Liverpool drew 2-2 at Fulham; Tottenham Hotspur beat Southampton 4-1; Jorginho’s penalty helped Chelsea beat Everton 1-0
Liverpool drew 2-2 at Fulham; Tottenham Hotspur beat Southampton 4-1; Jorginho’s penalty helped Chelsea beat Everton 1-0
Title contenders Liverpool could only manage a draw at Fulham on Saturday’s opening Premier League The season while Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur started the new campaign by winning.
Liverpool had to come from behind twice to cancel out a goal from Fulham’s Serbian striker Aleksandr Mitrovic, with new signings Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah scoring goals in a 2–2 draw for Juergen Klopp’s side.
Spurs also went back at home to Southampton, but then Antonio Conte’s team won 4–1 over Saints.
A penalty at the stroke of halftime from Jorginho was enough to give Chelsea a tight 1-0 win over former favorite Frank Lampard’s Everton.
Manchester teams in action on Sunday
Champions Manchester City begin their title defense at West Ham United on Sunday, while Dutch manager Erik ten Haag takes over Manchester United for the first time against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford.
Mitrovic scored 43 goals in 44 games as Fulham won promotion from the second tier championship the previous season and continued that form, leading the London side in the 32nd minute.
Kenny Tete’s cross from the right was what the long center forward preferred and he smacked Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the house at the far post.
Runners-up the previous stint, Liverpool struggled to gain a foothold in the game but Nunez’s start in the second half had the desired effect.
The Uruguayan, who was bought from Benfica for a starting fee of 75 million euros ($76.36 million), brought the visitors level with a clever flick finish just after the hour mark.
Despite barely threatening after the break, Fulham soon came to the fore as Mitrovic was trapped in the box by Virgil van Dijk, and the Serb moved to stroke home a spot kick to score 2–1. kept.
If signing Nunez was Liverpool’s highest-profile move in the market, Salah’s new contract is arguably the most important part of his business and the Egyptian showed his value by poking home the equalizer again.
Conte’s impressive start for Tottenham
Tottenham’s close-season recruitment has raised hopes in north London that Antonio Conte’s side could move closer to the top two this season and he confirmed a positive outlook with an impressive start.
The hosts fell short of a James Ward-Pruce volley in the 12th minute, but won with goals from Ryan Ssegon, Eric Dier and Dejan Kulusewski.
Southampton’s lead lasted only nine minutes, when Sessegon delivered a header from Kulusevski’s cross to Premier League debutant goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
Dier looked to put Tottenham ahead in the 31st minute with a slanted header into Son Heung-min’s cross, and the hosts should have been out of sight before the gap.
Mohamed Salisu converted Emerson Royal’s cross into his own net in the 61st minute, and two minutes later Royal set up impressive Kulusewski to guide an excellent finish ahead of Bazunu, whose save kept the score respectable.
Everton work for Chelsea win
Jorginho fouled Ben Chilwell to give Chelsea a 1-0 win over Everton. , photo credit: twitter/@premierleague
Chelsea chased down Everton’s goal with 13 corners in the first half but were bound to be disappointed as the gap approached, only for Jorginho to convert from the spot after Ben Chilwell to give the visitors the lead.
A brilliant save from Edouard Mendy at the start of the second half protected Chelsea’s advantage to negate Abdoulaye Doucoure, and it was as good as it got for a disappointing Everton, who only by the skin of his teeth from the previous stint. had survived.
England forward Raheem Sterling, making his first league appearance for Chelsea since the summer switch from Manchester City, could have made an impressive start with a late second, but he saw that his close effort was just wide.
Nottingham Forest’s return to the top flight after a 23-year absence ended in a 2–0 defeat at Newcastle United, with a shoutout by Fabian Schaer before Callum Wilson sealed the victory.
Another promoted side had a better start for Bournemouth, who beat Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa 2–0 with goals from Jefferson Lerma and Kiefer Moore.
Leeds United, who battled against relegation last season, had a facelift with four debutants and enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.