The Premier League is back and it returned with a bit of a bang this weekend. For the first time this season, a look at some of the biggest talking points.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Different season, same Haaland
Erling Haaland is inevitable.
The Manchester City striker blanked in the Community Shield last weekend but found the back of the net after just four minutes against Burnley on Friday night. He added an emphatic second before the break with an ominous finish that crashed in off the crossbar as City coasted to a 3-0 win.
He added quality to his finishes, turning an Expected Goals haul of 0.57 into an Expected Goals on target total of 1.12.
Haaland finished the game having taken four shots while also creating two chances.
The Seagulls are soaring
Brighton put on quite the show to kick off the new campaign. Roberto De Zerbi’s men put Luton Town to the sword in a 4-1 win.
It was fully deserved too with the hosts having 27 shots. Of those, six were classed as big chances as they racked up an Expected Goals total of 4.01.
The star of the show was Pervis Estupiñán as the flying full-back created six chances, two big chances and finished with an assist. He also had three shots in what was one of the most eye-catching displays of the weekend.
Magical Magpies set St James’ park alight
After an impressive 2023/24 season, the pressure is on Newcastle United. They are expected to win games and challenge for a European spot. Kicking off the season against Aston Villa was supposed to be a difficult challenge yet the hosts ran riot in an utterly dominant display.
Eddie Howe’s men hit five goals on their way to a 5-1 win. It was a statement performance with the home side creating nine big chances and finishing the game with almost double the Expected Goals total (3.44 to 1.77).
Summer signing Harvey Barnes had quite the cameo after coming on with 22 minutes left to play. The former Leicester man scored and created two big chances as the Magpies put on a finishing clinic.
Same problems at Goodison Park
Fulham picked up a 1-0 win against Everton but they owe those three points to their goalkeeper. Bernd Leno finished with a FotMob rating of 8.4 after making nine saves.
The one-time Arsenal shot-stopper faced shots with an Expected Goals value of 2.73 but claimed an incredible clean sheet.
Fulham had one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League last season and if this match is anything to go by, it might be another busy season for the German keeper this time around. Marco Silva needs to sort the system out as this isn’t sustainable.
A Maddison masterclass
James Maddison stepped up for Spurs. Following the departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, the England international claimed the No.10 jersey and he even finished the match against Brentford with the captain’s armband.
He claimed two assists on his debut, albeit he didn’t know much about the second after being fouled just after poking the ball into the path of Emerson Royal. His first assist oozed class though, as his venomous freekick was nodded home by Cristian Romero. The former Leicester maestro also created six chances in the match.
If this is a sign of things to come, the £40million signing will be viewed as a bargain buy.
(Images from IMAGO)
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