(Football news) The most beloved football league got off to a flying start with goals galore in Matchweek 1 of the Premier League. It was the first time that stadiums across England were packed to the brim since the outbreak of COVID-19 and fans made their voices heard as their teams stepped out in another action packed season. Here are a few notable results from this weekend:
Manchester United 5-1 Leeds United
The rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds is as fierce as it is bitter, but Old Trafford could not have hoped for a better opening show. The Red Devils were ruthless in attack and scored five goals against Marcelo Bielsa’s team with Bruno Fernandes registering a hattrick and Paul Pogba becoming the only Manchester United player in history to register four assists in a single game. What was particularly impressive was the way 19 year old Mason Greenwood kept his composure to score the second Manchester United goal, particularly because the score was 1-1. Man Utd have made two impressive signings this summer and Jadon Sancho made his debut after replacing Daniel James in the second half while Raphael Varane was paraded inside the stadium before the match commenced, a very retro but classy unveiling for a player who has won it all. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be very happy with his team’s performance and Manchester United look like a team that can finally challenge for the Premier League title for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester City
It’s fair to say that Manchester City are on a losing streak, having lost to Chelsea in the Champions League final, Leicester City in the Community Shield and Tottenham at the opening weekend of the Premier League. Either it’s a testament to Spurs or the inconsistency from City, but the champions of England have yet again failed to get a result at Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium as Nuno Espirito Santo’s team got all three points in the most competitive fixture of the weekend. Ironically, Man City target Harry Kane was absent for Spurs but it made no difference as Son Heung-min's strike was all it took to win the match. This result will undoubtedly increase Pep Guardiola’s resolve in signing Kane as his team desperately lacks a clinical striker after the departure of Sergio Aguero to Barcelona.
Chelsea 3-0 Crystal Palace
The champions of Europe displayed a dominant performance at Stamford Bridge with a 3-0 victory against Crystal Palace. Marcos Alonso opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a freekick while Christian Pulisic scored the second goal ten minutes later. The magnificent display was made even better when Trevoh Chalobah scored on his debut in front of the home crowd at almost the hour mark in a fairy tale beginning for the 22 year old.
Norwich City 0-3 Liverpool
Mohamed Salah was in blistering form for Liverpool as he scored one and provided two assists for Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino in a comfortable victory over newly promoted Norwich City. He became the first player to score on the opening weekend in five consecutive Premier League campaigns. The Reds received a massive boost when defender Virgil Van Dijk returned after 10 months due to injury and despite a spirited display by Norwich City, it was not good enough to get any points on Carrow Road against Liverpool.
Also read: Newly promoted Brentford sink Arsenal on opening day of the Premier League
