Premier League, Week 1: Chelsea spectacular against Burnley

Chelsea are top of the Premier League table, and they might not venture far from that place for the rest of the season. They started slowly against Burnley but were superb after giving up an early goal, recording a convincing 3-1 win at Turf Moor.

Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, Matic, Fabregas, Oscar (Mikel 82’), Schürrle (Willian 78’), Diego Costa, Hazard (Drogba 84’)

In case you hadn’t noticed, Cesc Fabregas is back in the Premier League.

Now you’ve noticed.

They shouldn’t have a problem opening their campaign against newly-promoted Burnley on Monday, with Sean Dyche having probably the weakest squad in the entire league at his disposal. The Clarets are going to need all of their home advantage and more to get a result against the Blues.

Burnley will be most eager to keep Eden Hazard quiet, with the Belgian probably the best player in the entire league last season. Hazard’s delicate close control and ingenious creative talents mean he’ll always be able to find some space -- and usually make the most of it. With Hazard likely to drift in off the left flank, Burnley’s right-sided defensive players will have to watch him very carefully indeed.

Newcastle held firm as the half progressed, helped in part of City’s poor passing and general wastefulness on the attack.

At last though in the 38th minute, City finally connected their final pass and took the lead. Yaya Toure’s lifted a wonderful long ball from midfield that floated over the defense and fell right on the foot of Eden Džeko. As two defenders collapsed on the striker, he found David Silva with a clever back heel pass as he made a run into the space created by the defenders over shifting to the left. Krul tried to close down Silva’s angle but as he went to ground, the Spaniard fired the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.

Manchester City begin their title defense on Sunday with a trip to St. James’ Park, where Newcastle will be waiting, hoping they’ve done enough over the summer to erase the horror that was the second half of last season.

Indeed, Alan Pardew has included a slew of new faces for Newcastle’s first game of the Premier League season. Daryl Janmaat, Jack Colback, Remy Cabella and Emmanuel Riviere all get the chance to prove their worth from the start.

Goals: Sterling 24’, Sturridge 79’.

Goals: Clyne 56’.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Mignolet; Johnson, Lovren, Skrtel, Manquillo; Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson; Sterling, Sturridge, Coutinho

Subs: Jones, Toure, Sakho, Allen, Ibe, Can, Lambert

Key Player: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City)

We all know how important Yaya Touré is to City (see below), but a case can be made that striker Sergio Agüero is right up there as well in terms of importance. When Agüero was on the pitch, the City attack was better. The problem is, repeated muscle related injuries have caused the Argentine to bounce in and out of the lineup. Considering the impact he’s been able to make while missing stretches of games, imagine what he could do if he can stay on the pitch.

While Sturridge will not be expected to single-handedly replace the departed Luis Suárez, there’s little doubt he’s under considerable more pressure this season to generate goals at at least the same pace as he did last season. If Sturridge can once again break the 20-goal mark, chances are Liverpool should be in good shape to contend for Champions League football again. If he struggles, and the rest of the attack struggles as well without Suárez, who knows what will happen with this team.

While a season opening win wouldn’t be proof that all is well, it would be a great step in the right direction towards getting the Uruguayan’s ghost safely contained in an Ecto-Containment Unit.

Easily the best moment of the first half though was after Arsenal earned a free kick on the right side of the Palace box. As match referee Jonathan Moss tried to mark the free kick spot, his disappearing spray can malfunctioned, sending a fine mist into his own face and Santi Carzola’s, who was standing behind him.

The Gunners were dominate in the second half but a combination of tough defending and clever time wasting from Palace kept Arsenal frustrated, and off the score sheet.

Vanishing spray is new to the Premier League so the referees haven’t quite figured it out yet. As in which way it sprays.

You may think it’s as simple as looking at what direction the nozzle is facing and then points that at the patch of grass you want to mark, but it’s not. Sometimes faces get in the way and you assault yourself and a player. It happens.

This question will follow me forever. What fell into Ashley Young’s mouth?

Is it bird crap? Spit? The seed of an extraterrestrial lifeform that traveled millions of miles to find a human host and use its body as a vehicle for global domination?

Let us translate for you:

“I dislike you. I dislike you. I dislike you. Get out of here you person of undesirable qualities.”

The opening day of the 2014/15 Premier League season did not disappoint. There were some lovely goals, a red card, a missed penalty, and a fairly surprising upset. Not bad at all. Let’s recap all the results from Saturday’s action.

Full match report here.

He got it.

The free kick went just over the bar, but he beat the wall and the goalkeeper was trouble. Watch him, shuffling and unsure of where the ball might dip. It was a good effort. It was also the best free kick of the match.

And so it ended 2-1. For Garry Monk and a rebuilding Swansea City, this is a huge (and deserved) win. For United, however, it’s clear that the problems from last year ran deeper than David Moyes.

Goals: Rooney 53’.

Hello and welcome to the first match of the 2014-2015 Premier League season!

Swansea travel to Old Trafford to kick off the season, where Louis van Gaal will take charge of Manchester United for the first time (in a match that actually means something). With quite a few players injured, the Dutchman was forced to reach deep into his squad. Youngsters Jesse Lingard and Tyler Blackett get their debuts for the club, while Javier Hernández starts up top alongside Wayne Rooney, who is wearing the captain’s armband.

Key player - Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

With Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck expected to miss the match, there will be plenty of extra pressure on Rooney to help lead United’s attack. This will also be his first competitive match wearing the captain’s armband, which gives him a an additional level of responsibility on the pitch. Van Gaal is putting a lot of trust in Rooney, especially considering his history of petulant behavior.

Key player - Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal)

Arsenal injuries and suspensions

The Premier League is back, our long global nightmare is over and we can watch the highest level of club football on our glowing picture boxes again. We know you’re going to be overwhelmed by the beauty of what you see, so go ahead and weep into your coffee on Saturday. We’re not judging you.

Saturday, 7:45 a.m. ET/13:45 GMT