The new English Premier League season kicked off with plenty of goals, with title favorites Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all notching wins and newly promoted Sunderland picking up three points in commanding fashion over the opening weekend.
Meanwhile, newly-crowned world champion Chelsea was held to a scoreless draw at home and Manchester United failed to score in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal despite the debuts of the club’s expensive new forwards.
Liverpool coughed up a 2-0 lead in the second half of their opener against Bournemouth, but Federico Chiesa (88th minute) and Mo Salah (94th) scored late to give the reigning champions a 4-2 win. Hugo Ekitike had a goal and an assist in his Liverpool debut. Manchester City trounced Wolverhampton, 4-0, on the road, with new signings Tijjani Reinjnders and Rayan Cherki each scoring in their Premier League debuts – plus two from Erling Haaland.
Here’s a look back at the best and worst from opening weekend:
Winners
Sunderland
Back in the top flight for the first time in eight years, Sunderland scored three times in the second half against West Ham for a 3-0 victory at the Stadium of Light. ‘Happy, happy for the club, the organization, the players and our fans,’ Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris told Sky Sports. ‘To come back into the Premier League with this connection with our fans is impressive.’ A dream start for the Black Cats, who will have to fight hard for every point this season.
Tottenham
After choking away the UEFA Super Cup against PSG earlier in the week, Spurs bounced back with a commanding 3-0 win over newly-promoted Burnely to begin the domestic season. Richarlison’s two-goal performance was encouraging at the beginning of a long campaign that also has last year’s 17th-place finishers playing in the Champions League. But a huge test awaits on Saturday with a showdown against Manchester City.
Nottingham Forest
Coming off a 20-goal season, 33-year-old Chris Wood scored twice in the opener and big-money signing Dan Ndoye also scored in his Premier League debut for Forest. With new additions James McAtee and Omari Hutchinson unveiled before the game, reinforcements are coming for the Europa League participants.
Losers
Chelsea
Despite the cool new Club World Cup winners’ badge, Chelsea was held to a scoreless draw at home against Crystal Palace to begin the season. High-profile signings Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens didn’t make much of an impact at Stamford Bridge, while Cole Palmer looked invisible for large stretches of the match. How much of a hangover is Chelsea going to endure early in the season?
Manchester United
More of the same? Failing to score in a home loss against Arsenal was not the way boss Ruben Amorim wanted this season to begin. He has a tall task integrating the summer attacking additions, but new No. 10 Matheus Cunha looked lively in his debut and recent signing Benjamin Šeško threatened for a goal in a late cameo of the bench. Calls are growing to bring in a new goalkeeper to supplant Altay Bayındır.