The Premier League returned with a bang. Both Manchester teams, Liverpool and Brighton registered huge wins while VAR made its debut in the league. Here are the Winners and Losers from the Premier League: Match Day 1. Bet on the Premier League here.
Winners
VAR
The Video Assistant Referee made its long-awaited debut in the Premier League over the weekend. In the league’s first game featuring Liverpool and Norwich City on Friday, everything was quiet without high profile reviews. However, on Saturday, it took centre stage. In the early kick-off between Manchester City and West Ham, with Manchester City 2-0 up, Raheem Sterling played the ball across for Gabriel Jesus to tap in. As the Brazillian celebrated, the VAR review was ongoing. Moments later, the goal was ruled out because Sterling’s shoulder is offside. The definitive clip is played on the big screen. With what happened over the weekend VAR is going to play a huge part in the league this season.
Manchester United
An incredible Premier League start saw Manchester United hammer Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils kicked off the season with their biggest-ever win against the Blues in the Premier League era. Marcus Rashford scored twice either side of a close-range effort from Anthony Martial, with substitute Daniel James completing the scoring with a goal on his debut nine minutes from time. Chelsea dominated the first half, which saw them hit the post. However, they couldn’t just score. United were much better in the second half playing with more focus and aggression. Can the Blues bounce back?
Sheffield United
Sheffield United first game in the Premier League saw them clinch a point against Bournemouth. Sheffield United had not played in the Premier League since being relegated on the final day of the 2006-07 season. Manager Chris Wilder will be delighted with the performance from his side as they did not look overawed at the top level. To get a result away from home as a newly promoted team is a good start. Next weekend, they host Crystal Palace. Can they get their first win?
Losers
Frank Lampard and Chelsea
Chelsea’s legend Frank Lampard’s first competitive match as their manager did not go as plan as they were hammered 4-0 at United. A promising and dominant start was ruined by a careless penalty concession by Kurt Zouma, who struggled throughout the game. Despite an encouraging performance from the Blues, there’s still lots of work for Lampard to do. His expansive philosophy was exposed badly by a counter-attacking United team, which may force him to take a pragmatic approach in this tough league. In general terms, it was a disappointing start.
Watford
Watford had a brilliant campaign last season where they finished 11th whilst reaching the FA Cup final. However, this season, they started poorly losing at 3-0 at home to Brighton, a team that narrowly avoided relegation last season. Manager Javi Gracia chose to postpone the debuts of new signings Ismaila Sarr and Danny Welbeck. Their slump towards the end of the last campaign continued. Watford’s 3-0 defeat was their first loss at home against Brighton since September 2012. The Hornets visit Everton next weekend and a repeat of a performance like that will be severely punished.
West Ham
West Ham made a terrible start to the season, losing 5-0 at home to champions Manchester City. It was a familiar story for the Hammers who have now lost their past four opening fixtures to a Premier League season, including each of the past three by an aggregate score of 13-0. Moreover, they have now conceded 99 goals all competitions at the London Stadium. Manchester City have scored 22 of those goals despite only playing in 5 of the 68 games at the stadium (7%). The Hammers are notorious slow starters and will have to change that when they visit Brighton next weekend.