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The opening day of the new Premier League season saw clean sheets in abundance, but Liverpool and their next opponent Chelsea were the anomalies on the winner’s board.
Just 48 days after one season ended, another was brought back to center stage when the 2020/21 campaign began.
Fulham was the host to start the season fresh out of their promotion after just one season in the Championship.
But it was far from the idyllic comeback, as Arsenal scored three unanswered goals, with Liverpool’s Community Shield opponents continuing their promising rebuilding under Mikel Arteta.
New signings Gabriel Magalhaes and Willian impressed, with the latter playing a role in all three goals to ensure Arsenal took home their first three points of the season.
And the same fate awaited newly promoted West Brom, who fell in a 3-0 loss at the hands of Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester.
A Jamie Vardy double from the penalty spot and a debut goal for winger Timothy Castagne provided a first taste of life in the top flight for Slaven Bilic and Co. and gave Mohamed Salah his first look at a rival Bota. of gold.
The Egyptian, of course, opened his account with a hat-trick to set an early benchmark, as Liverpool made sure all three promoted teams proved defeat on matchday one, but Leeds won a series of fans despite their 4-3 loss at the hands of Jurgen. Klopp’s men.
The game provided a strong reminder to those in red that they will need to improve defensively in the coming weeks, with Arsenal and Chelsea on the horizon before the international break in October.
The latter of which emerged as a 3-1 victor at Brighton in an unconvincing display, where the Seagulls could have taken advantage if they had been more ruthless in the final third.
Goals for Jorginho, Reece James and Kurt Zouma closed all three points despite Leandro Trossard’s second-half draw, a Chelsea performance that certainly left Klopp with much to ponder, as a weak point was exposed for six days. before their meeting.
But adding to Brighton’s woes was an injury to former Red Adam Lallana, who on his debut was forced to leave the field moments before halftime, ending what had been a bright and promising start for the 32-year-old. years in an advanced position.
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On the other hand, Crystal Palace sank Danny Ings’ Southampton thanks to an early shot from Wilfried Zaha, while a similar score of 1-0 came in the way of Everton, with a Dominic Calvert-Lewin header that punished. to the lethargic Tottenham of José Mourinho.
West Ham showed itself similarly at home as Newcastle put two past David Moyes’s men to add to the Hammers’ misery, while Sheffield United continued to stumble into a 2-0 loss to the Wolves.
Both Manchester clubs Aston Villa and Burnley by proxy, of course, had a delayed start to the season due to their European involvement at the end of last season.
Overall, the opening round yielded zero draws and all the winners scored a clean sheet along with their three points, with the exception of Liverpool and Chelsea. Could there be another scoring party on the cards on Sunday?
Premier League results, matchday 1
Fulham 0-3 Arsenal
Crystal Palace 1-0 Southampton
Liverpool 4-3 Leeds
West Ham 0-2 Newcastle
West Brom 0-3 Leicester
Tottenham 0-1 Everton
Sheffield United 0-2 Wolves
Brighton 1-3 Chelsea
