Routine Liverpool and Man City demolition job, Baptism of fire and goals for Lampard’s Chelsea led-side and the other BPL TALKING POINTS

The most anticipated, most competitive, most watched League in the world, The English Premier League, re-commenced a new season. With the end of the English transfer window on Thursday 8/8/19 at 05:pm, all attentions instantly switched to the first round of fixtures, how each team would fare in the new season and how each club’s transfer activity or inactivity would contribute in the failure or success of each team. With the introduction of the V. A. R( Virtual assistant referee) in the affairs of Premier League games this season, it promised to be a controversial filled season positively or negatively and the first round of fixtures proved just that from the off with the VAR coming to fore especially in Saturday’s match involving the Champions MAN CITY and West Ham with a second half goal from Gabriel Jesus adjudged offside and thereby cancelled. These are the talking points of the major events in the first round of Premier League fixtures

1)Routine Liverpool performance as Klopp’s side rout Norwich on Premier League opener :

an OG and goals from Mohammed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Divock Origi sent the merseyside giants on the way to their first three points for the season with the game ending 4-1 in favour of last season’s runner-up . Liverpool’s reduced splashing of cash in the summer transfer window(unlike last season when they acquired the services of Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton on a club-record fee and goalkeeper Allison from AS Roma ) was highly publicized with their only notable albeit highly rated capture, a 16year old Harvey Elliot from championship side Fulham. Their chief goalscoring executors were in fine form though with Mohammed salah(off the back of a below par AFCON tournament) on target with a fine solo goal and a commanding Van Dijk header sending the kop side to delirium, Origi continued where he left off last season with the final goal with a consolation albeit finely struck goal from Teemu pukki the only silver lining for the Norwich side making their Premier League return after spending last season in the lower tier of English football. An Allison injury the only negative in a routine Liverpool win.

2)Sterling performance from Raheem Sterling seals mancity’s demolition of West ham

: some VAR controversial filled occurrences could not stop Pep Guardiola’s side from trouncing a West ham on Saturday with goals from Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero, and a hattrick from Raheem Sterling proving too much for West ham ,the game ending 5-0 in favour of last season’s Champions. A slow first half ended with a lone Gabriel Jesus goal, with the second half a sharp contrast of the first beginning with a goal from Gabriel Jesus controversially chopped off via a VAR reviewed decision, followed by a penalty awarded to the Champions with recently substituted Aguero missing the first attempt, VAR playing a part once more by nullifying that attempt because of an infringement by the goal keeper, and Aguero converted at the second time of asking. The rest of the game was a Sterling show from Raheem Sterling as the former Liverpool man took the game by the scruff of the neck by registering a quick-fire hattrick further adding salt in the wounds of the West ham outfit. A message duly sent to the rest of the league about the Champions not taking their foot off the pedal after friday’s swashbuckling performance from runner-ups Liverpool.

3) Ndombele announces himself to the Premier league-
Record signing Tanguy Ndombele scored a curling debut goal to bring a Tottenham side needing inspiration level against newly promoted Jack-grealish-led Aston Villa side with regular tormentor-in-chief Harry Kane recording a brace in the dying minutes of the game to break villa hearts. Tottenham’s deadline day acquisition of highly sought-after left-back Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham and Giovanni de celso brought an added pep in the steps of fans of the north London side with added optimism coming into the new season,with rumours of a Christian Eriksen exit the only chink in the armour of manager Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Their move to their new stadium, keeping their best player Harry Kane and the added additions to their squad has got the Spurs outfit feeling like they could go all the way this season and who could blame them.

4) Recomposure at the back for Arsenal, vital 3points with key players out and 3 Academy players (Maitland-Niles, William, Nelson) in the starting lineup- Arsenal got their campaign on the right track by recording a vital three points with golden boot recipient Pierre-emerick Aubameyang opening his account for the season with the winner 16 minutes into the second half. After an exceptionally busy summer transfer window which involved high profile departures in the form of left-back Stephen lichtenstein, Alex iwobi and Captain Laurent Koscielny to six incoming involving youngster Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba (Loaned back), Dani Ceballos (Season long loan from realmadrid), Pepe and deadline day acquisition of long running target Kieran Tierney and the astonishing capture of David Luiz from Chelsea, the onus was on the Gunners to show how much improved they are and how much these aforementioned new signings have improved their chances of finishing in the top four thereby guaranteeing Champions League football after a three year absence. For one reasons or the other ranging from match fitness to the manager Unai Emery decision, these signing didn’t feature from the start but we’re consigned to the bench, leading to one of the strongest bench we’ve seen from the Arsenal bench for a long time. Arsenal’s manager Unai Emery chose to start with three Academy players (Maitland-Niles, Willock and Nelson) and they replicated his faith by delivering a solid albeit bland performance with Maitland-Niles particularly responsible for the sole goal after dispossessing the ball from the Newcastle fullback and setting Aubameyang’s goal on a platter.
If this encounter was any proof it is that this Arsenal team at full strength in personell will be a match for any side in the English top flight and would be a joy to watch this season.

6)Baptism of fire and goals for Lampards Chelsea-
Frank lampard arrived from derby county over the summer and took the Chelsea managerial helm from Italian Sarri (who swapped Chelsea managerial hottest for Juventus) and completed a remarkable journey from Chelsea player to coach. His early managerial career has been tainted with a mini-crisis though with an underwhelming pre-season, a transfer ban and a high profile David Luiz exit to London neighbours and rivals Arsenal and it didn’t get any better with the visit to old Trafford to confront Ole Gunnar Solskjaes’s Manchester United side with the game ending 4-0 in favour of the hosts with Martial and Rashford showing Man United still have plenty of firepower after their own high profile exit of striker Romelu Lukaku to inter Milan on deadline day.
The visitors were bullied all match long by the sheer pace of Lingard, Martial and Rashford and had no answers to the series of questions the Red Devils posed.
It was simply the host’s day as everything that could go right for them did and everything that could go wrong for the blues did with Frank Lampard’s side showing a brittleness and naivety at both ends of the field that if not rectified swiftly would be exploited by every major top six side and render the Chelsea legend playing days legacy null and void and bring an early end to his fairytale homecoming as manager.