Manchester City showed why they remain the team to beat on the Premier League’s return this weekend as the English champions cruised to a 3-0 win at Burnley.
Arsenal got their title challenge off to a winning start, but had to survive a nervy finish in beating Nottingham Forest 2-1.
The game of the weekend ended in a 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool, while Tottenham were also held 2-2 at Brentford in their first taste of life without Harry Kane.
AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the opening weekend of the season:
-Caicedo chase explained–
Chelsea and Liverpool took their battle in the transfer market for the signature of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge.
But both sides showed why they are willing to break the Premier League transfer record by spending at least £110 million ($140 million) for the Ecuadorian.
Liverpool started without a recognised defensive midfielder and an attack-minded front six looked slick early on as Luis Diaz gave the visitors the lead.
Chelsea, though, were soon able to pick the Reds’ defence apart with ease and could easily have given Mauricio Pochettino a dream start as Blues boss.
Pochettino’s midfield options have been decimated by a clearout to trim down a bloated squad.
And they appear the front-runners to land Caicedo with Stamford Bridge the 21-year-old’s preferred destination.
– Mind over matter for City –
City ended last season over a month after Burnley had concluded their Championship campaign, but a lack of preparation time for the new season did not show on opening night.
Pep Guardiola insisted the champions are far from their physical best.
“We are still away from our best form but we have to try to not drop points in this period with this amount of games,” said Guardiola.
“How you solve this lack of preparation is a question of mentality.”
But Erling Haaland’s finishing was as sharp as ever to ensure there was no slip-up from City.
The Norwegian took just over three minutes of the new season to find the net before smashing home a sumptuous second off the underside of the bar.
– Newcastle flex strength in depth –
As many of the game’s biggest names chased the riches on offer in the Gulf in recent months, Saudi-backed Newcastle have again resisted the temptation to splash out on stars.
However, Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes enjoyed dream debuts in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa that exemplified the new-found strength in depth on offer to Eddie Howe.
Tonali smashed home just six minutes into his St James’ Park bow after a cross from Anthony Gordon, who had started ahead of Barnes.
Howe’s decision to select Alexander Isak over Callum Wilson was also rewarded with two goals by the Swede.
But Barnes made a stunning impact off the bench as he teed up Wilson for Newcastle’s fourth before rounding off the scoring in stoppage time.
The Magpies will need a stronger squad as the demands of a first Champions League campaign for 20 years kick in.
On this evidence, though, their rise since the Saudi Public Investment Fund took charge under two years ago shows no sign of stopping.
