After Arsenal revived the Premier League on Friday with a 2-0 victory over Crystal, the league’s first full day of action on Saturday had all the action you could want. It started with an upset, the Americans made waves, a defender scored an absolute peach of a goal, and ended, well, maybe less is said about how it went. is over, the better it is then as Everton and Chelsea played out a 1-0 win for Thomas Tuchel’s side. Let’s move on to some takeaways.
Liverpool need Nunez to save a point
The Premier League resumed in typical style on Saturday with a 2-2 draw between Fulham and Liverpool at Craven Cottage. Nunez hit the ground running on his debut registering a goal and an assist with Mohamed Salah at the other end of each, but it was a mistake by Virgil van Dijk that would prove costly.
Jurgen Klopp’s men took their time getting going and it was the newly promoted hosts who took the lead through Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header. Part of a double change early in the second half for Liverpool saw Darwin Nunez make his debut and the Uruguayan didn’t need long to pull the Reds level. The parity only lasted less than 10 minutes, however, as Mitrovic doubled his tally from the penalty spot and left the visitors to defeat. Mitrovic lost the ball but a penalty was awarded and confirmed after a VAR review.
Nunez came to the rescue nine minutes from time as he brought Mo Salah level and maintained his incredible Matchday 1 goalscoring record for Liverpool. Ultimately, it’s a point earned by Klopp’s men as Fulham have beaten them on several occasions while Marco Silva’s Cottagers will be encouraged by their spirit. With most of their new signings on the bench from the start, it’s a great result to kick off the season, and quite a building block moving forward.
After the unexpected result, it is possible that Jurgen Klopp need to make some adjustments in the future.
Chelsea bailed out by Abdoulaye Doucouré
A clumsy penalty conceded by Abdoulaye Doucouré was the difference in the game as Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 on matchday one. Frank Lampard’s side lined up well and despite lacking forwards, they were able to hang on to Chelsea as the Blues struggled to start their season. Everton were hit with another blow just 18 minutes into the game as Ben Godfrey left the game on a stretcher after a long delay. Considering he had his leg immobilized, it doesn’t look good. He was eventually replaced by Mason Holgate.
From there, both teams were missing a proper number nine, but it was Everton who coped better with this as Anthony Gordon led the attack. Everton managed to create chances on the counter but the final ball was not there. Ben Chilwell fired a penalty before half-time as Doucouré put both hands on his shirt as he descended into the box. Jorginho didn’t mess around sending the penalty home to give Chelsea the lead.
The second half went the same way as the first, but Everton will be the happiest team about it. Amadou Onana was in the crowd watching as he will be in Everton midfield sooner rather than later after agreeing a deal with Lille, but for Chelsea, even with Armando Broja on the pitch, they lacked a good nine . Raheem Sterling filled the role but is better from the wing despite his good work rate in the box.
He was brilliant with Kalidou Koulibaly on his debut on Saturday, but most of the squad failed to shine with them. Nathan Patterson also created a good chance for Dele Alli when he came on but Dele was unsure what to do with the ball in the box as he missed his chance. Lots of work to do for each team in a game that ended up lasting almost 110 minutes due to various stoppages in each half.
Aston Villa reverse in worrying fashion against Bournemouth
Bournemouth picked up an unexpected three points on their Premier League opening day with a 2-0 win over an abject Aston Villa side at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries were ahead after just three minutes as Jefferson Lerma fired home after Marcus Tavernier’s corner was headed in by Lloyd Kelly while Lucas Digne was off the Villa pitch.
Bournemouth could have gone two goals clear at the break had Kieffer Moore connected with Adam Smith’s low cross after Dominic Solanke played him. ideal start for the new campaign and nightmarish Steven Gerrard.
Villa were barely on the run and rarely threatened with Danny Ings, John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara closing in without really threatening the opposing team. While Aston Villa managed 15 shots and two-thirds possession, they only managed an expected 0.66 goals. Not great all around. Next up for Bournemouth is defending champions Manchester City, while Villa are at home to Everton with much better expected after an impressive summer transfer window.
Newcastle scores goal of the day against Nottingham Forest
Thanks to a strong performance from Dean Henderson, the game couldn’t spiral completely out of control, but Ryan Yates was missed as Steve Cooper’s side struggled to maintain a presence in midfield. The Tricky Trees took just five shots and were the only promoted team not to score at least one point on Saturday. Brennan Johnson was only isolated by touching the ball 20 times as Newcastle rolled on. The Magpies took 20 shots with Callum Wilson and Fabian Schar scoring and Schar was a hell of a scorer.
Leeds mount returns behind USMNT stars
The Americans took center stage for Leeds as they came back after conceding early at Wolverhampton and came away with a 2-1 win. Brenden Aaronson may not officially get credit for the goal, but that won’t stop him from claiming it as Jesse Marsch’s side start the season on the right foot.
Premier League scoreboard
Fulham 2, Liverpool 2
Bournemouth 2, Aston Villa 0
Leeds United 2, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Newcastle United 2, Nottingham Forest 0
Tottenham 4, Southampton 1
Everton 0, Chelsea 1