What can we take from the opening weekend of the brand new Premier League season? Well naturally we should begin with the champions Manchester City who didn't even have to break into third gear to beat Chelsea away from home. Last season even with their troubles Chelsea did not lose to City, drawing 1-1 away and 4-4 at home in an epic game which included a comeback. At the weekend under new manager Enzo Maresca the Blues looked feeble and it seemed all too easy for Pep Guardiola's side. Erling Haaland scored his 91st goal for the club in his 100th appearance and former Chelsea player Mateo Kovacic scored a great solo goal to rub salt into the wounds. Of course it is very early into the season but one has to wonder if Chelsea despite their millions and billions spent are going to be competitive in this campaign? It does seem as if their early season problems from the last campaign haven't really gone away.
Title challengers to City did well with wins, Arsenal beat Wolves in an expected home win and Liverpool beat Ipswich 2-0 after a slow start. Aston Villa and Newcastle have been amongst the most improved teams of the past 18 months and they both won their respective games also. Further down the league Everton fans who may have been optimistic before the season were brought back down to earth as they lost 3-0 at home to Brighton. Ashley Young was also sent off for the Toffees and only VAR stopped that scoreline from being 4-0. It's only the first week of course but a glance at the league sees Everton in bottom place and the fears of the last two season campaigns will be well embedded in the fans' thoughts. This of course is a significant season for Sean Dyche's club as it is the last one at Goodison Park. Tottenham away is up next and Everton will not be expected to get anything from that fixture.
It looks inevitable that Ivan Toney will leave Brentford in this window. Indeed ever since he was banned for 8 months over an FA gambling charge he has been linked with a move away from the Bees. However it seemed clear that Toney was going to stay in the Premier League and a move to Arsenal looked on. The Gunners have gone cold on such a move and indeed so have the other teams in the top flight. This must have been a surprise to Toney but not all is lost and a deal to move to the Saudi Pro League is on. Al Alhi have had a bid of £35m rejected, the Bees want at least £50m and with his goals one could say that Toney is worth that amount. If he does go though it seems sad that a player who is only 28 would leave the most competitive league in the world for the riches at the end of a rainbow. It is another example of talented players leaving for a poorer quality league before their time but that is what money has done to the game and it doesn't come as much of a surprise now.
Ivan Toney next club: Any Saudi Club 1.50, Manchester United 6.00, Arsenal 7.00, West Ham 15.00
Finally, if there was an award for Premier League player of the weekend surely it would go to Leicester veteran Jamie Vardy. Vardy has been a consistent scorer for the Foxes for a decade but once the club was relegated to the Championship it seemed that Vardy's time in the big time was over. But he has never been one to go with the script. His goals helped Leicester back into the Premier League and then in their first game back and being overwhelmed at the time against Tottenham, an unfit Vardy scored the equaliser that earned his side a point. Vardy is a hero at the club and it will be fascinating to see how the 37 year old's season pans out, he just seems to get better with every passing year and is quite a character for the game.
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