The longest hiatus of any of my blogs comes to an end with the re-boot of this one starting with the 2021-22 Premier League opening weekend.
Bees Sting The Gunners
The season opener saw newly promoted Brentford stun Arsenal with a 2-0 win at the Brentford Community Stadium on Friday night. The Bees made history with their first ever Premier League goal coming from Sergi Canos on 22 minutes.
Their joy increased with a second strike on 73 minutes from Christian Norgaard and they held on to celebrate a first top flight win for 4 years.
Manchester Win the Battle of the United's
Saturday's action began with a comfortable 5-1 opening victory for Manchester United against Leeds United at Old Trafford. A quiet first half saw the hosts take the lead with a Bruno Fernandes strike on the half hour.
Leeds levelled four minutes after the interval through Luke Ayling before a eight minute spree from Man Utd saw Mason Greenwood score for 2-1 and Fernandes complete his hat-trick on the hour for 4-1. The win was wrapped up on 68 minutes as Fred made it 5-1 to send his side top of the table.
Seagulls Fly High at Burnley
Brighton & Hove Albion opened with a win as they came from behind to win 2-1 against Burnley at Turf Moor. James Tarkowski gave the hosts the lead inside two minutes and they looked to be on the way to an opening win as the game entered the final 20 minutes.
However, they were stunned by two goals in five minutes as Neal Maupay and Alexis Mac Allister both struck to complete the comeback and seal a 2-1 win.
Chelsea Cruise Clips Eagles' Hopes
Chelsea made a perfect start to the season with a comfortable 3-0 win against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. The Blues opened the scoring through Marcos Alonso on 27 minutes before Christian Pulisic doubled the advantage to 2-0 five minutes before half time. The win and the three points were sealed before the hour mark as Trevor Chalobah struck for 3-0.
Toffees Stick It To Saints
Everton came from behind to win 3-1 over Southampton at Goodison Park. The Saints struck an opener on 22 minutes through Adam Armstrong and held the narrow lead into half-time.
The hosts pegged them back with a Richarlison strike two minutes after the restart before an Abdoulaye Doucoure effort put them ahead on 76 minutes. The Toffees' comeback was completed nine minutes from the end as Dominic Calvert-Lewin sealed a 3-1 win.
Wolves Undone By Foxes
The new era at Wolverhampton Wanderers began with a 1-0 loss to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. The crucial goal came four minutes before half-time as Jamie Vardy continued his good form from last season with the winning goal.
Hornets Edge Villa In Thriller
Watford sealed a winning return to the league as they edged a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa at Vicarage Road. The hosts opened the scoring through Emmanuel Dennis inside ten minutes before Ismaila Sarr doubled the lead just before half-time.
Cucho Hernandez Suarez put the hosts 3-0 up on 68 minutes but their lead soon became 3-1 as John McGinn got Villa off the mark and they set up a frantic finish with a Danny Ings penalty in added time but Watford held on for the victory.
Rampant Reds Cruise Past Canaries
Norwich City failed to make it a perfect start for the promoted sides as they lost 3-0 to Liverpool at Carrow Road. The Reds struck an opener on 26 minutes through Diogo Jota before Roberto Firmino doubled the lead after the hour mark. The win and a piece of history were sealed on 74 minutes with Mohamed Salah's strike making it 3-0 and ensuring he scored in the opening game for five consecutive seasons.
Magpies Halted By Hammers
West Ham United came from behind twice to seal a 4-2 opening win against Newcastle United at St James' Park. The hosts led inside five minutes courtesy of Callum Wilson's strike before Aaron Cresswell levelled on 18 minutes.
Newcastle regained the lead just before half-time with Jacob Murphy's effort for 2-1 but were pegged back by Said Benrahma's equaliser for 2-2 before Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio struck to complete the turnaround and seal the 4-2 win.
Champions City Stunned By Spurs
Manchester City's title defence suffered an early blow as they lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, The crucial goal came on 54 minutes as Son Heung-Min continued his good form to strike the winner for a 1-0 success.
Further results from the early part of the season before work and offline life became a priority.
