The new Premier League season kicked-off yesterday and it was good to have the English top flight back.
The opening day threw up some really interesting results and some outstanding displays from some of the leagues new boys.
Debuts
They say that it takes time to get used to a new league and country, but Swansea midfielder made that old adage look like a myth.
I have repeatedly stated this summer that the Spaniard could be the bargain of the season and he started his Swansea career with a bang.
The Swans won 5-0 at QPR and Michu scored a brace and was at the centre of everything good about the Welsh sides victory. It was also Swansea boss Michael Laudrup’s debut in the Swans dugout. The Danish legend couldn’t have wished for a better start as the boss of the Welsh side.
Another player who enjoyed a fantastic Premier League debut was Fulham’s Croatian striker Mladen Petric. The 31 year-old also scored a brace on his debut, as Fulham hammered Norwich 5-0 at Craven Cottage.
Petric has plied his trade in the Bundesliga for much of his career and his signing was a coup for the Cottagers, who lost strikers Andy Johnson and Pavel Pogrebnyak this summer. The Croatian international could prove an inspired signing.
Spanish star Santi Cazorla was one of Arsenal’s better players as the Gunners drew 0-0 at the Emirates Stadium. The Arsenal fans may have been frustrated by the draw, but Cazorla was one of the brighter spots for Arsenal.
The likes of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud enjoyed less impressive debuts, with the latter coming off the substitute bench to miss an absolute sitter.
West Brom boss Steve Clarke enjoyed a superb start with the Baggies, as his side claimed a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at the Hawthorns. Some pundits have tipped the Midlanders to struggle this season, but they have made a superb start to the season.
Nightmare
New Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will be wondering how his Liverpool side managed to lose 3-0 against West Brom. It really was a nightmare start for the former-Swansea. As any self-respecting boss does he blamed the officials for his teams downfall.
Unfortunately Brendan you can’t blame the officials for your players making silly mistakes. The Reds didn’t play that badly, but individual mistakes did cost them badly.
Strugglers?
Many pundits have predicted that the likes of West Brom and Swansea will struggle this season. Both sides have just came off the back of decent Premier League campaigns, but both have new unproven English top flight bosses.
From their opening games of the season though they don’t look like they have much to worry about this season. Opening day victories aren’t always a good indicator of how clubs will fare during the season, but I have to say I was very impressed by Swansea in particular.
The Swans did really well last season and finished comfortably midtable. Michael Laudrup has a very similar football philosophy to that of former-boss Brendan Rodgers. Many experts thought that the Swans wouldn’t be the same team under Laudrup, but if anything they looked like an even better team yesterday.
Start
Yesterday was an exciting start to the Premier League. It was just the start of what should be a really exciting season. There is still so much more to come in the coming weeks and months. If the rest of the season follows the same pattern as the first day then we could be in for a treat this season.
Who enjoyed the best opening day of the Premier League season?
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