I watched every minute of every game see my summary below
Manchester United vs Fulham
United came into the game full of optimism for the future with injury bug still hampering Eric ten Hag’s reign where it seems that he never has a healthy squad. Fulham entered the match with a moderately changed squad with a handful of last years regulars being sold or leaving and being replaced with a plethora of young talent. Unfortunately for them this didn’t amount to much as United were on top for the entire game despite having no striker on the pitch. They should have been up been up at least 2-0 by half time with the normally reliable Bruno Fernandes having two golden opportunities wasted. Most of the chances that were created were from the high press for when Fulham tried to play out rather than during the spells of possession. Casemiro was a shining light looking twice the player he was during the end of last season providing all the quality in the final third balanced out by the relentless work rate of Kobbie Mainoo. The amount of times United had balls in the box or no central figure compounded the pressure and nerves of the home United fans until new signing Zirkzee was brought on in the 61st minute. For not having scored United should have been punished by their former player Andreas Pereira who was in 2 vs 1 with Alex Iwobi driving at the much improved but still very slow Harry Maguire. With no one else to help Pereira played a pass nearly directly to Harry Maguire blowing Fulhams only major chance of the game. Fulham were able to finally get some momentum for around 20 minutes as United tired and faltered but were unable to be productive. The tension continued to rise as it seemed destined for the game to end scoreless but the hero of the day Joshua Zirkzee put a the finishing touch on a dangerous cross from Alejandro Garnacho and gave united what they were missing for most of the game, a poacher in the box to score goals. United next up have a tough test away at Brighton who will undoubtedly be a step up from a poor fulham. For Fulham being unable to hold the ball really caused them to sit deep and they were unable to get Smith Rowe on the ball or get any service to Muniz who is a proven threat. The glimmer of light for them was the performance of Sasa Lukic who seemed to be able to provide momentary sparks of brilliance. to give them a chance. Next up for them is a Leicester team that looks very beatable.
Arsenal vs Wolves
Arsenal entered the season with aspirations of toppling the mighty Manchester City, and after falling just short last season they will be hoping that third times the charm. After to adding to the best defense in the league from last year they will be hoping for better luck on the injury front and that their experience can help push them over the edge. Wolves entered the season cashing out on star player Pedro Neto and captain Max Kilman for a total over 100 million euros and spending less than half of that on replacements. After a poor end to last season losing 5 of the last 6 they were given as hard of test as possible to start the year with likes of Arsenal Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa, and Liverpool all within the first 6 weeks of the year. History was not on their side as they had lost the previous 7 matches and that streak continued as Arsenal came out looking crisp and energized and put the pressure on creating lots of half chances with an especially good one for Declan Rice that was skyed over the bar. However the stout defense didn’t hold for too long as a cleared free kick wasn’t pressured fast enough allowing Saka to play a peach of cross that Havertz headed in for the lead at the 25th minute. Around ten minutes later in one of the few meaningful ventures forward of the half for wolves, new striker Jorgen Strand Larsen on loan from Celta Vigo forced an outstanding save from Raya who moving to his left was able to palm away the header curving away from him to his right. A shout out to the ref for not calling a penalty on what everyone could see was very soft grabbing of Saka and one that would last year have been given without a shadow of a doubt. Throughout the match Odegaard provided plenty of silky smooth moves, while in the second half Havertz fumbled a couple more chances that could have been a hat trick for him. As the second half wore on Wolves grew into the game and were able to get farther forward but were unable to create anything in the final third. Most of the creativity came from left back Rayan Ait Nouri who did well considering he was left on an island all game to defend against Saka 1v1. In the second half Wolves got control with better possession and high press but it was glaringly obvious that Arsenal chose to only play out and would not play a single long ball over the top. This allowed a spell of 20 minutes for Wolves to be on top but they were ultimately unable to create anything. The first break away they had after that allowed Saka to run at Ait Nouri yet again who was unable to prevent him cutting in on his left and opening his account this season sealing the game away. As mentioned earlier Wolves will have to regroup quickly as the next month and a half is full of top four aspiring teams that could force them to stay in the bottom three for a large portion of the season if they do not improve quickly. Meanwhile Arsenal move on to the stiff test that is Aston Villa under Unai Emery who were the only team to defeat them both home and away last year.
Everton vs Brighton
Everton came into the season off the back of a good end to last season and hoping to provide joy to the supporters for the final opening fixture and season at Goodison Park with a scheduled move to their new stadium prior to next season. With all the lingering problems and possible future points deductions due to financial problems Everton sold many of last years regulars including Onana, Godfrey, Grey, and Iwobi and brought in a group of younger players from Serie A and Ligue 1, in hopes of refreshing the squad and ensuring survival. Meanwhile Brighton have risen to become perennial over achievers, playing an entertaining brand of football and producing talent and managers from thin air and keeping the train rolling. After managing FC St. Pauli to promotion in the bundesliga Fabian Hurzeler was given the opportunity for a massive step into the worlds most scrutinized league. For a club that normally buys cheap and sells high Brighton have spent a large amount of money bringing in new signings to solidify a top half and possibly european spot finish. Everton came out full of energy and were on top to start with plenty of long diagonal switches to harrison and balls played into the channels behind the Brighton defense allowing Calvert Lewin to run in behind and allow the team to move up the pitch. This resulted in lots of early half chances and an offside goal but the lack of quality on crosses wasted away a large amount of final third possession. Eventually Brighton worked their way back into the game and it turned into a back and forth match with lots of open space and a warning shot being fired after a long range effort hit the upright that had Pickford completely beaten. The best chance of the game for Everton should have put them 1-0 up, after a poor moment playing out from the back where Van Hecke played the ball straight to Iroegbunam who drove into the penalty area and shot wide without testing the keeper or hitting the frame of the goal. Less than 5 minutes later as the game became more stretched out Mitoma picked up the ball on the edge of his own eighteen and drove 60 yards up the pitch breaking through Everton’s line of defensive midfielders and two passes later arrived in the box to tap in a cross from news signing Minteh who easily beat Mykolenko to the line putting Brighton up 1-0. Everton then get forward but struggled to do anything other than put crosses in the box, while Brighton kept finding spaces and half chances but were unable to convert. As the second half started Everton had a penalty given that VAR rightfully overturned. Everton looked more dangerous but created their own problems while trying to play out resulting in Danny Welbeck calmly slotting away the second in a 3v2 at the top the eighteen. As if things couldn’t get any worse for Everton 10 minutes later the oldest and second most experienced player on the pitch Ashley Young made an awful mistake of bringing down a long crossfield ball with Mitoma shadowing close behind. Instead of heading it away, he allowed Mitoma to drift in and swipe the ball off his foot leading him to drag him down bringing forth a straight red card. All the blame will rightly go towards him for committing such a mistake despite his vast experience however, any blame directed at Sean Dyche should be tempered down as he had no other choice than to field in my eyes his 3rd choice with both other top choice RB’s being out injured forcing Young in. We shall see once they are all fit and not suspended who will get the starting job. With the extra man Brighton steadied the game and casually played it out with control adding another goal to put the finishing touch on a brilliant opening performance of the season. With their fourth new manager going into the start of their 7th season in the premier league it feels like same old Brighton yet again. Next up for them a stiff test against what seems like an improved and rejuvenated United squad. For Everton the next match doesn’t look much better coming up against a Tottenham team that will be raring to go following a disappointing result where they seemingly snatched a draw from the jaws of victory.
West Ham vs Aston Villa
West Ham entered the season with a new manager for the first time in five years with David Moyes stepping down and new manager Julen Lopetegui taking charge. The optimism continued for the fans with a couple of big signings and loans made over the summer to bring in the likes of Max Kilman,Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Fullkrug, and Summerville to give them a better chance of finishing in one of those European spots. Aston Villa are looking to maintain after a brilliant 4th place finish qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since it was rebranded since 1992. The big money moves were selling Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz who were mainstays in the team, combining for over 100 appearances and 39 G/A last seasons for a combined total just over 100 million euros. The money was then spent on two big money signings of Onana and Maatsen along with a couple other solid squad rotation players to build up the depth for what will be a long season. In what was probably one of the most entertaining games of weekend Aston Villa opened the scoring from a corner kick in the opening minutes of the game by new signing Onana which really lended itself to be being a back and forth match. Questions can be asked of keeper Areola who should have come out to catch or the very least punch the ball that was inside the six yard box and no more than three yards from the goal as well as Michael Antonio who was marking Onana and was beaten to the ball easily. Villa continued to pile on the pressure to a shell shocked West Ham slicing through the defense time and time again with Morgan Rogers driving through breaking lines creating opportunities. They should have gone 2-0 up in the 21st minute when Bailly runs on to a long ball over the top rounds the keeper before pressure from killman puts him off just enough to hit the post on an open goal. For the entirety of the first half West Ham had a lackluster press but they were given a lifeline with a penalty that completely shifted the momentum of the game in the 35th minute. From the referee’s point of view I can understand calling the penalty as it was a very bang bang play, and tough to tell in real time if Cash got the ball. Upon review it was clear that Cash got the ball first and that Soucek then stuck his leg between Cash’s causing the tangle of legs and the trip. Had the referee been given the opportunity to look at it again it is quite likely that he would have overturned it but VAR said that the decision stood and didn’t even give the ref a chance. The defender has to go for the ball and Soucek isn’t playing the ball but rather trying to block off the player and moves to his right which causes the tangle of legs which is why this should never be a penalty. First big mistake of the season by VAR. Despite the penalty then being converted it was quite clear in the first 45 that Villa had a better identity and knew exactly how they wanted to play and generally executed it while West Ham looked kind of lost. The second half started with a very good opportunity for Soucek who couldn’t convert while Villa continued to get more chances with Tielmans and Rogers both denied by Areola. Emery then takes off Ollie Watkins who was very quiet in the game and brings on Duran who had the opportunity to square it for a basic tap in minutes later to Ramsey but decided to go alone and hit the side netting. Multiple substitutions from both sides changed the game with immediate effect as maatsen settled a long ball before cutting it back to Ramsey who crossed a low ball across the box for Duran to tuck away. The flurry towards the end of the game could have seen goals from either side, first from villa with a near identical move to the second goal saved by Areola, then a glancing header from Danny Ings saved by Martinez. In stoppage time Philogene plays a dangerous cross into an empty box that he probably should have taken on himself to seal the game, a miss that nearly cost them dearly. With the last kick of the game Soucek gets a header that is saved off the line by Konsa and bounces 2 yards from goal and as Soucek is falling and reaching he skies it over the bar from 2 yards out. A game full of missed chances in which Villa looked much the better team the score line could have gone either way with the xG ( expected goals) giving West Ham the advantage at 2.4 to Villa’s 1.89. In the end West Ham looked devoid of ideas with the ball, and if not for a couple of lucky bounces and crosses they would have been far out of this game. The only positive performance was from Mohammed Kudus who constantly looked a threat and was creative but couldn’t do anything in the final third. Looking ahead Villa will take on Arsenal who they got they better of both times last year but do have the best defense in the league and will be one of the most highly anticipated matches of week 2. Meanwhile West Ham will take on a Crystal Palace team that will be looking to improve on their very average performance in week 1.
Liverpool vs Ipswich
Liverpool come into the season with the monumental shift from manager Jurgen Klopp who rebuilt the team and brought them back to relevance to Arne Slot who looks to take the legacy that Jurgen built and push them to new heights. They enter the season with no new signings and a couple of squad player departures. The sneaky pick for the title this year as the squad has the experience, quality and depth to fight on multiple fronts without all the pressure and expectations of years past. Ipswich are unknown package of the season as with back to back promotions under Kieran McKenna they have it all to do this season with a squad that lacks premier league experience anchored by two 30 something year old defensive midfielders. Staying up would be a monumental achievement with the first two matches of the year likely to leave them at the bottom early. Liverpool came out a little tense and nervous leading to a couple early mistakes allowing Ipswich a couple of half chances. Ipswich looked to play out and seem competent enough to give many other teams a game. They defended bravely in a 4-2-4 allowing a lot of 1v1’s all over the pitch and didn’t allow much in the first half. Liverpool as expected had much more of the ball and many corners but were unable to create any chances nor take very many shots. Going into half both sides were even with Liverpool never really looking like they left 3rd gear. 2nd half Liverpool came out with intention and were far more crisp with their passing and looked to be more direct. This pressure lead to a couple of chances with Luis Diaz skying over the bar and Jota being handed a open header from the top of the six yard box that he headed wide. His blushes were spared however when a minute later a beautiful through ball from Trent to Salah who simply outran the defense squared to Jota for the tap in to open the scoring in the 60th minute. Five minutes later Salah got his reward for being unselfish after a long cross field ball from Van Dijk is taken down and he backs the defender into the eighteen and plays a quick 1-2 with Szoboszlai to break the line before sliding it under the keeper for 2-0. After this the Ipswich midfield started to open up while simultaneously the quality for Liverpool rose and they created a handful of very good chances but were not very clinical. In the end Liverpool rose to second gear for most of the second half and comfortably dispatched Ipswich who held up very well for 60 minutes. They should take this in stride with a lot of positives but the task doesn’t get any easier for them facing 4 time reigning champs Manchester City in week 2. Liverpool meanwhile have Brentford at home who should provide another higher difficulty test for Arne Slot as he continues to work with his squad.
Southampton vs Newcastle
Newcastle entered the season full of optimism trying to rise back to the heights they reached 2 years ago after a subpar season last year filled with an early European exit and continuous injuries that compounded into a seventh place finish. They entered the season with long term injuries to Lascelles and Botman and short term injuries for Miley and Wilson. A couple squad players who were surplus to requirements were sold off and for the first time in a while they have a actual left footed left back bought from Chelsea, Lewis Hall, who is a very promising under study to the aging Kieran Trippier who wasn’t at his best last year. Meanwhile Southampton have returned to the Prem after beating Leeds in the final of the championship playoff and in an effort to ensure they stay up have had massive changes signing 12 players to try and bolster the squad. The start was not at all what Newcastle fans would have expected from playing at home for the opening game of the season with Southampton playing well, easily breaking through Newcastle’s press and dominating the game for the first 20 minutes. Newcastle are lucky and get away with poor defending off a couple of set pieces before the biggest travesty that occurred this weekend. Referee Craig Pawson and VAR referee Chris Kavanagh combined to produce one of the worst red cards of the season in week one. A foul occurred on the half way line and the ball rolled out to Schar near his own box and 5-6 seconds after the whistle blew as Schar is walking to the ball Brerton Diaz Diaz charges into the back of Schar knocking him over for no reason who then pushes him back and both walk towards each other and then as their foreheads touch Brerton Diaz flops over as if he has been punched in the head and rolls on the ground for 10 seconds. The ref who has a clear sight then gives a red card which VAR holds up despite no violent conduct or malicious intent from Schar while only giving Diaz a yellow card. He arguably should have been sent off for shoulder barging Schar over well after the whistle and then flopping which easily could have been two yellow cards and would set a precedent for the season to not flop. Instead it has set a precedent now that flopping will be rewarded and that the initial offender can get away with committing dirty fouls while trying to instigate the opponent into reacting. Both Referees should be fined and suspended for their handling of the situation and lack of knowledge that it was clearly not a red card. For anyone who says Schar shouldn’t have walked towards him you either have never played a sport in your life or think you have some moral superiority that you are better and wouldn’t react which is utter bullshit. Southampton then go on to control the game after the red but continuously over play and struggle to create many chances with the one clear chance after that being a missed header by the offender Brerton Diaz from seven yards out that he should have scored. All the play and creativity coming from Sugawara the right back and Walker Peters who despite being a fullback was showing up all over the field and always being positive. Then right at the end of the half Newcastle high press up the field causing a mistake from the goalkeeper Mcarthy which allowed Isak to play in Joelinton who stayed composed and finished into the left corner of the goal with his left foot. The second half Southampton started strong and had a couple good chances with Lewis Hall denying Armstrong with a goal line clearance while running towards goal followed by Brerton Diaz being blocked by Livramento while having an open goal to shoot at as if by karma. After that Newcastle kept getting bodies in the way relentlessly closing down and blocking shots and only needing pope to make 1 really good save. As we got into the closing stages Southampton started to stagnate with not a lot of movement and interchange between the players compared to the first half with lots of fluid interchange. Moving Walker Peters to rb seemed hamstring him and not allow him to be creative and lead to him doing what Sugawara did in the first half with lots of crosses but with far less success. Just to top it all off the last 10 minutes of the game the ref gave what felt like a lot of makeup calls to Newcastle at the end of the game as if acknowledging his mistake. Newcastle will take great joy from earning the victory being down to ten men for 70 minutes of the game and will move on to a very average Bournemouth in week 2. Southampton will be regretting not taking advantage of their opportunities and at least getting a point from the game as they are one of the favorites to get relegated and every point matters. They move on to face Nottingham forest next week who is a likely competitor that they will need to finish above in order to ensure they stay up in the relegation race.
Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth
Forest entered the season making a solid amount of squad changes but very few big money moves as the owner is known to do. After scraping through last year finishing in 17th place just above the relegation they will be relying on the squad that was built last year and the experience of coach Nuno Espirito Santo. With a handful of premier league veterans and a wealth of very young but experienced players they have the quality to stay up but can they put together enough team performances. Bournemouth will be looking to solidify their standing in the Premier League after a very solid 12th place finish last year. The trouble for them will be the change in the squad as losing headline striker Dominic Solanke leaves a big hole up front for newly signed striker Evanilson to fill. Along with that they picked up young center back from Juventus Dean Huijsen and rb Juliean Araujo to round out the summer signings. A very frantic start to the game was put to a stop with midfielder Danilo suffering a broken ankle, a massive loss for Nottingham Forest with him playing 34 games last year. Sangare had a poor first half while Danilo’s replacement Ryan Yates came on and immediately brought some stability and really commanded the midfield. Having been the much more comfortable side in possession Forest get lucky with a ricocheted pass from Yates that came right back too him after two deflections allowing him to volley a strike from 15 yards out that bounced right in front of Neto causing him to spill it straight to Chris Wood who tapped in to open the scoring. Forest continued to look more threatening however most of the shots came from outside the box not troubling the keeper. The lack of a striker for Bournemouth really showed as winger Semenyo playing up front was clearly out of place always seen getting the ball on the wings resulting in no one in the center for Bournemouth. This was exacerbated by the poor quality on set pieces for Bournemouth who didn’t do anything for nearly the entire first half. However in the stoppage time of the first half both teams get good shots on goal from inside the eighteen, Semenyo creating it all on his own while Hudson Odoi plays a 1-2 and forces Neto into a save but could have done better. The second half was full of back and forth action with forest players always seemingly driving forward and taking players on but the very young defense of Bournemouth at the ages of 21, 20, and 19 holding firm offering only a few half chances. Semenyo continued to drift outside, was very selfish with poor shots and showed little quality in his play and was probably the worst player on the field for them. However the in the end the luck balanced itself out after a dangerous cross from substitute christie, who was their best player after coming on, was cleared by forest defender Toffalo straight into Murillo causing the ball to fall kindly to Semenyo to tap in. For all their effort Forest got one more chance in stoppage time for substitute striker Awoniyi who had to score but headed straight at Neto. Forest will be disappointed having not taken their chances but have a real opportunity for a win against newly promoted Southampton next week. Meanwhile Bournemouth will face a confident Newcastle at home who will be raring to go looking to continue their good form.
Crystal Palace vs Brentford
Palace enter the season well primed to break through that 40-50 point range that they have hit every year since they came up in 2013. After ending last season 7 unbeaten with six wins under the care of manager Oliver Glasner who took over in mid February, Palace have started to play a more exciting brand of football and are aspiring to be more than a mid table club. With the departure of a big part of their offense in Olise and other stalwarts of the team in Ayew and Andersen palace made some good moves in buying Ismaila Sarr and Chadi Riad while getting a fantastic signing of Daichi Kamada for midfield. Meanwhile Brentford have sold Raya to Arsenal are still awaiting the sale of star striker Ivan Toney which is expected to get done before the end of the transfer window and have picked up some interesting talent in Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool.
Palace started the game off well continuing from where they left off last year with a lot of one touch interplay and stifling Brentford not allowing them to get out and keep the ball. Eze decided to be selfish and not lay the ball off in what should have been a massive chance to strike first. He redeemed himself on what should have been one of the goals of the season from a direct free kick 35-40 yards only for the referee to blow the whistle for a questionable foul at best. Minutes after it is disallowed Brentford break through the palace defense in a flash and Mbeumo puts Guehi in a blender and scores. The momentum then shifts on its head and Brentford is in control and should have put away the second to go 2-0 up before the half. In the second half Palace come out attacking full of pace with Wharton providing a lot dangerous passes and shots. Eventually Palace get their reward through an own goal after a brilliant header by Munoz to cross the ball and keep it in play between Brentford’s CB and Goalkeeper forcing the mistake. Brentford continued to hang in as Palace kept up the pressure before a fortuitous deflected shot forced Henderson to shift directions barely managing to claw it away directly onto Wissa allowing the ball to bounce directly into the net. Palace looked stunned and started to throw people forward and created a bunch of half chances and forced one good save from Flekken before Brentford saw out the rest of the game to secure the 3 points. Palace will be frustrated with the slice of luck not falling their way and not finishing some of their chances and move on to face a West Ham side who will be rueing their similar fate. On the flip side Brentford will face a stiff test from a veteran Liverpool side in week 2 who will be hungry for more goals after all their missed opportunities.
Manchester City vs Chelsea
City come into the season very relaxed as 4 time defending champs having sold a lot of youngsters and backup striker Julian Alverez for a mouthwatering 72 million to Atletico Madrid. Chelsea on the other hand have done so much business and have so many players eligible for the first team that they could have 2 full squads with only half actually training with the new manager Enzo Maresca. Todd Bohly Owner of Chelsea Football Club is running a masterclass in how to make a club irrelevant and useless.
The game started out very cagey and slow and generally stayed that way throughout, which suited Man City very well. Chelsea had success in playing long balls over the top for runners in behind but couldn’t do much with it. Cucurella vs Doku was a very good entertaining battle however after Doku and Savio switched sides after 25 minutes they each got the better of the Chelsea fullbacks on many occasions. When Chelsea chose to press it was a half press and not as a team and didn’t cause any real problem for City. In the end City casually walked around played possession while never really leaving 3rd gear. They had a moment of brilliance with two quick passes ending with Bernardo Silva playing in Haaland who muscled off Colwill and Fofana, whose poor positioning allowed the goal to happen, before chipping over Sanchez. The one chance of the half Chelsea get is off of a rebounded effort that falls to Nicolas Jackson who’s lack of concentration and discipline causes him to stray offside while looking directly down the line causing yet another disallowed goal. City looked very calm and collected waiting to pick off Chelsea when the mistakes presented themselves. I have never seen a game in which Pep seemingly never got out of his chair, stood up or yelled at his players. To me that is damning evidence of how Chelsea played directly into their hands. Enzo Fernandes also didn’t look very comfortable or fit the # 10 position and couldn’t get hold of the ball like he used to last year. Chelsea very well could have had a handball penalty which shouldn’t be called but under last years rules would definitely have been called but I will give the benefit of the doubt to the referees as it is only week 1 and we shall see if the consistency is there throughout this season. Chelsea seemed to lack any urgency and didn’t deserve to get anything from the game but a penalty call would have shifted the game on its head. Similarly from a game the previous day the possible offender who gets away with it in this case Kovacic goes down the other end of the pitch less than five minutes later and scores a goal to seal the game for City. This however can be entirely blamed on the Chelsea midfield for allowing him to dribble 30 yards through them and then goalkeeper Sanchez who has a shocker and allows an average strike to beat him near post after getting a hand on it. In the end for City it was a comfortable win with no real stress while Chelsea look lost and confused. City get newly promoted Ipswich town next week which by all accounts should be a straight forward three points while Chelsea face Wolves who have beaten them in three straight fixtures.
Leicester City vs Tottenham
Tottenham came into the season with lots of optimism with the signing of an established premier league striker in Dominic Solanke and more depth in Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert with the goal of finishing one spot higher. After the blistering start to last season injuries and losing star players to the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations derailed their campaign leading to a fifth place finish just two points out of a Champions League spot. On the other hand Leicester enter the season with a cloud hanging over their head with a points deduction very likely to be in their future and one that could force them to be relegated. Along with that the manager that got them promoted moved on to greener pastures and Steve Cooper who struggled with Nottingham Forest before being sacked last year was hired to lead them forward. To compound it all there was large scale squad changes with many long time servants leaving and an abundance of premier league experienced players who were bought to try and keep them up led by none other than 37 year old Jamie Vardy himself.
Tottenham opened the game on fire as if they were in mid season form and it was all one way traffic with shot after shot and corner after corner. Hermansen was making saves and Ndidi makes one of the clearances of the year facing his own goal in the sixth minute. Tottenham were walking through them into the eighteen and piling on the pressure with Leicester looking especially weak on set pieces which was one of the main reasons they got relegated. Most of the success came from the left through Son and Maddison and eventually the pressure paid off with a brilliant glancing header from the right back pedro porro who made a run from deep to give Tottenham the lead. As they continued to pile on the pressure they were right in front of goal but could only create half chances and shots that didn’t trouble the keeper though there were plenty of opportunities from crosses. Tottenham should have been up by at least 2 at half if not more as Leicester really looked like a championship side and they continued to get played through after the break with their lackluster press though Tottenham did them a favor by taking plenty of short corners despite them being atrocious in the air. Tottenham continued to tiptoe into the box but not get enough quality shots away and were not clinical enough when they did with Solanke having two very good chances that he squandered. In the end Leicester with virtually their first venture into the Tottenham box find a cross to a wide open Jamie Vardy who couldn’t miss and tied it up. Then all of sudden Tottenham was thrown on the back foot and after being piss poor for 60 minutes Leicester got on the front foot and looked more threatening. Eventually the chance came and Vardy was played through with a glorious opportunity to double his tally and put Leicester in front but squandered his chance and shot straight at Vicario. Then a massive delay for a head injury for Benatancur, who is ok, stifled all momentum of the game and brought forth a combined seven subs which disrupted the flow of the game. For Tottenham they were still able to get into the eighteen but did not take enough shots from outside to force Leicester to step out to them. Leicester were more dangerous and created the most chances for the remaining twenty minutes but were unable to convert. The subs for Tottenham seemed to be occupying the same space deep with no one in and around the #10 position to combine with the striker which is why they didn’t create anything towards the end. Despite all that and with Leicester having the better chances to win it late Tottenham were gifted one last chance in the last minute of stoppage time with a Richarlson header off of a freekick that went wide. Leicester will be ecstatic with result especially with how poor they looked and will look to put in a much better performance against a much lesser side in Fulham. Meanwhile Tottenham will be look back on their embarrassment of chances and be wishing they would have scored. Next up they face a normally stout defense in Sean Dyche’s Everton.
A brilliant week one for the Premier League, VAR was spared its blushes as the two massive incorrect decisions they made did not end up changing the already likely outcomes of the games. With five regular starting refs missing the overall level of refereeing was very consistent apart from the Newcastle game. Allowing the on field call to have more weight seems to be allowing referees to have greater leniency in their decisions and ensure that soft penalties aren’t given so that VAR doesn’t have to intervene. We will wait to see how this progresses throughout the season.