charles
Graham Fisher
Andrew Aigner-Muehler
LukeS
HardyEPL: Season 2008-09 kicks-off!
August 18th 2008 04:15
Sat, Aug 16:
Arsenal 1 - 0 West Brom
Bolton 3 - 1 Stoke
Everton 2 - 3 Blackburn
Hull 2 - 1 Fulham
Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Tottenham
West Ham 2 - 1 Wigan
Sunderland 0 - 1 Liverpool
Sun, Aug 17:
Chelsea 4 - 0 Portsmouth
Man Utd 1 - 1 Newcastle
Aston Villa 4-2 Man City
SUMMARY:
After a three month absence, the English Premier League returned for another season over the weekend with high expectations from football lovers - will Manchester United make it three on the trot or will Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and even Tottenham challenge for the coveted crown?
On Saturday, Arsenal and Liverpool gritted out 1-0 wins over West Brom and Sunderland respectively. The Gunners went out with all guns blazing in the first half with new £12million signing Samir Nasri opening the scoring - his debut goal - in only the 4th minute but the home side failed to press their advantage and ended up in a fight to hold onto their lead for the rest of the match.
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Fellow title contenders Liverpool fared no better with little improvement from their dire display against Standard Liege in the Champions League qualifier. Sunderland will be disappointed with the loss and in truth, deserved much more but at the end of the day, the difference between the two sides came down to one thing, or rather, a touch of class from Fernando Torres.
The scorer of the winning goal in this year's European Championships final scored the winner for his side in the 83rd minute with a swerving bullet of a shot to settle the tie.
Tottenham Hotspur, tipped by many to challenge the established 'Big Four' this season suffered a shock loss to Middlesbrough at the Riverside while Hull City celebrated their first game in the Premier League with a win over Fulham.
On Sunday, Luiz Felipe Scolari got a dream start at his new club Chelsea with a 4-0 romp over Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge. In the biggest winning margin of the round, Joe Cole (12), Nicolas Anelka (26), Frank Lampard (pen 45) and Deco (89) got their names on the scoresheet.
Meanwhile, reigning champions Manchester United got their title defence off to a shaky start with a 1-1 draw against visiting Newcastle. With the rest of the 'Big Four' winning their opening games, United cannot afford to collect only two points from their opening three games like they did last season.
With Ronaldo out of the side, the partnership of Wayne Rooney and Fraizer Campbell upfront lacked any real threat and highlighted the need for a top striker to arrive before the transfer window closes in a fortnight's time.
All in all, a reasonably good start to what promises to be one of the closest and most exciting seasons yet.
[Video source: Blinkx.com]
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