The summer has been spectacular for soccer fans, after
enjoying a spectacular Euro 2012 tournament and an entertaining Olympic tournament,
business finally resumes as usual in the world’s most popular league. The opening weekend provided a lot of
entertainment for fans, with a shocking upset, two thrashings from unexpected
teams, and a dramatic comeback win to cap off the weekend. With eleven days left until the transfer
deadline there is still time for teams to account for weaknesses shown in the
early stages, however some gaps may be too gaping to fill in such a short
period. Now, let’s get stuck in!
Liverpool vs. West
Brom
This matchup featured two managers making their debut, but
Steve Clarke will certainly be the happier of the two managers. Brendan Rogers’ Liverpool squad looked to
stick to his trademark quick passing style in the first 40 minutes of the
match, but West Brom looked impressive throughout the match and was able to
capitalize on several Liverpool mistakes.
Luis Suarez wasted several opportunities throughout the match, the same
struggles that earned him the honor of being the statistically most wasteful
striker in the Premier League last season.
Zoltan Gera opened the scoring just before halftime with a
spectacular strike from outside the area that found the top corner of the net
past a helpless Pepe Reina. Following
the halftime break the match took a turn for the worse for Liverpool when James
Morrison dissected the Liverpool defense with a through ball to Shane
Long. Long was clear in on goal when he
was fouled from behind by Daniel Agger and the Danish captain was sent off for
his professional foul. Following the
incredulous Agger’s sending off, Shane Long sent a very poor penalty straight
at Pepe Reina, granting Liverpool a momentary reprieve. Just three minutes later,
Martin Skrtel
conceded another penalty by clipping the heels of Shane Long. This time Peter Odemwingie made no mistake
and thumped the penalty kick past Pepe Reina making it 2-0 in favor of the
Baggies.
West Brom finished their scoring with an impressive debut
goal from Chelsea’s loaned young striker Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku found space in the Liverpool penalty
area and powered a header into the back of the net for the match’s third
goal. Liverpool was perhaps not as poor
as the 3-0 final score indicated, but they looked desperate for long stretches
of the game following a solid opening 30 minutes. Joe Allen turned in a solid performance
juxtaposed by a lackluster Steven Gerrard, who may be struggling to adapt to
Brendan Rogers new tactics. With
Liverpool associated with several top transfer rumors including Fulham outcast
Clint Dempsey, look for "relegation candidates" Liverpool to make several moves before the deadline. West Brom can be happy with their new manager
Steve Clarke’s debut; it was a great performance in front of a rowdy opening
day home crowd.
Queens Park
Rangers vs. Swansea City
Swansea earned the honor of being the first team to score in
the 2012-13 Premier League Campaign, coming off of a left footed strike from
newcomer Michu that caught Robert Green off guard. It was a goal in his first game with the club
since coming from La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano, but Swansea was only getting
started. QPR had several opportunities
to respond in the first half, but was repeatedly turned away by Swansea keeper
Michel Vorm. Swansea had several
opportunities to make the match 2-0 before halftime, but their efforts were
kept out by a combination of Robert Green goalkeeping and the woodwork.
After halftime, Swansea rose into the ascendency with
another left footed strike from Michu.
The curling effort, came off great counter attacking play and a killer
ball from Wayne Routledge. Matters would
only grow worse for QPR with over 35 minutes remaining in the match. Swansea struck on the counter attack again,
with Michu providing an interception for Routledge who provided another killer
ball this time to Nathan Dyer who put thumped it past Green. Nathan Dyer doubled up several minutes later
after breaking the QPR’s offside trap and blasting another past Green.
Swansea completed the rout ten minutes later by capitalizing on a QPR mistake. Michu pounced on a loose ball and moved it to substitute striker Scott Sinclair who finished cleanly with a left footed strike. It was a truly impressive performance from Swansea and one that QPR manager Mark Hughes will want to quickly forget. QPR’s lacked any sense of defensive identity and were repeatedly exploited by the counterattacking Swans. Michael Laudrup could not have dreamed of a better start to his Swansea career, as Swansea demonstrated the same style of enterprising and entertaining football that they enjoyed under Brendan Rodgers.
Full MOTD Highlights
Arsenal vs. Sunderland
In what was easily the most boring match of the opening
weekend, Arsenal and Sunderland played to a scoreless draw at the Emirates
Stadium. Following Robin Van Persie’s
departure last week, Arsenal looked to recover with a win against the Black
Cats, however wasteful finishing from debuting strikers Lukas Podolski and
Olivier Giroud, highlighted what was in all honestly a drab performance from
the Gunners. Santi Cazorla nearly scored
in the early minutes and looked impressive throughout his debut match.
Arsenal fans have been quick to criticize Sunderland for
time wasting tactics down the stretch, but their clubs play also left much to
be desired. This match was unfortunately
chosen by ESPN for their opening day coverage, and it probably did not serve as
the best available example of the beautiful game. With over a week still left in the transfer
window, Arsenal will probably have to dip into the cash from Van Persie’s
departure in order to find some added depth at the full back and striking
positions. Sunderland can be happy about
earning a point from their trip to the Emirates, but will also have to spend if
they look to improve on last year’s mid-table finish.
Fulham vs. Norwich
Fulham continued their tradition of never losing an Opening
Day match, with a 5-0 thumping of Norwich in a nightmare debut for Norwich
manager Chris Houghton. Despite enjoying
an early chance from Andrew Surman, Norwich was unable to settle into the
game. John Arne Riise was able to find
unmarked Damien Duff in the 26th minute and Duff calmly controlled
the long ball and finished past John Ruddy for the match’s opening goal. Fulham got another goal before the half this
time with Duff providing the assist to Mladen Petric who headed the ball just
over the goal line.
After spending much of the preseason wondering where the
goals would come from without Clint Dempsey, Fulham responded with three more
in the second half. Petric doubled his
total with a left footed effort that took a deflection and left Ruddy rooted to
the spot. Alexander Kacaniklic earned
his first Premier League goal off of a back heel nutmeg pass from Petric that
allowed him to be clear in on the frustrated John Ruddy. Fulham finished their scoring with a Steve
Sidwell penalty that was earned by Hugo Rodallega who was fouled in the penalty
area.
With the sale of Clint Dempsey looming on the horizon,
Fulham responded spectacularly in their home opener. With many wondering where the goals would
come from without Dempsey, it was a great team response amid the
controversy. Norwich will have a lot
they will want to forget from this match and will need to improve their back
line to give John Ruddy more support than he received against Fulham. Fulham’s Martin Jol expressed his frustration
with the transfer window this week, saying it was unfair to smaller clubs that
have to wait for transfer funds from selling before making their purchases.
Reading vs. Stoke City
Newly promoted Reading was able to rescue a point from Stoke
City in their opening Premier League fixture.
Reading’s return to the Premier League did not begin as they would have
hoped. Stoke City looked solid for a
large portion of the game, and nearly jumped out to an early lead off of a
header from Jonathan Walters. Stoke
eventually found the goal they sought in the 35th minute thanks to a
fortunate bounce to Michael Kightly, Kightly’s strike was driven into the
ground and a mistake by Reading keeper Adam Federici allowed the ball into the
back of the net.
Pavel Pogrebnyak’s best efforts on goal were turned away by Asmir
Begovic several times, frustrating the Russian striker along with the always
formidable Ryan Shawcross. Stoke looked to be in control of the match until
Dean Whitehead earned his second yellow card, which led to his dismissal for a
foul in the penalty area on Garath McCleary in the 89th minute. Adam Le Fondre stepped up to take Reading’s
penalty and just barely beat the diving Begovic to the left to equalize. In the five minutes of stoppage time Adam
Harte nearly earned them three points with a free kick that barely missed
high. It was a comeback good enough to
earn Reading their first point of the Premier League campaign.
Reading has already begun spending before the deadline day,
announcing today their capture of Stuart Taylor on a one year contract. Surely this will not be the last signing by
either club before the deadline.
West Ham vs. Aston Villa
West Ham returned to the Premier League with a 1-0 victory
over Aston Villa on Saturday. West Ham
nearly opened the scoring in the early stages of the match with Kevin Nolan’s
free kick sailing just wide, striking the stanchion behind the goal. Nolan was able to find the back of the net
later in the first half off of a free kick that eventually fell to his feet,
allowing him to finish easily from point blank range against Shay Given. The goal signaled West Ham’s return to the Premier
League, but the game would become a testy affair in the second half.
Carlton Cole looked to have been fouled in the penalty area
by Dutch defender Ron Vlaar, but no foul was given and West Ham had to look
elsewhere for sympathy. Vlaar nearly got
on the score sheet with an effort from distance that forced a save from Jussi
Jaaskelainen. West Ham nearly made it
2-0 before the final whistle with debutant Modibo Maiga rounding keeper Shay
Given and sending a ball towards the goal that was cleared just in time by
Nathan Baker.
Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur
The biggest matchup of the Opening Day fixture list pitted
last year’s 4th and 5th place finishers against each
other in an exciting early season matchup that had all the pundits
talking. Andre Villas-Boas’ first match
with Tottenham comes at a time when the club is undergoing significant
transitions, with superstar midfielder Luka Modric expected to depart in the
coming days and was not included in the team selected for the match. Gareth Bale featured at striker for AVB’s
squad, wearing the number 11, marking the first occasion that he has done
either for the club. Bale nearly opened
scoring the first half, but his header met the crossbar and was cleared away from
danger.
The game back and forth throughout the first half and it was
very closely played before Demba Ba opened the scoring. A failed Kyle Walker clearance led to a
beautiful curling strike from inside the area nine minutes into the second
half. A controversy over whether a ball
had gone out of play led Newcastle manager Alan Pardew to push the fourth
official, for which he was sent to the stands to watch the remainder of the game
away from his squad. It took just over
twenty minutes for Tottenham to respond, but it eventually came off of Aaron
Lennon’s looping cross that met the head of Jermaine Defoe before being
rebounded into the net by the English winger.
Hatem Ben Arfa eventually earned the winner for Newcastle
thanks to a run that split the Tottenham defense forcing the Spurs defenders to
take him down in the penalty area. Ben
Arfa then confidently strode to the penalty spot, forced Spurs keeper Brad
Friedel in to wrong direction, and drove home the match winning spot kick. The St. James Park crowd roared their approval
of the opening day win and the three points in the early season could go a long
way in the beginning Newcastle’s season.
Chelsea vs. Wigan Athletic
Newcomer Eden Hazard had a brilliant start to his Chelsea career, having a hand in creating both of Chelsea's early goals. Hazard accepted a pass and turned on a dime before sending a pristine pass to the streaking Branislav Ivanovic. The defender made the finish look easy, with a blast behind the keeper Ali Al-Habsi. Hazard also created the second goal thanks to some fancy dribbling in the penalty area that forced a foul from Wigan defender Ivan Ramis. Frank Lampard took the spot kick and made no mistake with the finish and Chelsea held a 2-0 lead just eight minutes into the game.
Following the early goals conceded, Wigan rose to meet Chelsea's challenge. They enjoyed almost full run on the Chelsea flanks and were able to send in cross after cross, however Chelsea dealt with them all in turn and managed to hold Wigan scoreless. Wigan's Victor Moses played a spectacular match in front of the team he may be soon joining, with rumors running rampant surrounding a possible transfer deal in the coming days.
Wigan's free run of attacking down the flanks highlighted the weakness of Chelsea on the right flank, with Branislav Ivanovic playing right fullback in place of his natural center half position. Chelsea newcomer Oscar also dazzled with a tricky back heel pass, but it will take more than the trickery of Hazard and Oscar for Chelsea to repeat their title as European Champions and improve their 6th place finish in the Premier League from last season.
Manchester City vs. Southampton
Southampton nearly stole a victory in their first game in the Premier League, but the storybook beginning was not meant to be for the Saints. The day began looking disastrous for them, with a back heel pass from Samir Nasri catching Jos Hooifeld off guard forcing him to foul Carlos Tevez in the penalty area. However, their dismal beginning was soon overturned with a poor penalty from David Silva and Southampton had managed to recover. It was a short lived recover because just before halftime Samir Nasri and Carlos Tevez hooked up again, this time Carlos Tevez beat Southampton keeper Kelvan Davis on the near post for the match's opening goal.
A scramble and deflection in the penalty area fortunately fell to Southampton's Rickie Lambert and allowed the Saints to pull level. Minutes later Southampton was able to capitalize on a mistake from Man City newcomer Jack Rodwell and lead a counterattack that ended with a blast from Steven Davis. Joe Hart was helpless to make the save and suddenly Southampton held a 2-1 lead.
Their lead was short lived though because Manchester City immediately struck back through some nice teamwork off a set piece that led to a short range effort by Edin Dzeko. Samir Nasri tilted the game in Manchester City's favor with an 80th minute blast from the center of the penalty area that Davis was helpless to prevent. It was a good comeback win for City, but they had looked vulnerable despite earning a win reminiscent of the one that earned them the Premier League trophy on the final matchday last May.