England.
Such antics will turn the fans against the player (just ask Diego Costa). Moreover, it will also see him getting more disciplinary punishments from FA whether he deserved it or not (again as Costa).
#5 Luke Shaw proves his worth
At the end of last season, everyone was convinced that Luke Shaw was going to leave United. It was a question of where he would end up for most. His manager has publically criticised him several times over the course of last season.
So when the news broke out that United has triggered the extension in Shaw’s contract, it came as a huge surprise. But Shaw put in an excellent performance to prove why he still has a great future ahead.
He made a significant defensive contribution of three tackles, one interception, and five clearances. He went on to score the winner in the 83rd minute. It was his first goal in the Premier League in front of the Old Trafford crowd.
Overall it was a reassuring performance from Shaw who has been struggling with form and injuries ever since he arrived at Old Trafford.
