Adrian DENNIS
English runners-up Arsenal kicked off their season with a controlled 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, following in the footsteps of Liverpool, who beat promoted side Ipswich by the same scoreline in the first game under Dutch coach Arne Slot.
Four-time defending champions Manchester City travel to Chelsea on Sunday, with Tottenham visiting Leicester the following day.
. Slot, baptism without fault
In Ipswich, Liverpool started in diesel mode before accelerating after the break under the impetus of Mohamed Salah, who provided the assist for Diogo Jota (60th, 1-0) and then scored (65th, 2-0).
The speech of the new coach Arne Slot, at half-time, was perhaps also not unrelated to the awakening of the “Reds”, much more enterprising in the second half.
“The first thing is that we don’t need to talk about tactics when we lose so many duels,” explained Jürgen Klopp’s successor on TNT Sports, when asked about his talk. “The second half was very nice to watch,” he appreciated, however.
HENRY NICHOLLS
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker kept a close eye on the opposition’s strong moments and saw Axel Tuanzebe’s header fall just behind his crossbar (41st). The “Tractor Boys” thought they had won a penalty after Virgil van Dijk pushed one of their own, but a prior offside dashed their hopes (53rd).
Liverpool put the turbo on in the next quarter of an hour, reactivating the “football chaos” advocated by Klopp. It paid off with an acceleration and a back pass from Salah to Jota, then a shot from close range from the Egyptian.
. Saka guide Arsenal
Arsenal’s success against Wolverhampton (2-0) was shaped with greater regularity and control, thanks to the active and valuable contribution of Bukayo Saka, scorer and decisive passer at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta started his first team, with Kai Havertz at the forefront of the attack, leaving pure centre-forwards Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah on the bench at kick-off, as they did last season. And it was the German international who quickly put Arsenal in front, with a header from a perfectly deflected cross by Saka (25th, 1-0).
Adrian DENNIS
Havertz’s immediate success contrasts with the more laborious start that followed his transfer from Chelsea last summer. It took him until the seventh matchday of the championship and a penalty awarded by his teammates to finally score in the Premier League.
Saka doubled the lead with a curling left-footed shot, his special, which lodged between goalkeeper José Sa and the left post (74th, 2-0).
“He’s incredible. There aren’t many players like him on the planet and he’s still so young. It’s very rare to see a young player like that playing every week at the highest level,” Havertz complimented him on Sky Sports.
Arsenal were a bit scared by loose balls approaching their area but the defence erased these imperfections. David Raya, vigilant, also made a spectacular one-handed save (36th) then another in added time (90th+4).
. Brighton leader
JUSTIN TALLIS
The big hit of the day came from Brighton’s Fabian Hürzeler, successor to Roberto De Zerbi who left for OM, well ahead of Everton (3-0) and clinging to first place in the standings, while waiting for the other matches of the weekend.
Fourth-placed Aston Villa are also in the lead thanks to a 2-1 win over West Ham.
Amadou Onana, who arrived this summer from Everton, opened his goal account less than four minutes after his official debut for the “Villans”, with a header from a corner by his Belgian compatriot Youri Tielemans (4th, 1-0). Lucas Paqueta’s penalty (37th, 1-1) was erased by a goal from Jhon Duran (79th, 2-1) at the end of a superb collective sequence in the area.
Next in the standings are Manchester United, who beat Fulham (1-0) on Friday, and Newcastle, who beat newly promoted Southampton (1-0) on Saturday after suffering a long numerical inferiority.
Nottingham Forest, for their part, wasted a quickly acquired advantage by conceding a goal in the 87th minute against Bournemouth (1-1).
