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Premier League Review: The biggest stories of the opening weekend

Premier League Review: The biggest stories of the opening weekend

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The return of the Premier League this weekend saw shock results, dazzling debuts, a host of eye-catching performances, and no scoreless matches. But what were the biggest talking points?

By Sam McGuire, our new Premier League expert

Premier League, meet Darwin Núñez

Championship champions Fulham stunned Liverpool at Craven Cottage in a game that finished 2-2. Though the Reds had the majority of the ball – finishing the match having had 67% possession – the hosts dominated the tempo and the space. Fulham limited Liverpool to an expected goals haul of just 0.11 in those opening 45 minutes. 

And then Jürgen Klopp introduced Darwin Núñez. He wanted to fight fire with fire having seen what Aleksandar Mitrović, Fulham’s powerhouse centre-forward, did to his team. 

A £65million summer signing from Benfica, the 23-year-old changed the game. He racked up four shots – the most in the match – in a 45-minute cameo and created two chances, finishing the match with a goal and an assist. 

Liverpool’s expected goals total in the second half was 1.12, really highlighting how, yet again, Klopp’s decision to unleash the chaos maker paid dividends. It is only a matter of time before he will be leading the line for the Premier League title hopefuls.

Manchester City’s inevitability

It took Erling Haaland just 36 minutes to open his Premier League account for the reigning champions. The 22-year-old earned and scored the penalty in the first half and then raced through after the break to calmly curl the ball past Alphonse Areola. 

On another day, he comes away from the London Stadium with the match ball having taken five shots – the second most of any player this weekend. The Norway international missed two decent chances from within the six-yard box. The second of these efforts arrived just five minutes after he had made it a double. 

Perhaps the biggest surprise was what Haaland was doing in the build-up. One of the concerns following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund was how the ruthless goalscorer would adapt to Man City’s patient approach. 

Yet against West Ham, the City No. 9 found a teammate with 91% of his passes and the team average was 93%. He seamlessly slotted in and that can only be a bad thing for everybody else.

Brighton gatecrash Erik ten Haag’s Old Trafford debut

Manchester United had lost just one of their pre-season outings heading into this match. Ten Hag had managed to bolster his ranks with the signings of Lisandro Martínez and Tyrell Malacia – both of whom started against Brighton. 

Prior to kick-off, the home crowd would have been confident and hopeful. Yet 30 seconds into the match, they might have felt a little differently after Leandro Trossard pressed Diogo Dalot, dispossessed him and then lashed a left-footed effort into David De Gea’s side netting. 

That was a sign of things to come as Graham Potter’s men flew out of the blocks and aggressively pursued the hosts. 

Potter stuck with his 3-4-3 system but went with two wingers in the wing-back roles as opposed to converted full-backs, with Solly March being deployed on the right and Trossard on the left. It is a subtle tweak but it makes a big difference. 

They took up positive off-the-ball positions in high and wide areas which allowed Adam Lallana and Pascal Groß to overload central positions while supporting Danny Welbeck. It was a first-half blitz and it worked so well with 86% of their expected goals total coming in those opening 45 minutes. 

The Third Spurs Threat

Heading into the game against Southampton, all eyes would have been on Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane. The former claimed the Golden Boot last season alongside Mohamed Salah having netted a career-high 23 goals. 

Kane scored 17 times and notched a further nine assists in a season that went somewhat under the radar due to the exploits of his teammate.  

Spurs came from a goal behind to record a 4-1 win but neither Kane or Son got on the scoresheet for Antonio Conte’s men. 

In fact, the star of the show on Saturday was Dejan Kulusevski. The 22-year-old finished with a goal and an assist to continue his blistering form for the Premier League side following the loan switch from Juventus. 

He now has six goals and nine assists in the English top-flight in just 1,353 minutes. Kulusevski could prove to be the difference-maker for Spurs this season if teams look to thwart Son and Kane. 

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Premier League season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Premier League Review: The biggest stories of the opening weekend

The return of the Premier League this weekend saw shock results, dazzling debuts, a host of eye-catching performances, and no scoreless matches. But what were the biggest talking points?

By Sam McGuire, our new Premier League expert

Premier League, meet Darwin Núñez

Championship champions Fulham stunned Liverpool at Craven Cottage in a game that finished 2-2. Though the Reds had the majority of the ball – finishing the match having had 67% possession – the hosts dominated the tempo and the space. Fulham limited Liverpool to an expected goals haul of just 0.11 in those opening 45 minutes. 

And then Jürgen Klopp introduced Darwin Núñez. He wanted to fight fire with fire having seen what Aleksandar Mitrović, Fulham’s powerhouse centre-forward, did to his team. 

A £65million summer signing from Benfica, the 23-year-old changed the game. He racked up four shots – the most in the match – in a 45-minute cameo and created two chances, finishing the match with a goal and an assist. 

Liverpool’s expected goals total in the second half was 1.12, really highlighting how, yet again, Klopp’s decision to unleash the chaos maker paid dividends. It is only a matter of time before he will be leading the line for the Premier League title hopefuls.

Manchester City’s inevitability

It took Erling Haaland just 36 minutes to open his Premier League account for the reigning champions. The 22-year-old earned and scored the penalty in the first half and then raced through after the break to calmly curl the ball past Alphonse Areola. 

On another day, he comes away from the London Stadium with the match ball having taken five shots – the second most of any player this weekend. The Norway international missed two decent chances from within the six-yard box. The second of these efforts arrived just five minutes after he had made it a double. 

Perhaps the biggest surprise was what Haaland was doing in the build-up. One of the concerns following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund was how the ruthless goalscorer would adapt to Man City’s patient approach. 

Yet against West Ham, the City No. 9 found a teammate with 91% of his passes and the team average was 93%. He seamlessly slotted in and that can only be a bad thing for everybody else.

Brighton gatecrash Erik ten Haag’s Old Trafford debut

Manchester United had lost just one of their pre-season outings heading into this match. Ten Hag had managed to bolster his ranks with the signings of Lisandro Martínez and Tyrell Malacia – both of whom started against Brighton. 

Prior to kick-off, the home crowd would have been confident and hopeful. Yet 30 seconds into the match, they might have felt a little differently after Leandro Trossard pressed Diogo Dalot, dispossessed him and then lashed a left-footed effort into David De Gea’s side netting. 

That was a sign of things to come as Graham Potter’s men flew out of the blocks and aggressively pursued the hosts. 

Potter stuck with his 3-4-3 system but went with two wingers in the wing-back roles as opposed to converted full-backs, with Solly March being deployed on the right and Trossard on the left. It is a subtle tweak but it makes a big difference. 

They took up positive off-the-ball positions in high and wide areas which allowed Adam Lallana and Pascal Groß to overload central positions while supporting Danny Welbeck. It was a first-half blitz and it worked so well with 86% of their expected goals total coming in those opening 45 minutes. 

The Third Spurs Threat

Heading into the game against Southampton, all eyes would have been on Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane. The former claimed the Golden Boot last season alongside Mohamed Salah having netted a career-high 23 goals. 

Kane scored 17 times and notched a further nine assists in a season that went somewhat under the radar due to the exploits of his teammate.  

Spurs came from a goal behind to record a 4-1 win but neither Kane or Son got on the scoresheet for Antonio Conte’s men. 

In fact, the star of the show on Saturday was Dejan Kulusevski. The 22-year-old finished with a goal and an assist to continue his blistering form for the Premier League side following the loan switch from Juventus. 

He now has six goals and nine assists in the English top-flight in just 1,353 minutes. Kulusevski could prove to be the difference-maker for Spurs this season if teams look to thwart Son and Kane. 

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Premier League season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.