The Premier League is off and running, and after Arsenal kick-started the new season on Friday, the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, and Liverpool were in action on Saturday. Whilst most of the results were quite predictable, there were a few surprises coming from newly promoted sides Fulham and Bournemouth, who captured unexpected points.
Tottenham made plenty of acquisitions to complement their manager Antonio Conte’s vision, and it seems like they are on a great track this season. After going 1-0 down very quickly against Southampton, they unleashed their brutal side with Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-Min in the thick of things. Conte’s men picked up a convincing 4-1 win, with goals coming from Kulusevski, Ryan Sessegnon, and Eric Dier (one own goal from Salisu).
Chelsea had a tricky little trip to Merseyside, where their former hero Frank Lampard nearly denied them three points. Although Everton’s lack of individual quality was evident, they were resilient as a team. They made some good chances against the stringent Chelsea defence, and their defenders were pretty much on top throughout.
However, the penalty conceded late in the first half proved to be the decider for the visiting unit. Jorginho stepped up and finished it as Thomas Tuchel’s side took all three points.
Having barely dropped any points in the 20 Premier League fixtures, Liverpool fans definitely did not expect Fulham to put up a solid fight on opening day. Aleksandar Mitrovic, who broke the Championship record for goalscoring, scored two massive goals in game week one to help them secure a point against Liverpool. The Serb’s goal helped the hosts take the lead on both occasions, but Liverpool found a way to strike back.
Whilst new signing Darwin Nunez opened his Premier League account, Mohamed Salah continued his opening day tradition of scoring with a cheeky-little finish. The Reds failed to pick up a win in their first game for the first time after four seasons.
In other results, Newcastle United registered a comfortable 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest, who are back in the Premier League after a long time.
Aston Villa were stunned by goals from Jefferson Lerma and Kieffer Moore as Bournemouth, who made just two free transfers in the window, got off to a winning start.
Leeds United emerged victorious in a temperamental game against Wolverhampton where they came from behind to win 2-1 at Elland Road.
