In just the blink of an eye, football is back and it feels like it’s never been away. The Premier League has a fresh lick of paint in the form of Brentford, Watford and Norwich (if you can call the latter 2 fresh) and we are underway. This weekend saw the first round of games occur and boy oh boy was there some drama. Some of the big boys showed their dominance, while others floundered, while the newbies have a pretty good account of themselves, while Arsenal did an Arsenal.

With just one game out of the way, even thinking about the impact this has on the league is ridiculous, especially considering the transfer window being open for another two weeks and many big name players yet to feature. However, although we can’t yet make long term predictions, there are some massive talking points for us to discuss. So, allow us to do just that, as we pick through the remains of the weekend and digest the 3 biggest headlines from this weekends’ action.

If you have anything to add from this weekend, or want to discuss how your team got on this weekend, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.

Riots In Manchester

In the past 2 seasons, Manchester United have an aggregate score over Leeds of 11-3, and this weekends result was arguably the most impressive, simply down to the style of play and attitude they have shown over Bielsa’s men. The day started off with some, less than welcome scenes as fans collided in the city centre in their first full game back at stadiums, and it’s a rivalry that has been bubbling up for years now while Leeds dropped through the leagues. The game itself was a great watch and a fantastic way to kick off the Saturday football, with Manchester United taking the lead through Fernandes, only to concede just into the second half to a wonderful strike from defender Ayling. This leveller didn’t last too long however, as Manchester United seemed irritated by the Leeds equaliser and stepped on the gas in style, quickly bagging 4 more goals in a 16 minute spell.

What stands out most from this game is not the Leeds performance as I am certain they will recover and Bielsa will fix any issues spotted during the game, however it’s the performance from the Reds that truly impressed. Pogba created 4 assists, beating his entire record for the previous season, while Fernandes bagged his first hattrick for the club, all from open play. Meanwhile, Greenwood scored after starting as the central striker and showed his finishing is still elite level. Furthermore, we saw glimpses of Sancho and Martial off the bench, showing that there is serious strength and depth in the squad, and we are yet to see Varane, Cavani and Rashford enter the season. All signs from this game look good for Manchester United, while Leeds will be travelling back with some questions to answer.

Picking Up Where They Left Off

Away from Manchester, some of their big rivals also got things going with a great start to the season. Both Chelsea and Liverpool picked up solid wins to kick start their season. Many have Chelsea down as the favourites to win the league, and they showed why that’s the case as they eased to a 3-0 win over Patrick Viera’s Crystal Palace. This was a solid start for the reigning Champions League winners, and I do expect big things from Tuchel’s side which is stacked with talent, and yet to add in one of the most prolific strikers in world football in Lukaku. I believe Lukaku will be the missing piece to Chelsea’s jigsaw puzzle, as having the strong target man will allow Werner, Havertz and others to play off of the Belgian. This game was the ideal start for Chelsea as they had 3 separate scorers including Chalobah who bagged his first for the side in what could be a breakthrough season. It didn’t get the headlines of of the United game, however it’s an understated victory against an unknown quantity in Palace this season.

In the other aforementioned matchup, Liverpool also picked up the points in their opener over Norwich. It wasn’t the smoothest performance, however you simply cannot have issue with a 3-0 win, even though it is against one of the newcomers. For Norwich, things seem fairly familiar as they had little threat or belief in beating one of the leagues’ big boys. Liverpool have gone under the radar in the title race, with many predicting a 3rd/4th place finish for Klopp’s side and possibly a cup run of some sorts. Their squad looks in need of a refresh, and they are the only top 4 side not to have strengthened in a major way. This obviously could still change, however this may be their ‘rest’ season where they accept the drop off and simply focus on maintaining their Champions League spot and recapturing the energy and form of previous years.

Stumbling At The First Hurdle

At the other end of things from this weekend, we must discuss the Tottenham victory over Manchester City. After all the talk over Kane, it was Tottenham who dug in and gave everything to get the 3 points after a wonderful goal from Son. City themselves looked off the pace massively and already tired as they seem to be in ‘pre-season’ mode. While this isn’t a massive concern just yet, as we saw last season that they can and will go on a run of form which gets them up the table, this result gives those around them optimism and also adds an extra dimension to the Kane deal.

Other weekends to forget include the Brentford Arsenal matchup which kicked off the league season. It’s one to remember for Brentford for sure, however the 2-0 loss and general performance is simply abysmal from Arsenal, who again looked meagre against the determination and organisation of Brentford. For Brentford, it’s a big scalp to start their season with, however they will savour every moment as their season will be quite tough I imagine.

Finally, the other surprising result for me, was the Watford 3-2 win over Villa. I had tipped Aston Villa to break into possibly the Europa League or Conference League spots this season, however the side I had predicted for another yo-yo season in Watford did the business and held on to get the points which will prove valuable through the season. Not the most shocking performance or game, but one that certainly took me by surprise.