Premier League Matchweek One
Premier League Matchweek One
Fulham haven’t won a Premier League home fixture against Arsenal in eight years and that dominance looked set to continue after just 9 minutes when Alexander Lacazette bundled the ball into the net. Willian was denied an early goal by Rodak, but surely enough the Arsenal frontman tucked in the rebound from close range.
With twenty minutes played, it was the side from North London who proved the sharpest. The Arsenal midfielders, Xhaka and El Nenny, were finding capacious pockets of space in the centre of the pitch, leaving the newly-promoted Fulham vulnerable. It was becoming increasingly blatant that Scott Parker’s team were still adapting to the faster pace of the league.
Shortly after the restart, Arsenal doubled their advantage to 2-0. It was Willian who took the corner, looking to pick out someone in the box. As it happened, he managed to find the head of his fellow countryman, Gabriel, who marked his debut appearance with a goal. He only recently joined from Lille for £27 million, a worthwhile purchase if he perpetuates this level of performance throughout the season. He was deservedly the man of the match, helping Arsenal to a valuable clean sheet, cementing their defensive solidarity under the management of Mikel Arteta. [Fulham 0 – 3 Arsenal]
Next game of the weekend was over to Selhurst Park. Wilfred Zaha scored his 50th league goal of his career against their opponents, Southampton. His strike was the difference between the two teams at the halftime break.
Things almost got much worse for Southampton after the restart. Kyle Walker-Peters stretched for the ball with his studs upraised and caught the Palace player on the foot. Jonathan Moss initially issued a red card for the challenge, but reversed the decision following a visit to the pitchside monitor. Apparently, this will be a more frequent practice for referees, rather than depending upon the VAR officials at Stockley Park.
Crystal Palace were inches away from taking a 2-0 lead. Wilfred Zaha must have thought that he had scored his second goal of the match, but the replays showed he was indeed offside, albeit marginally. Perhaps if Zaha had smaller boots then this game would be out of sight. In the end, it was his goal which gave Palace the three points.
That victory was much needed for Roy Hodgson, whose side had only managed 1 point out of a possible 24 in his previous eight matches. Their last taste of victory came against Bournemouth in early June. [Crystal Palace 1 – 0 Southampton]
Arguably the game of the weekend, Leeds United travelled to Anfield. After a 16-year absence from the Premier League, Marcelo Bielsa’s side wasted no time showing the reigning champions why they were the most exciting team in the Championship last season. Despite Salah’s early penalty, Harrison responded with a wonderful solo goal to level the scoreline. Less than 10 minutes later, Van Dijk nodded the champions ahead once again. It was only when Patrick Bamford scored the equaliser that I got out the popcorn. There were chances aplenty for either team, with Liverpool leading the way 3-2 at halftime. It was like watching a game of table football.
The score ended at 4-3 to Jurgen Klopp’s side. Mohammad Salah converted a late penalty to earn himself a hat-trick on the opening day. The Egyptian scored 19 goals last year in the Premier League and will be determined to claim back the golden boot after missing out to Jamie Vardy. [Liverpool 4 – 3 Leeds United]
The opening day turned out to be inspirational for many debutants. While Arsenal saw their new signings shine against Fulham earlier in the day, so too did Newcastle United. They travelled down to London to face West Ham. Steve Bruce’s side won this fixture last season and would ultimately do it again, with goals coming from Callum Wilson and Jeff Hendrick. [West Ham 0 – 2 Newcastle]
This run of fortune continued into Sunday’s matchups. Timothy Castagne opened the scoring for Leicester against West Bromwich Albion. The right-back completed his transfer from Atalanta at the start of September, costing Leicester a total sum of £21.5 million. This was an ideal signing for the Foxes, since the Belgian international can play on both sides of the field, acting as a perfect replacement for Ben Chilwell. [West Brom 0 – 3 Leicester City]
Tottenham would have been hoping to open this season with a victory against Everton. José Mourinho’s side only marginally earned themselves a Europa League place last season, but with rumours of Gareth Bale making a fabled return to his former club, they will be itching to push for Champions League qualification. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. A wonderful header from Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave Everton the victory. Tottenham had a few chances of their own but all the headline performances came from Everton’s new midfield: Rodriguez, Allan and Doucouré. [Tottenham 0 – 1 Everton]
To crown the opening weekend of football, Chelsea visited the south coast where they played Brighton. These two sides faced each other in preseason, with the score finishing 1-1. Frank Lampard will be hoping for improvements, despite the notable absentees of Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva.
Timo Werner took only 23 minutes to make himself known in the Premier League. A mistake from Brighton forced Matt Ryan into taking out the German and conceding a penalty. However, it did not finish there. The seagulls answered with a goal of their own shortly after halftime. All eyes were on Kepa who really ought to have pushed it aside, but thankfully not for long as Reece James scored a screamer at the other end. It was the 20-year-old’s first ever goal in the Premier League and he might never score a better one. The final score ended 3-1 to the Blues, who will be hoping for the same next weekend as they take on Liverpool. [Brighton 1 – 3 Chelsea]
Fulham haven’t won a Premier League home fixture against Arsenal in eight years and that dominance looked set to continue after just 9 minutes when Alexander Lacazette bundled the ball into the net. Willian was denied an early goal by Rodak, but surely enough the Arsenal frontman tucked in the rebound from close range.
With twenty minutes played, it was the side from North London who proved the sharpest. The Arsenal midfielders, Xhaka and El Nenny, were finding capacious pockets of space in the centre of the pitch, leaving the newly-promoted Fulham vulnerable. It was becoming increasingly blatant that Scott Parker’s team were still adapting to the faster pace of the league.
Shortly after the restart, Arsenal doubled their advantage to 2-0. It was Willian who took the corner, looking to pick out someone in the box. As it happened, he managed to find the head of his fellow countryman, Gabriel, who marked his debut appearance with a goal. He only recently joined from Lille for £27 million, a worthwhile purchase if he perpetuates this level of performance throughout the season. He was deservedly the man of the match, helping Arsenal to a valuable clean sheet, cementing their defensive solidarity under the management of Mikel Arteta. [Fulham 0 – 3 Arsenal]
Next game of the weekend was over to Selhurst Park. Wilfred Zaha scored his 50th league goal of his career against their opponents, Southampton. His strike was the difference between the two teams at the halftime break.
Things almost got much worse for Southampton after the restart. Kyle Walker-Peters stretched for the ball with his studs upraised and caught the Palace player on the foot. Jonathan Moss initially issued a red card for the challenge, but reversed the decision following a visit to the pitchside monitor. Apparently, this will be a more frequent practice for referees, rather than depending upon the VAR officials at Stockley Park.
Crystal Palace were inches away from taking a 2-0 lead. Wilfred Zaha must have thought that he had scored his second goal of the match, but the replays showed he was indeed offside, albeit marginally. Perhaps if Zaha had smaller boots then this game would be out of sight. In the end, it was his goal which gave Palace the three points.
That victory was much needed for Roy Hodgson, whose side had only managed 1 point out of a possible 24 in his previous eight matches. Their last taste of victory came against Bournemouth in early June. [Crystal Palace 1 – 0 Southampton]
Arguably the game of the weekend, Leeds United travelled to Anfield. After a 16-year absence from the Premier League, Marcelo Bielsa’s side wasted no time showing the reigning champions why they were the most exciting team in the Championship last season. Despite Salah’s early penalty, Harrison responded with a wonderful solo goal to level the scoreline. Less than 10 minutes later, Van Dijk nodded the champions ahead once again. It was only when Patrick Bamford scored the equaliser that I got out the popcorn. There were chances aplenty for either team, with Liverpool leading the way 3-2 at halftime. It was like watching a game of table football.
The score ended at 4-3 to Jurgen Klopp’s side. Mohammad Salah converted a late penalty to earn himself a hat-trick on the opening day. The Egyptian scored 19 goals last year in the Premier League and will be determined to claim back the golden boot after missing out to Jamie Vardy. [Liverpool 4 – 3 Leeds United]
The opening day turned out to be inspirational for many debutants. While Arsenal saw their new signings shine against Fulham earlier in the day, so too did Newcastle United. They travelled down to London to face West Ham. Steve Bruce’s side won this fixture last season and would ultimately do it again, with goals coming from Callum Wilson and Jeff Hendrick. [West Ham 0 – 2 Newcastle]
This run of fortune continued into Sunday’s matchups. Timothy Castagne opened the scoring for Leicester against West Bromwich Albion. The right-back completed his transfer from Atalanta at the start of September, costing Leicester a total sum of £21.5 million. This was an ideal signing for the Foxes, since the Belgian international can play on both sides of the field, acting as a perfect replacement for Ben Chilwell. [West Brom 0 – 3 Leicester City]
Tottenham would have been hoping to open this season with a victory against Everton. José Mourinho’s side only marginally earned themselves a Europa League place last season, but with rumours of Gareth Bale making a fabled return to his former club, they will be itching to push for Champions League qualification. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. A wonderful header from Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave Everton the victory. Tottenham had a few chances of their own but all the headline performances came from Everton’s new midfield: Rodriguez, Allan and Doucouré. [Tottenham 0 – 1 Everton]
To crown the opening weekend of football, Chelsea visited the south coast where they played Brighton. These two sides faced each other in preseason, with the score finishing 1-1. Frank Lampard will be hoping for improvements, despite the notable absentees of Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva.
Timo Werner took only 23 minutes to make himself known in the Premier League. A mistake from Brighton forced Matt Ryan into taking out the German and conceding a penalty. However, it did not finish there. The seagulls answered with a goal of their own shortly after halftime. All eyes were on Kepa who really ought to have pushed it aside, but thankfully not for long as Reece James scored a screamer at the other end. It was the 20-year-old’s first ever goal in the Premier League and he might never score a better one. The final score ended 3-1 to the Blues, who will be hoping for the same next weekend as they take on Liverpool. [Brighton 1 – 3 Chelsea]
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