Paul Pogba provided four assists, Bruno Fernandes scored three goals as Manchester United beat rivals Leeds United in their opening Premier League 2021/22 fixture. Elsewhere, Chelsea and Liverpool beat Crystal Palace and Norwich City, respectively.
The Red Devils recorded a huge 5-1 win over Marcelo Bielsa’s side to jump in front of the queue, albeit with only a handful of games played. Pogba missed a gilt-edged chance early in the first half when he placed his shot wide of the goal with just Illan Meslier to beat.
However, the Frenchman made amends by providing the assist for Fernandes’ opening goal – a perfectly dinked pass into the path of the Portugal international.
Leeds hit back after the break, with Luke Ayling scoring a long-range screamer. However, three minutes after Leeds’ equalizing goal United retook the lead through Mason Greenwood. From then on, the floodgates were opened, and Fernandes grabbed two more goals in quick succession to complete his hat-trick. Fred later joined in the act, converting Pogba’s pass for United’s fifth goal.
Later in the day, Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in Patrick Vieira’s first competitive game as the Eagles’ boss. The Blues took the lead in the 27th minute through Marcos Alonso, who scored a stunning free-kick from the right. Five minutes before half-time, Chelsea doubled their lead.
A good cross from Mason Mount wasn’t dealt with properly by the Palace defense, allowing Christian Pulisic to poke it home from close range.
The moment of the match came in the 58th minute when Chelsea academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah – making his first league start for the Blues – fired a low shot past Vicente Guaita before breaking down in disbelief. Chelsea held their nerves during a late Palace onslaught to register their first win of the season.
Meanwhile, Liverpool defeated Norwich City in the last game of the day. Mohamed Salah was once again the Reds’ talisman, providing two assists – for Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino – and scoring the third himself in a routine 3-0 win.
