Ah, it is good to be back and what an incredibly unpredictable season we seem to have in the offing! New managers at Manchester United, City, Chelsea and Everton in particular saw the landscape of the Premier League change drastically over the summer and with the transfer window yet to close, more changes could be just around the corner.
I know, it’s exciting isn’t it?! Well lets dive straight in with the action then as we look at the reigning Champions’ trip to Swansea City. Wayne Rooney’s been at the forefront of all gossip regarding Manchester United this summer but he could only make the bench for this trip to south Wales. A rain-stricken pitch at the Liberty Stadium made for interesting opening exchanges as the home side had the better of the possession and looked to be in control before a momentary collapse at the back for Swansea saw the champions score twice in two minutes. Van Persie produced a neat finish to convert the first goal after half an hour before a failure to clear the ball at the back and a slightly fortunate low cross by Valencia saw the ball put on a plate for Danny Welbeck and the England international simply couldn’t miss. Wayne Rooney was introduced after 60 minutes and was met by a wave of boos from the crowd, whether those were from the Swansea fans or the United fans I’ll let you decide, but there was no questioning his contribution as he set up United’s third and fourth goals as the pass for the fourth in particular was a very good effort as was the finish by Danny Welbeck. Swansea grabbed a consolation goal and were in the game throughout but the two goals in quick succession early in the game killed them off.
As United’s season got off to just the right start, Arsenal’s appeared to as well as the Gunners took just five minutes to get ahead thanks to the brutal pace of Theo Walcott which allowed Oliver Giroud probably one of the easiest finishes he’ll have all season. From there on in though it went severely downhill for the Gunners as two penalties and some shaky keeping from Szczesny saw Arsenal fall 2-1 behind. The worst was still to come for Arsenal though as Laurent Koscielny was then sent off for a second bookable offence although it could be argued whether or not either of the yellow cards were warranted. Tony Luna then finished Arsenal off as the home side were bombarded with criticism from the crowd after being beaten comfortably by a team fighting for survival last season.
New Everton manager, Roberto Martinez got his Toffees career off to an entertaining start as they took part in an end-to-end encounter with Norwich City at Carrow Road. None of Everton’s new signings started the match but it was one of their youngsters, Ross Barkley, as well as Norwich’s hot prospect, Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, who fought for the spotlight in this game. Barkley’s Blues took were in control in a first half littered with missed opportunities but the second half became almost anyone’s game as Norwich took the lead through Whittaker after 51 minutes. The Englishman struck the post with a curling effort before collecting the rebound which looped round Tim Howard and grabbing the opening goal. Ross Barkley then struck back with venom thanks to a Paul Scholes-esque strike from the edge of the box before fellow youngster Seamus Coleman gave Everton the initiative late in the game. Van Wolfswinkel led Norwich to an equaliser though as the two sides took a share of the spoils in what was probably the fairest result from what was a very enjoyable match.
As one new signing saved his best until the last in the form of Norwich’s new Dutch striker, Liverpool’s new Belgian keeper did the same against Stoke. A flailing opening 20 minutes for the stopper saw Liverpool fans nerves tested but that was nothing compared to what their offensive play must have done for them. Chance after chance after chance came and went for the Reds as they played some marvellous stuff early on before the responsibility fell to the usual combination of Coutinho and Sturridge to break the deadlock and give Liverpool a thoroughly deserved 1-0 lead. Liverpool continued to create chances but their lead was safe in the most-part as Stoke looked toothless until a lapse in concentration towards full time saw Stoke awarded a penalty. Mignolet had been chosen as a summer signing for Liverpool over his counterpart on the day, Asmir Begovic and this was a chance to prove why and he did not disappoint as he made a fantastic double-save from Walters’ penalty and Kenwyne Jones’ rebound. Liverpool could well be in the mix for more than just a top-four finish if they continue to play like this.
Cardiff may have achieved a dream in reaching the Premier League but they didn’t get the dream start as they were beaten by a very efficient and well organised West Ham side. It took just over ten minutes for West Ham to get ahead as Joe Cole put West Ham ahead with a finish similar to Kenny Miller’s in midweek for Scotland, a rugged turn-and-shoot finish after being fed nicely from out wide. West Ham continued their dominance and it looked to be only a matter of time before they scored again but it did take a fair bit of time to come as Kevin Nolan scored with just over quarter of an hour to go; a worrying start for Cardiff as they barely created any shots on target.
Elsewhere in the league, West Brom and Southampton opened their campaigns in a clash typical of these two sides; very exciting football but at times lacked the cutting edge required to take the initiative in the game. In fact it took a 90th minute penalty by none other than man of the moment, Ricky Lambert to snatch the game for the Saints in a performance that indicates we haven’t seen anything like the best from these two sides.
And finally, Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland side fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Fulham as they again lacked a cutting edge in what was a game that they had control of for the majority of the ninety minutes. Pajtim Kasami netted what would be the winner for Fulham after just 52 minutes with a finish that was totally against the run of play. The entire crowd at the Stadium of Light looked stunned and it’s something Di Canio will want to sort out soon as the fixtures coming up for Sunderland are bound to be far harder.
Entertainment all round then as Moyes got off to the perfect start and Arsenal floundered with their first opening day defeat for 13 years; a lot of teams showing a lack of sharpness but that’s to be expected – check back in with us tomorrow as we review Sunday’s action before Manchester City kick off their campaign on Monday night!
Results:-
Swansea City 1 – 4 Manchester United
Arsenal 1 – 3 Aston Villa
Norwich City 2 – 2 Everton
Liverpool 1 – 0 Stoke City
West Ham United 2 – 0 Cardiff City
West Bromwich Albion 0 – 1 Southampton
Sunderland 0 – 1 Fulham