After the highs and lows of the World Cup and pre-season, the Premier League's opening weekend lived up to expectation as the top sides delivered on their pre-season hopes but there was also the traditional battling spirit from the promoted trio.
The season opened with Louis Van Gaal's first taste of the Premier League as his Manchester United side hosted Swansea City with the Red Devils looking to get off to a perfect start but their hopes suffered a blow inside half an hour as Ki struck to put the visitors in front.
United bounced back in the second half as they drew level with a strike from new captain Wayne Rooney in the 53rd minute. However, unlike last season's meeting between the sides on the opening weekend which resulted in a win for United, Swansea stunned the hosts with a 72nd minute strike from the returning Gylfi Sigurdsson which proved to be a crucial winner and started Van Gaal's reign off with a defeat.
The fact that only five games kicked off at the hallowed 3pm shows the continuing increase in TV coverage but the pick of the games came at the King Power Stadium as promoted Leicester City took on an Everton side boosted by the permanent signing of Romelu Lukaku.
Everton made the better start of the sides and went ahead in the 20th minute with a strike from Aiden McGeady but the Foxes responded instantly with their first Premier League goal for 10 years as Leonardo Ulloa levelled the score at 1-1. The visitors went into the interval ahead after a superb strike from Steven Naismith right on half-time and the strike looked to be enough to secure the win as the minutes ticked down in the second half but Leicester had other ideas as Chris Wood secured a point for the Foxes in the 86th minute.
Newly promoted Queens Park Rangers began their return to the top flight with the visit of Hull City who this season will have the bounty of European football after reaching last season's FA Cup final and will be boosted for Thursday's Europa League qualifier after securing a 1-0 win with a crucial strike in the 52nd minute from James Chester.
After mixed finishes last season,Stoke and Aston Villa were both eager to get off to a good start but at 4.45pm on Saturday it was the visitors who were the happier after claiming a 1-0 win courtesy of a winning strike from Andreas Weimann in the 50th minute and will boost their hopes of a vast improvement on last season.
A four-goal thriller at the Hawthorns saw West Brom and Sunderland share the points but the visitors had a perfect start as they went ahead inside five minutes with a strike from Lee Cattermole but the Baggies bounced back just before half-time when Saido Berahino converted from the penalty spot to level the score. The young striker put the hosts in front in the 74th minute but Sunderland had the last say as they salvaged a point with a leveller from Seb Larsson in the 85th minute.
Last but by no means the least of the 3pm games was a feisty London derby between West Ham United and Tottenham with the visitors suffering a huge blow in the 29th minute with the sending off of Kyle Naughton after a handball but they survived the resulting spot kick which saw Mark Noble with a rare miss.
The Hammers were reduced to ten men themselves in the 63rd minute after James Collins saw red after two bookings and with the minutes tickling down, the game looked to be ending with a point a piece but a stunning run from Tottenham debutant Eric Dier saw him slot past Adrian in the West Ham goal to seal a last-gasp winner for the visitors.
The first 'Saturday Night Football' of the season saw the day's second London derby as Arsenal hosted Crystal Palace with both sides looking to get off to a good start after boosting their ranks in pre-season. Ironically it was one of the Eagles new signings who opened the scoring as Brede Hangeland headed past Wojciech Szczesny in the 35th minute. Arsenal drew level just before half-time as Laurent Koscielny made up for his mistake for the opening goal to send the Gunners level into the break.
Arsenal looked the likeliest to score in the second half and got a lucky break when Jason Puncheon was dismissed in the 89th minute as the Gunners used the extra man advantage to cause chaos in the Palace area before Aaron Ramsey slipped in at the back post to seal a 2-1 win.
'Super Sunday' began with Southampton's trip up to last season's runners-up Liverpool who boasted two of Southampton's stars from last season in the form of Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert while the summer sale of Luis Suarez was still a big talking point. Liverpool looked the better of the two sides early on and converted that dominance into the opening goal in the 23rd minute when Jordan Henderson picked out Raheem Sterling who hit past Fraser Forster.
Southampton levelled the score just before the hour mark when a clever back-heel from summer signing Dusan Tadic connected with Nathaniel Clyne who struck past Simon Mignolet. After drawing level, it seemed like Southampton would go on to win as they looked the more threatening as the half went on but Liverpool made it 2-1 with 11 minute remaining as a combination of Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling resulted in Daniel Sturridge opening his account with a tap past Fraser Forster to claim all three points.
Part two of 'Super Sunday' saw a repeat of last season's opening weekend as Newcastle hosted reigning champions Manchester City and sadly for the Magpies, the result mirrored last season as City started their title defence with a win. A tight first half saw City go in front seven minutes before half-time as David Silva opened the scoring but Newcastle were unable to good attacking play into a potent end product and paid the price in the final minute when Sergio Aguero secured a 2-0 win for the visitors.
The final game of the opening weekend saw the 'Monday Night Football' game between relegation favourites Burnley and title favourites Chelsea and after all the pre-match hype about Chelsea's attacking prowess, it was a huge surprise when Burnley took the lead in the 14th minute.
Scott Arfield swept in a stunning curler that beat Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal and sent Turf Moor wild but the home fans joy lasted just three minutes as summer signing Diego Costa levelled for Chelsea before the visitors added a second in the 21st minute as Andre Schurrle finished off a fine move.
Burnley's hopes of a comeback suffered a further blow in the 34th minute when Branislav Ivanovic scored a third for Chelsea who held firm and secured a 3-1 win put them atop the table after the first round of games.
The season opened with Louis Van Gaal's first taste of the Premier League as his Manchester United side hosted Swansea City with the Red Devils looking to get off to a perfect start but their hopes suffered a blow inside half an hour as Ki struck to put the visitors in front.United bounced back in the second half as they drew level with a strike from new captain Wayne Rooney in the 53rd minute. However, unlike last season's meeting between the sides on the opening weekend which resulted in a win for United, Swansea stunned the hosts with a 72nd minute strike from the returning Gylfi Sigurdsson which proved to be a crucial winner and started Van Gaal's reign off with a defeat.
The fact that only five games kicked off at the hallowed 3pm shows the continuing increase in TV coverage but the pick of the games came at the King Power Stadium as promoted Leicester City took on an Everton side boosted by the permanent signing of Romelu Lukaku.Everton made the better start of the sides and went ahead in the 20th minute with a strike from Aiden McGeady but the Foxes responded instantly with their first Premier League goal for 10 years as Leonardo Ulloa levelled the score at 1-1. The visitors went into the interval ahead after a superb strike from Steven Naismith right on half-time and the strike looked to be enough to secure the win as the minutes ticked down in the second half but Leicester had other ideas as Chris Wood secured a point for the Foxes in the 86th minute.
Newly promoted Queens Park Rangers began their return to the top flight with the visit of Hull City who this season will have the bounty of European football after reaching last season's FA Cup final and will be boosted for Thursday's Europa League qualifier after securing a 1-0 win with a crucial strike in the 52nd minute from James Chester.Last but by no means the least of the 3pm games was a feisty London derby between West Ham United and Tottenham with the visitors suffering a huge blow in the 29th minute with the sending off of Kyle Naughton after a handball but they survived the resulting spot kick which saw Mark Noble with a rare miss.The Hammers were reduced to ten men themselves in the 63rd minute after James Collins saw red after two bookings and with the minutes tickling down, the game looked to be ending with a point a piece but a stunning run from Tottenham debutant Eric Dier saw him slot past Adrian in the West Ham goal to seal a last-gasp winner for the visitors.
Arsenal looked the likeliest to score in the second half and got a lucky break when Jason Puncheon was dismissed in the 89th minute as the Gunners used the extra man advantage to cause chaos in the Palace area before Aaron Ramsey slipped in at the back post to seal a 2-1 win.
Southampton levelled the score just before the hour mark when a clever back-heel from summer signing Dusan Tadic connected with Nathaniel Clyne who struck past Simon Mignolet. After drawing level, it seemed like Southampton would go on to win as they looked the more threatening as the half went on but Liverpool made it 2-1 with 11 minute remaining as a combination of Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling resulted in Daniel Sturridge opening his account with a tap past Fraser Forster to claim all three points.
The final game of the opening weekend saw the 'Monday Night Football' game between relegation favourites Burnley and title favourites Chelsea and after all the pre-match hype about Chelsea's attacking prowess, it was a huge surprise when Burnley took the lead in the 14th minute.Scott Arfield swept in a stunning curler that beat Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal and sent Turf Moor wild but the home fans joy lasted just three minutes as summer signing Diego Costa levelled for Chelsea before the visitors added a second in the 21st minute as Andre Schurrle finished off a fine move.
Burnley's hopes of a comeback suffered a further blow in the 34th minute when Branislav Ivanovic scored a third for Chelsea who held firm and secured a 3-1 win put them atop the table after the first round of games.
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