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It was a Friday curtain raiser and weekend hell raiser. Premier League returned with all that we have gotten spoiled with: vigor, brimstone and fireworks. The ten fixtures served up a smorgasbord of 25 goals with only one goalless draw, Southampton vs. Burney. Five matches had 3 or more goals and there was a single red card, Jagielka for Everton against Wolves. Matchday 1 was festooned with many moments of outstanding play and few occasions of unrealized expectations. With 370 more matches to go, the road ahead will surely offer incredible turns and bizarre pitfalls. Here is a look at the standout claims from the opening weekend.
A TWO-HORSE TITLE CHASE
Manchester City looked ominous in their defense of the championship. They brushed aside Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates and won literally at a cantor. Two unstoppable finishes from Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva were enough to defeat a listless Arsenal. The Gunners improved in the second half after few mistakes crept in City’s play especially from the goalkeeper Ederson. However, likes of Ozil and Mikhtaryan didn’t set the stage alight. Lacazette showed some intent after coming on but it was too late. There were some overall positives for Arsenal though, as young midfielder Guendouzi came into his own in the second half and the debuts of Torreira, Sokratis and Lichsteiner showed promise. City hardly broke a sweat and were able to give debut to Mahrez while World Cup winner Benjamin Mendy starred with two assists after suffering an injury ordeal of last season.
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Liverpool produced an imperial performance as West Ham side were handed a thrashing. Goals from Mane(2), Salah and Sturridge helped Liverpool clinch their biggest opening day victory at Anfield for 86 years. New signing Alisson did not have much to do in the match while midfielder Naby Keita already looks at home in a Liverpool shirt. Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham started with 5 summer signings and the team looked disjointed. Under the cosh for most of the game, they did have a few chances but fluffed their lines to add more frustration to the runaround given by Liverpool. The Anfield side do look like they have the manpower to give a hiding to many teams and could give City a run for their money come next May.
THE CONTENDERS AND THE PRETENDERS
Tottenham Hotspurs also scripted a familiar story. Starting with World Cup stars Dele Alli and Harry Kane, they wasted little time to score twice within the first 18 minutes. Newcastle United support had thunderous roars of anti-Ashley (Mike Ashley, owner of NUFC) chants and the loss only adds to the grumbling fire. The second half was expectedly uneventful but, as Spurs showed enough to suggest, they will stick around near the top end, the Geordie fans are in for another tantalizingly (for neutrals) tumultuous (Geordie support) season. It is hard to imagine them surpassing their finish of 10th last season.
Chelsea cruised in the second half as Mauricio Sarri’s side opened with a 3-0 away win against Huddersfield. Goals from debutant and man of the match Jorginho, Kante and Pedro made for a glossier reading than the performance warranted. Huddersfield did not trouble Chelsea’s record signing Kepa in goal and the Blues were clinical in taking their chances. A scruffy finish from Kante calmed the nerves for the new coach and Jorginho finished from the spot with aplomb. A sumptuous counter-attacking goal involving Hazard and Pedro added icing to Sarri’s debut day cake. As Huddersfield prepare to deal with the second season syndrome, Chelsea seem rejuvenated under the new regime. They will be more convincing victories in the weeks to come as the new signings and in-house superstars gel to give finality to team’s play.
Old Trafford played host to the curtain raiser as United beat Leicester 2-1 on Friday. United came out of the traps fast and took the lead with Pogba, skipping his way to a penalty goal. Captaining the side, Pogba looked up for the occasion as United looked set to put the Leicester’s shaky defense to the sword. However, the Foxes had other plans that resulted in them out-passing United. Leicester's debutant James Madison was in presidential form at number 10 and together with Demarai Grey, they stifled United by their new possession-based style for most of the match. United also had Perreira playing in Midfield alongside debutant Fred, who had a running duel with Madison before both were substituted in the second half.
Luke Shaw added an acrobatic second, his first goal in professional football (134 appearances) and was awarded the man of the match award. Jamie Vardy came as a substitute in the second half and scored after missing an earlier chance. Jose Mourinho lauded both Pogba and Shaw post-match as he again expressed discontent over his club’s transfer business. Claude Puel must have been heartened by his side dominance of the ball and will take many positives while United will be happy with a positive result after copious negativity pervading their preseason.
THE NEWCOMERS AND THE REBUILDERS
Everton and Wolves played out what was probably the match of the weekend. £44m striker Richarlison scored twice for Everton while Jagielka was sent to early showers with a 40th-minute red card. For Wolves, a gorgeous free kick from Neves and a diving header from Jimenez cut the Everton’s lead twice. A 31,231 strong Molineux (biggest crowd in 37 years) cheered on Wolves as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side showed grit and confidence to come back twice, given they had a man advantage for more than a half of football match. Marco Silva’s Everton also have a new poster boy in Brazilian Richarlison and they will be gratified with a point under the circumstances.
Other promoted sides Cardiff and Fulham lost 2-0 to Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively. Fulham has spent big in preseason and new signings like Seri and Vietto will need time to get used to the rhythm of the Premier League. For Crystal Palace Wilf Zaha sparkled with a goal, building on his breakout performances from last campaign. Cardiff did well to rally in the second half after an early goal by Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser. But they couldn’t beat Begovic in Bournemouth’s goal. Callum Wilson missed a penalty in the first half but scored his team’s second in the 91st minute to make amends.
In other games, Watford defeated Brighton 2-0 at Vicarage Road as Argentine midfielder Roberto Pereyra scored twice either side of halftime. His first was a thumping volley while second was a curler from a tight angle. Brighton lost their captain Bruno to injury in the early part of the match and struggled to get their tempo throughout the match.
For Brighton, the fixture list has not been kind with back to back games against Manchester United and Liverpool to come. Coach Chris Hughton will need to rally the players and reshape his side to avoid demoralizing losses at the start of their second successive campaign in the top flight.
Southampton versus Burnley was a drab draw. Encouraging performance for Southampton’s debutant striker Danny Ings and Burnley’s new goalie Hart were the highlights of the match. The Clarets had the home team on the ropes in the first half but tired in the second. Coach Sean Dyche had to prepare his team after the Thursday night exploits in Europa League qualifier. The European challenge will have a huge part to play in their league campaign.
Traditionally, August simmers before the league explodes in September after the first International break. With a plethora of new players and managers at the helm, the opening weekend has certainly whetted the appetite. The tempers will flare and the action will come abuzz with jaw-dropping goals and crushing tackles as the juggernaut gets rolling. With City as clear favorites and Liverpool showing renewed zeal, the rest of the chasing pack will need to show early promise. The greatest league in the World is certainly off to a pandemoniac start.
