The anticipation for witnessing the ever intriguing English Premier League was put to rest as it commenced last weekend, and how well did it live up to the hype. José Mourinho’s perfect return to the league, Leicester City being punished by the promoted Hull City for their complacency, Pep Guardiola tasting the hostility of the Premier League as he somehow managed to clinch a win over Sunderland, a blockbuster game between the arch rivals Arsenal and Liverpool and Antonio Conte igniting his revolution at Chelsea in a grand manner; all the events summed up to make the wait for a couple of months incredibly worthy. But who were the deputies who particularly lightened up the occasion? Here are our top five picks from the game week one of the Premier League.
- Zlatan Ibrahimović
Manchester United’s new talismanic striker dazzled up front in a territory that is unfamiliar to him and has shown early glimpses that even at 34, the player hasn’t lost his flair. The sensational attacker sculptured an amazing finish to hand José Mourinho’s troops the third goal as his side went out all guns blazing to rattle Bournemouth by three goals to one.
Ibrahimović was impeccable with his movement up front, created a couple of chances and almost scored with a free kick to ensure that the Red Devils imposed a thumping win in their inaugural match of the season which has sent a clear message of their reintegration across the league.
- Phillipe Coutinho
The Premier League has witnessed very few exquisite finishes better than that of Phillipe Coutinho’s thunderous strike which Petr Čech had absolutely no answer to. The Brazilian sensation’s right-footed strike found the top corner of the net which levelled the scoreline just before the interval.
In the second half, Coutinho dropped himself deeper to link up the play and mould the attack of Jürgen Klopp’s men and scored his second after he used Nathaniel Clyne’s cross to sheer perfection
- Robert Snodgrass
Amidst the final scores from the inaugural game week, the outcome of newly promoted Hull City locking horns against defending champions Leicester City must have caught the attention of everyone. This is what Premier League offers: the spice of uncertainty. Mike Phelan must be an elated man, and must have patted the back of his commander-in-chief Robert Snodgrass in particular.
The Scot won innumerable free kicks for his side, looked dangerous with the set pieces and never looked like he was away from the game for 15 months after suffering a knee injury. As the Tigers stunned the Foxes, Snodgrass was the one who was at the core of Hull City’s attacking movements which is evident from the goal he scored, five shots he fired and a couple of chances that he created.
- Łukasz Fabiański
Swansea kicked off their campaign in a handsome fashion with their 1-0 win over newcomers Burnley, thanks to a series of heroic saves from their goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański. The Polish international made three crucial saves against Burnley including the ones from Sam Vokes and Dean Marney which highlighted the calibre of the 31-year-old. The Swans were erratic at times at Turf Moor, but it was the former Arsenal keeper who ensured that no harm was done to his side.
- N’Golo Kanté
Chelsea’s newcomer N’Golo Kanté was arguably the silent protector of the Blues as they bagged a 2-1 win over the fellow London side West Ham at the Stamford Bridge. The ever composed 25-year-old put on a stellar show with 95% passing accuracy, winning six duels and recovering the ball on eight occasions as he imposed himself as a stubborn and daunting figure in front of Slaven Bilić’s troops and at the same time, Kanté has won the hearts of the Chelsea fans in his first outing for his new club.
Statistics Credits: Squawka
