Weʻre up and running, folks! The new season has kicked off, and if the results are any indication of what lies ahead, weʻre in for another rollercoaster ride of a season.
Matchday 1 kicked off with The Arsenal facing recent bogey team Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The Gunners were quick out of the blocks, looking sharp and asserting some early authority. Martinelli missed a sitter a few minutes in, but then made amends – tucking away a gorgeous set-piece header from new signing Zinchenko.
Palace gathered their wits and piled on pressure, but Arsenalʻs defense was imperious, with like-a-new-signing William Saliba putting in a Man Of The Match performance to kick off his new-not-new Arsenal career. Saka doubled the lead by putting in a right-footed low cross that Palace Captain Guehi was only able to turn into his own goal.
The next big game was Liverpool at Fulham, in the Saturday lunch time slot. One could be forgiven in thinking that the teams were wearing the wrong shirts, as Fulham ran circles around the FA Cup holders for much of the first half. Mitrovic thumped a header home, rising above Alexander-Arnold and the Cottagers went in 1-0 up at half-time, and unlucky not to have more to show for their dominance.
Darwin Nunez equalized with a delightful back heel, but then Mitrovic enticed Van Dijk into a penalty box error, and won Fulham a penalty, which he converted convincingly. Mitrovic was on fire during FFCʻs promotional campaign and looks to have hit the ground running in the Premier League. Sala benefitted from some sloppy play late on and equalized – saving Liverpoolʻs blushes and earning them a point. Iʻm not a gambling man, but if I were, I might be more inclined to play European roulette online than predict results in the most competitive football league in the world!
Tottenham won convincingly at home against Southampton, despite a shaky start, Sessignon, Dier, Salisu and Kulusevsky contributing for the Spuds after Ward-Prowseʻs early brilliance. Chelsea managed to collect three unconvincing points at Goodison against Everton in the ʻFrank Lampard Derbyʻ – with Jorginho slotting away an unnecessary penalty.
The Erik Ten Hag ʻEra” kicked off at Old Trafford, facing Graham Potterʻs tricky Brighton – and Pascal Grossʻs first half brace meant that the Red Devils were met with boos as they left for their half-time oranges. Unitedʻs second half-performance improved slightly with the introduction of Ronaldo, and with a lot of help from referee Paul Tierney and the usual VAR monkey… An obvious handball rolls towards the line off Dalot, and Brightonʻs Sanchez could only clear it into his own net. Interference with the goalkeeper, an obvious handball and a dodgy offside call werenʻt enough to disallow the goal. This after a clear penalty is NOT awarded a few minutes earlier when new United signing Martinez shoves a tricky Welbeck over in the box at the other end.
Manchester City easily defeated West Ham at the London Stadium – with giant cyborg Erling Haaland picking up a stylish brace, before being substituted by Guardiola, and denied a clear and obvious hat-trick opportunity. The striker is a phenomenon, and lived up to all the hype surrounding his signing to the City squad.
In non-Top 6 clashes, Newcastle saw off newcomers Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Leeds defeated Villa and Wolves respectively, and Leicester blew a two-goal lead to draw at home to Brentford. Altogether a pretty exciting start to the new season. It is obvious already that there are going to be a few surprises along the way. newly-promoted teams show great promise, and top teams have tender underbellies, ready to be exploited. Enjoy!
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