Hull City 2 Leicester City 1 Spectacle Rating: 4/5The Premier League was off to a flyer as newly promoted Hull City beat reigning champions Leicester City in the opening fixture of the Premier League. The Tigers who find themselves in a dreadful situation off the pitch gave their fans something to sing about when they opened the scoring through Adama Diomande’s stunning overhead kick.
Leicester did get back in the game in the opening minutes of the second half, though. Riyad Mahrez dispatched a penalty to level the scores not long before Robert Snodgrass restored Hull’s lead with a fine volley. The Tigers held on till the final whistle to bag three very important points.
Burnley 0 Swansea City 1 Spectacle Rating: 2/5
Leroy Fer scored a late winner for Swansea, to secure three vital points against promoted side Burnley. The Clarets did have a few chances in their return to the Premier League but were denied thanks to the heroics of Lukasz Fabianski.
The Swans didn’t have too many efforts on goal but took the one chance that really mattered, when Fer tucked in from close range after Tom Heaton parried the shot straight into the Dutchman’s path. A positive sign of things to come from Francesco Guidolin’s side.
Crystal Palace 0 West Brom 1 Spectacle Rating: 2/5
Alan Pardew will rue his team’s missed opportunities as Crystal Palace suffered defeat on the opening day against West Brom. Salomon Rondon scored the only goal of the game with a composed header to register The Baggies’ first points of the campaign.
The Eagles had a number of opportunities over the 90 minutes but failed to capitalise, resulting in a frustrating home loss. There is still time for Pardew to strengthen his squad in the coming weeks, with rumours linking them to signing a new striker.
Middlesbrough 1 Stoke City 1 Spectacle Rating: 2/5
Middlesbrough’s return to the Premier League after an eight-year absence ended in 1-1 draw against Stoke City.
It was Boro who opened the scoring through new signing Alvaro Negredo. The former City forward headed in from close range after some fine work by Gaston Ramirez. Stoke understandably pressed forward and they managed to level the scores around the hour mark. Marko Arnautovic was fouled outside the box and Xerdan Shaqiri finished smartly from the resulting free kick.
There were not many more chances for either team although Stoke were the ones more intent on grabbing a winner.
Southampton 1 Watford 1 Spectacle Rating: 3/5
Southampton’s new manager Claude Puel endured a frustrating start to life at St.Mary’s as he saw his side share the points with 10-men Watford. The Hornets took an early lead when Etienne Capoue smashed in a volley from close range and managed to go into the break a goal to the good.
Southampton continued to put pressure on the Watford defence and it was only a matter of time that they equalised through new signing, Nathan Redmond. The Saints pressed for a winner and were nearly through on goal but for Ben Watson to bring down Shane Long and was sent off for denying the Irishman in at goal. It was also Walter Mazzarri’s first game in charge and considering that his side saw out the game playing with a man down for the final 15 minutes, he will gladly take a point back to Vicarage Road.
Everton 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 Spectacle Rating: 2/5
Ronald Koeman took charge for the first time in an Everton dugout as he saw his side play out a 1-1 draw against Tottenham.
Ross Barkley opened the scoring early on with a free kick that evaded everyone and curled into the net. The Toffees looked the better side going into the break but Spurs came out all guns blazing in the second half and got their reward when Erik Lamela nodded in to equalise. They continued to push on for a winner but failed to do so as both teams shared the spoils.
Manchester City 2 Sunderland 1 Spectacle Rating: 3/5
Pep Guardiola got off to a winning start on his debut as Manchester City manager. The Citizens beat David Moyes’ Sunderland 2-1 to register the first points under the new Spanish manager.
A new looking City formation looked to impress in the opening moments of the game as they opened the scoring through a Sergio Aguero penalty. City dominated proceedings in the first half and would have felt they should have added to their tally.
Sunderland looked dangerous on the counter as City continued to hold possession in the second half. The Black Cats did take full advantage when they got a sniff at goal as Jermaine Defoe buried that ball past Willy Caballero to make it 1-1. But City showed exactly why they were title contenders by getting a crucial late winner as a result of a cruel deflection of Sunderland new signing Paddy McNair into his own goal.
Bournemouth 1 Manchester United 3 Spectacle Rating: 4/5
Title favourites Manchester United got off to the perfect start in their opening game against Bournemouth, beating the Cherries 3-1 at Dean Court. It was Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge since his dismissal from Chelsea last season.
Juan Mata opened the scoring for the visitors after a couple of calamitous errors in the Bournemouth defence, which allowed the Spaniard to tap into an open goal.
The Red Devils went into the break with the upper hand and continued to dominate in the second half. Wayne Rooney doubled the lead on the hour mark, nodding home from close range after Anthony Martial’s scuffed shot fell kindly for the Man Utd captain.
New summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic added a third, only moments later, with a clean strike from long range. The big Swede has now scored two in two games for his new club as the Mourinho era begins to settle in. The Cherries did pull one back thanks to a fantastic solo effort from Adam Smith but the goal proved to be nothing more than a consolation.
Chelsea vs West Ham United Spectacle Rating: 4/5
Chelsea would have been keen to begin the new season in strong fashion after a poor campaign last time out and Antonio Conte began life at Stamford Bridge with a hard fought 2-1 victory against West Ham.
The Blues started the stronger of the two, dominating possession but failed to cultivate an end product in the first half. A good opening to the second half resulted in Chelsea breaking the deadlock through an Eden Hazard penalty.
The introduction of Dimitri Payet gave The Hammers new life and they went on to grab a late equaliser via a thunderous half-volley from James Collins. It looked like it would end in a draw but for a clinical Diego Costa strike in the 89th minute to give Chelsea a winning start to the Premier League.
*MATCH OF THE WEEK*
Arsenal 3 Liverpool 4 Spectacle Rating: 5/5
The first heavyweight clash of the season lived up to all the hype and more. A depleted Arsenal side played host to a rejuvenated Liverpool at The Emirates in what proved to have all the potential to be one of the games of the season.
The Gunners had the upper hand in the opening half an hour and got a goal to show for too. Theo Walcott, who had a penalty saved only a minute before, got in behind the Liverpool defence to calmly slot past Simon Mignolet. Liverpool showed resilience to level the scores when Philippe Coutinho curled in a fine
Liverpool showed resilience to level the scores when Philippe Coutinho curled in a fine free-kick right on the stroke of half-time, that Petr Cech could do nothing about. Jurgen Klopp’s side came flying out in the second half and added two quick goals to take a resounding lead over the Gunners.
Goals from Adam Lallana and another from Coutinho made it 3-1 to the Reds but they weren’t done yet. New signing Sadio Mane scored in his debut with an unstoppable shot to increase Liverpool’s lead by 4-1.
Substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope to reduce the deficit, while Calum Chambers’ deft header ensured a nervy final 15 minutes for Liverpool. The Reds managed to hold on till the final whistle to bag three very important away points against the potential title challengers.
