The new Premier League season started with a damp whimper rather than sparks flying, as Manchester United hosted Tottenham Hotspur in a Saturday lunchtime kick off. It could have been an exciting start to the new 2015/16 season. But the sunshine lasted longer than the excitement as Man Utd by and large, failed to turn up and were outplayed by Spurs for large parts of the match. It somehow seemed appropriate that the game was decided by an own goal. Fortunately for Louis Van Gaal, it was Kyle Walker that beat Wayne Rooney to the ball, and in doing so, toe-poked the ball past a stranded Hugo Lloris.
But however lacklustre United’s performance was, results would get worse for other so-called ‘big four’ title contenders over the opening weekend. Surprisingly, Chelsea didn’t use the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal to kick start their season. Whether they were over confident or underestimated the quality of Swansea, nothing should be taken away from Gary Monk’s Swans as they stuck to a game plan and were holding their own, even before Thibaut Courtois was given a straight red card for a ‘last man tackle’ on Bafetimbi Gomis.
But Chelsea being held by Swansea 2-2 at Stamford Bridge, it was overshadowed by a shocking performance by Arsenal, who many have tipped to win the league this season, as Slaven Bilic’s West Ham beat Arsenal 2-0 with a much deserved win at the Emirates Stadium. With the final whistle, Bilic pumped his fist in the air, while Arsene Wenger shook his head in despair, and sections of the Arsenal faithfull, who were in buoyant mood before kick-off, booed their team off the pitch.
Of the newly promoted teams, Watford played well and totally deserved a point away to Everton. Norwich began well, but were beaten 3-1 by a strong Crystal Palace team and a poor refereeing decision when a skilfully crafted overhead shot by Cameron Jerome was disallowed for a dangerous high foot.
I personally expected Bournemouth to start with a home win against an Aston Villa team that I thought would struggle again this season. But Tim Sherwood had Villa playing as a well-oiled, solid unit that showed no signs of hangover from losing their best two players – Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke – over the summer break. But there was no fairy tale start for Eddie Howe and the south coast minnows, as Aston Villa took all three points with a 1-0 win.
Other matches included an exciting 2-2 draw between Newcastle and Southampton. While Stoke City and Liverpool played out a dull, uneventful affair with one exception; a great piece of individual skill by Phillipe Coutinho in the 86th minute, to give Liverpool a 1-0 win at the Britannia Stadium.
Leicester City racked up an exciting start to their season, after narrowly escaping relegation last season, with a convincing 3-1 display under new management of Claudio Ranieri, whose appointment raised many eyebrows. Though, it is often forgotten that Chelsea only finished second in Ranieri’s final season 2003/04 to the famous Arsenal ‘invincibles’ side. That said, Sunderland were absolutely shocking, and after this display, won’t only be favourites of mine to be relegated this season.
Lastly, West Brom played host to Manchester City on Monday night where media eyes were all on Raheem Stirling, playing his debut for City alongside William Bony and Jesus Navas, while Sergio Aguero was given an extending break on the subs bench and Fabian Delph out injured.
West Bromwich Albion started the match with a surprising 4-4-2 formation though it looked like Tony Pulis had new signing Rickie Lambert stranded in no-man’s land between a losing midfield and striker Saido Berahino. Man City completely outclassed WBA and were by far and away the fastest out-of-the-blocks of the ‘big four’ and pre-season favourites to win the Premier League, this weekend.
Tony Pulis, the master tactician got it completely wrong last night; and the only good news for West Brom fans was the signing of Zenit St Petersburg striker Salomon Rondon for a club record fee of around £12m. Man City played the Baggies off the pitch at a canter and won 3-0 with goals from Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany, both of whom were sharp and back to their best.
So, who will stay up, who will be relegated, and who will be crowned Premier League Champions of the 2015/16 season. If Toure and Kompany continue the season in this ‘return to form’, and Raheem Sterling can live up to the hype and play up, alongside David Silva and Sergio Aguero, then it will be the sky blue of Man City, and not the royal blue of Chelsea, that will be crowned champions, come May.
Only 37 games to go! The next match for Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City is a home game on Sunday against arch-enemy Jose Mourinho and Chelsea.