1. Clean sheet for Romero
THE BIG NEWS coming out of Manchester United on Friday was Louis van Gaal’s decision to leave last season’s Player of the Year David De Gea out of his squad for the visit of Tottenham to Old Trafford. With Real Madrid still determined to sign the Spaniard, the Red Devils boss believes he is not in the right mind frame to line out and opted for new recent signing Sergio Romero over youngster Sam Johnstone.
It was undoubtedly a gamble. The Argentine international hadn’t featured in pre-season and, in fact, you have to go back as far as December 2014 for the last time he played a club game. However, after a couple of nervy moments in possession, he grew in confidence and made a couple of vital stops from Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen in the 1-0 victory.
2. Tinkerman off to a flyer
Nigel Pearson produced nothing short of a miracle to turn Leicester City’s fortunes around last season. Bottom of the table between November and April, an incredible run saw the Foxes secure safety and finish the season in 14th place.
But it has been all change over the summer and the departure of Pearson and influential midfielder Estaban Cambiasso coupled with Claudio Ranieri’s appointment has prompted many to tip Leicester for the drop this term. However, those predictions could well prove to be wide of the mark as they got off to the perfect start at King Power Stadium today — taking a 3-0 lead before eventually winning out 4-2 against Sunderland, who may struggle themselves.
3. No fairytale debut for the Cherries
Bournemouth were the only newly-promoted club to be experiencing Premier League football for the first time today, so it came as little surprise to see a party atmosphere at Dean Court this afternoon.
Eddie Howe’s men more than held their own against a rusty-looking Villa and they really should have taken the lead with Dan Gosling, Callum Wilson and Marc Pugh all wasting chances. The Cherries were left to rue those opportunities as Tim Sherwood sprung Rudy Gestede from the bench and the 6ft 4in striker, a summer buy from Blackburn Rovers, popped up to head home a winner.
4. Hornets enjoy solid start
Having brought in 10 players in the off-season, it will be interesting to see how fast Watford’s new manager Quique Sanchez Flores can decide on his best team and knit them into a unit. That said, the early signs are encouraging going by the performance produced at Goodison Park.
On two occasions, the Hornets went in front against Everton and the below-par Toffees needed a thunderbolt from Ross Barkley and Arouna Kone’s late equaliser to spare their blushes.
5. Mourinho’s day doesn’t go to plan
Just like in last weekend’s Community Shield loss to Arsenal, there was a sluggishness to Chelsea’s play at Stamford Bridge this evening. Top striker Diego Costa was back in the team but didn’t look fully fit, while there was a bit of luck involved in both of their first half goals.
Asmir Begovic would not have been expecting to make his Premier League debut for his new club on the first day of the campaign but Thibaut Courtois’ dismissal for a late challenge on Bafetimbi Gomis meant the former Stoke City keeper was called into action early in the second half. He was unable to keep out the resulting penalty as the champions were held 2-2 by the Swans, but looks set to deputise in next Sunday’s clash with Manchester City.
