If the opening day of the season went pretty much to form, the book was ripped up and thrown out of the window in the season’s second weekend. Having habitually failed to get their due reward on trips to Fratton Park, Manchester United took three deserved points from Portsmouth with Darren Fletcher’s thirty-second minute strike. Chelsea continued their winning start with Deco scoring after just four minutes, enough to ensure Wigan Athletic joined Pompey in propping up the table.

Joining Chelsea at the top of the table with maximum points were Liverpool who had to come from behind to beat Middlesbrough. Mido grabbed his second goal of the campaign, scoring after seventy minutes had passed. It seemed as though that would be enough for the visitors to provide the shock of the day until Emmanuel Pogatetz put through his own net with four minutes remaining on the clock. A point would have been well-earned by the visitors but with four minutes of injury time played, Steven Gerrard popped up to score the winner in a 2-1 victory in which Robbie Keane failed to score but he did manage to get himself booked so there is something to remember his home debut by.

His presence is not missed at White Hart Lane where Tottenham worked hard to lose 1 - 2 to Sunderland and sink into the relegation places. Kieran Richardson gave the visitors the lead on fifty-five minutes, the second coming from the only aristocrat playing in the Premier League, the Lord of Frodsham Manor, Djibril Cisse scoring on eighty-three minutes. A Tottenham player found the net ten minutes earlier, Jermaine Jenas grabbing that honour.

The shock result of the day came at Craven Cottage came as Fulham scored the only goal of the game to defeat Arsenal, some poor marking at a corner midway through the first half allowed Hangeland to head home. Despite some good opportunities, Arsenal’s woeful form against struggling teams on their travels is an ill for which Arsene Wenger has to find a cure if his side are to live up to their pre-season tag as one of the favourites for the title although Paddy Power’s odds of 12-1 seemed a generous at the time.

Hull City proved that their opening day win over Fulham was no flash in the pan as Phil Brown’s side shared the spoils at Ewood Park. Blackburn Rovers took the lead through Jason Roberts seven minutes before half-time only to be pegged back within two minutes by Garcia. No sign of Dean Windass making his Premier League debut for Hull but he did at least manage to look totally disinterested on the bench. Fellow promotees Stoke City managed to overcome Aston Villa for their first win of the season. A Liam Lawrence penalty gave them a first half lead but John Carew equalised for Villa just past the hour mark, parity lasting until the eightieth minute when Fuller gave the hosts the lead once more. Barely had the bottoms returned to the seats in the stadium when Martin Laursen equalised for the visitors but with barely time to restart the game before full-time, Sidibe scored to set The Potteries rocking. For a week at least.

Not that the same could be said for The Hawthorns as West Bromwich Albion slumped to their second defeat of the season. Everton took the lead on sixty-five minutes through Leon Osman and doubled it when Yakubu scored with fourteen minutes to go. A Roman Bednar penalty in the last minute might have reduced the deficit but it cannot disguise the fact that it is beginning to look like a long, hard season in the West Midlands.

Which is precisely what Newcastle United supporters may have been expecting as stories of ructions at St James Park began to surface, Kevin Keegan apparently taking umbrage at not being in control of player signings and departures. Bolton Wanderers might have hoped to take advantage of this turmoil but found out that contrary to the popular belief in the media, Michael Owen can hit the backside of a cow with banjo, scoring with nineteen minutes to go. It would not be enough to get him into Fabio Capello’s squad for the England internationals against Andorra and Croatia but at least it ensured that he would not be forgotten when the time for the October squad to be announced.

Finally at Eastlands, Mark Hughes first home Premier League match in charge of Manchester City ended with a comprehensive 3 - 0 victory over West Ham United. Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring with twenty-five minutes remaining and not for the last time this season, the samba rhythms rang across the city as Elano grabbed a brace in six second half minutes for The Citizens. It would not be the last time that the City fans enjoyed a Brazilian’s work in the box this season.

Tags: Football, premier league, Soccer

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