Premier League Wrap (Week One)

The opening of Premier League play provided it’s fair amount of excitement, ties and blowouts. After the jump we’ll give a run down of all of this past weekend’s action.

Saturday, August 14 – Tottenham Hotspur 0, Manchester City 0

Almost 36,000 packed into White Hart Lane to watch the first Premiership fixture of the season and were treated to the always exciting nil-nil draw. Spurs was certainly the most impressive team overall, but couldn’t break through Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart. The 23-year old surprisingly won the start over veteran Shay Given and recorded eight saves while completely frustrating the impressive Tottenham offense, which outshot MCFC 21-14.

Saturday, August 14 – Aston Villa 3, West Ham United 0

Considering the drama of at the beginning of last week, which saw manager Martin O’Neill step down amid rumors surrounding star James Milner’s imminent departure, it was a bit of a shocker to see such a dominating score line. The young English international has been linked to Manchester City (of course), and many feel that he may have played his last match as a Villan. On the pitch, it didn’t appear as if Milner was contemplating his move, as he keyed a dominating Aston Villa offense that outshot the Hammers 28-14. Stewart Downing and Stillyan Petrov netted scores for Villa, and Milner knocked in the final score in the 66th minute.

Saturday, August 14 – Blackburn Rovers 1, Everton 0

Everton put on one of the more surprising performances of the weekend, but for all the wrong reasons, appearing completely out of their element in their first Premier League loss since February. The Toffees completely dominated possession (70-30) and shots (21-6), and usually reliable keeper Tim Howard had a major gaffe to give up the lone goal. Howard dropped the ball in the box, allowing Nikola Kalinic to finish in the 14th minute.

Saturday, August 14 – Bolton Wanderers 0, Fulham 0

American Stuart Holden battled some bad luck as well, hitting off the post in the 78th minute and allowing for Fulham to hold on for a point. Bolton appeared to be the better side for stretches of the match, and new midfielder Martin Petrov had a notable debut despite the even scoreline. For Fulham, Bobby Zamora looked confident on a pair of chances, but couldn’t find the net.

Saturday, August 14 – Sunderland 2, Birmingham 2

Birmingham scored a pair of late goals to pull even for a draw vs. Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Darren Bent opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 24th minute after a foul by defender Stephen Carr. The game turned worse for Carr in the 56th minute, as he headed in an own goal to put Sunderland up 2-0. Scott Dann headed in a soft goal to kick start the Birmingham offense against a 10-man Sunderland in the 77th minute. Eleven minutes later, Liam Ridgewell tied up the affair, scoring off a Sebastian Larsson free kick.

Saturday, August 14 – Wigan Athletic 0, Blackpool 4

In what was undoubtedly the shocker of the weekend, newly promoted Blackpool put a familiar hurting on Wigan Athletic. After getting hammered 8-0 by Champion Chelsea in the 2009-10 finale, the Latics were out of their sort as Blackpool in the opener, who needed to win a playoff to even make it to first division football this season. Marlon Harwood collected a brace, and both Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Alex Baptiste scored for the Tangerines.

Saturday, August 14 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 2, Stoke City 1

David Jones and Steven Fletcher scored in a two-minute stretch towards the end of the first half. Jones scored off a fantastic free kick, and a goal from close range by Fletcher provided the final difference. An Abdoulaye Faye header in the 55th minute brought the match within reach, but Stoke City couldn’t find the equalizer. American Marcus Hahneman recorded three saves in net for his first win of the season.

Saturday, August 14 – Chelsea 6, West Bromwich Albion

Chelsea opened up Stamford Bridge much in the same way they closed the 2009-10 season, in style. Didier Drogba netted a hat trick for the Blues in less than 70 minutes of play. Florent Malouda recorded a brace, opening the scoring with a sixth minute goal and scored the match’s final goal in the 90th minute. Frank Lampard also scored. West Brom was really no match for the reigning English Champions, who dominated a match that could have just as easily been 7-0 or 8-0.

Sunday, August 15 – Liverpool 1, Arsenal 1

A 45th minute red card on Joe Cole gave many Arsenal fans hope for a rare three points at Anfield, but the Gunners found themselves struggling with a 10-man Reds for much of the match. David Ngog, who started ahead of Fernando Torres, took advantage of a Javier Mascherano pass and scored an outstanding goal. Arsenal outshot Liverpool 17-8, but weren’t terribly dangerous until Pepe Reina bungled a ball off the post in the 90th minute to tie the match.

Monday, August 16 – Manchester United 3, Newcastle United 0

The Red Devils dominated possession and shots on the way to a very comfortable win over the Magpies at Old Trafford. Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring in the 33rd minute and Darren Fletcher recorded the second goal in the 41st minute. Ryan Giggs notched an 85th minute goal for the final score.