Premier League Round-Up Gameweek One: Tottenham, Man City & Arsenal Impressive as Liverpool Stutter
The season is underway, and we couldn’t be more excited. Another great English top-tier campaign is now in full swing, and the first gameweek certainly gave us plenty of food for thought when it comes to Premier League betting.
The ball got rolling on Friday night in South London, and the weekend was brought to an end with title-holders City disposing of the Hammers with ominous ease. So let’s take a closer look at how things panned out.
Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal
New-look Arsenal were in imperious mood and put in a display that will certainly have not only impressed their fans but also sent out a statement of intent to other sides battling Mikel Arteta’s men for a top-four finish.
Gabriel Martinelli put the Gunners ahead after a well-worked corner that saw Oleksandr Zinchencko register an assist, and Bukayo Saka’s fine run and finish was helped into the back of the net by Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehl, and three points were secured with a minimum of fuss from a game that many will have predicted would have been closer.
Fulham 2-2 Liverpool
So, can Aleksandr Mitrovic produce the goods in the Premier League? Well, that was the question many were asking before Fulham kicked off their return to the top tier as they hosted Liverpool, and by the end of the game, it was a query that had been well and truly answered.
The Serbian international bagged an astonishing 43 goals in the Championship last season and netted twice as Marco Silva’s side secured a draw against an out-of-sorts Liverpool side, and frankly, the Cottagers probably deserved more from the game. Darwin Nunez bagged a debut goal, and Mohamed Salah scored his customary opening game goal, but it finished a point apiece, and that will have pleased Pep Guardiola no end.
Bournemouth 2-0 Aston Villa
Scott Parker will be over the moon with this home win as it not only gets the Cherries off to a flyer but proves that, this time around, the South-Coast side may be able to stick with the big boys and survive a season in the top-flight.
Jefferson Lerma opened the scoring inside two minutes, and Welsh international Kieffer Moore sealed the points with a second late in the second half. It’s back to the drawing board for Steven Gerrard, and hopes that he could push Villa back up the table after a decidedly average first season in charge are looking uncertain, to say the least.
Leeds United 2-1 Wolves
Having lost Kalvin Phillips and Raphina to Man City and Barcelona, respectively, Leeds United fans may have started the season concerned that another relegation-threatened campaign was on the cards, but the way they manfully fought back to overcome Wolves will certainly have shown the club’s loyal supporters that their side has plenty of fight.
Rodrigo levelled after an early Daniel Podence opener, and an own goal from Rayan Ait-Nouri saw Elland Road rocking by the final whistle.
Newcastle United 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Two of England’s biggest sleeping giants went head to head at St James’ Park as big-spending Newcastle United hosted newly promoted Forest, and Eddie Howe’s side proved themselves far too strong for their opponents.
It did take the Toon Army a while to take the lead, and anyone who backed Fabian Schar to score the first goal of the game, and those would have been impressive odds, would have been celebrating when he smashed the opener early in the second half. Callum Wilson killed off the game late on, and Newcastle United’s push for a strong season was up and running.
It’s worth remembering that it took until the 15th game of the season for the club to get their first win in 2021/22.
Tottenham 4-1 Southampton
Antonio Conte chose to name a side without any of the club’s smart summer purchases and went behind to a James Ward-Prowse opener, but his Tottenham side showed great character to bounce back with aplomb.
Goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Eric Dier gave Spurs a half-time lead, and Mohammed Salisu put the ball into his own net before a fourth from the impressive Dejan Kulusevski completed the rout, and anyone who has placed a bet on Tottenham bettering their fourth-place finish from last season may well have gotten in ahead of the crowd.
Everton 0-1 Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel’s side hammered in 21 shots on the Everton goal in this seemingly one-sided contest, but it took a Jorginho penalty to secure the Blues a win at Goodison Park, and that may well leave the German boss with more questions than answers after a faltering win.
As for Everton, well, they are in severe need of more of a cutting edge up front, and Frank Lampard will need to address this before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.
Leicester City 2-2 Brentford
For an hour, it looked as if those who predicted Brendan Rodgers’ side might struggle this season were some way off the mark, with goals from Thomas Castagne and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall putting the Foxes firmly in command.
However, Brentford, who have always looked like a side that was more than just a sum of the eleven players they field, fought back and secured an impressive draw thanks to goals from Ivan Toney and Josh Dasilva.
Manchester United 1-2 Brighton
It’s the result that Man United fans won’t have wanted but may have half-expected from Erik ten Hag’s first game in charge. After all, it was only a few months ago that Brighton had spanked them 4-0 and any hope that the new Dutch boss could turn things around in a short period of time would have been countered by this very limp display.
Pascal Gross netted twice before United finally woke up. Ten Hag threw on Cristiano Ronaldo, and Man United got back in the game after an own goal from Alexis MacAllister, but they couldn’t find an equalizer, and in all honesty, they didn’t deserve one, and Graham Potter’s men were easily the better side, with returning former United man Daniel Welbeck earning a rousing applause from the Old Trafford faithful when he was subbed off.
West Ham 0-2 Manchester City
There was a consensus that Pep Guardiola’s side, though undoubtedly a dominant force, were missing a prolific striker in their star-studded squad. Well, that’s not an issue any longer.
Manchester City made light work of a potentially tricky trip to East London and were ahead after new signing Erling Haaland was brought down by Alphonso Areola, and the Norwegian duly netted the spot-kick. The young striker’s second was a joy to behold as he received the ball after good build-up play from Kevin de Bruyne and neatly slotted it home. He was subbed off before he could score a debut hat-trick, but no doubt more goals will be coming in due course.
