English Premier League is the most watched domestic football tournament around the world. It’s because the league is full of actions and drama. As the 2022/23 season started on the 7th of August, gameweek 1 has already given the signs that this season will not fall behind in terms of intense drama, compared to other seasons.
There were hiccups by big teams in the very fast gameweek. The most talked about would be the 2-1 loss of Manchester United at home.
They faced Brighton in their first game and most deemed the Red Devils to be the favourites ahead of the game. Cristiano Ronaldo was on the bench and surprisingly Christian Eriksen started as the false nine.
To everyone’s surprise, Brighton dominated most of the first half. Pascal Gross scored two goals. Though Manchester United scored one in the second half, thanks to Mac Allister's own goal, Brighton successfully held their 2-1 lead to win the game.
Liverpool also got an early season hiccup as they drew 2-2 with Fulham thanks to an Alexandre Mitrovic show. However, Liverpool took some positives from the game as their big money signing Darwin Nunez scored a goal and made an assist coming on as a substitute.
However, one thing that didn’t change is Mohammad Salah scoring for Liverpool on the opening day of the season for the 6th straight season.
The other top 6 teams got off to winning starts. Manchester City secured a 2-0 win away to West Ham with Erling Haaland scoring a brace. City expectedly dominated the game though they had a below-average shot accuracy refraining them from a bigger scoreline.
Chelsea won against Frank Lampard’s Everton side by the odd goal scored by Jorginho from the penalty spot. Arsenal also got a comfortable win; unlike Manchester City and Liverpool, their new striker Gabriel Jesus didn’t score in his first game against Crystal Palace.
Tottenham had the biggest scoreline in the gameweek 1 as they defeated Southampton 4-1. Goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier and Dejan Kulusevski along with an own goal from Mohammad Salisu helped them secure an easy win. James Ward Prowses’ solo goal came as a mere consolation for Southampton.
Only two games were drawn in the first game week - Fulham and Liverpool game and Leicester and Brentford game. Both the ties ended 2-2.
Bournemouth grabbed a 2-0 win against Aston Villa and Newcastle produced the same scoreline against newcomers Nottingham Forest. Last season’s struggling Leeds United won their first game against Wolverhampton Wanderers without the attacking zip of Raphinha.
This was the overall round-up of gameweek 1 of the English Premier League. Football fans felt the true Premier League essence from the onset as upsets and drama all were present.
