Pictures: best images from Premier League opening day
5.44pm BST
Maybe it wasnt quite like Christmas, but we had fun didnt we? A very Premier Leaguey start to the Premier League, all told. And just one more sleep til the next instalment...
5.43pm BST
Before I leave you, it would be remiss not to point out that the FA Cup got underway today with the Extra Preliminary Round. Heres one update from some chaps who have an outstanding handle on the cups early rounds:
FT Waltham Forest 1-2 Hoddesdon #facup Decent game short on goal threat but 3 goals better than this stage last year, for us.
5.39pm BST
And once youve done that, join Barry Glendenning once more for Arsenal v Crystal Palace. Its 0-0 so far, youve not missed anything important yet...
5.38pm BST
5.33pm BST
How it ended at Upton Park
5.32pm BST
Arsenal v Palace has just kicked off and if the Gunners win, itll be the first home victory in seven top flight games played today.
5.16pm BST
Latest goal of the day goes to Rochdales Ian Henderson, who has scored with a penalty in the tenth minute of injury time at Chesterfield. Not sure what happened there. But the whistle has gone now, and his side lost 2-1.
5.14pm BST
Championship - Bournemouth, 6pts (Millwall also have 6/6)
League One - Bristol City, 6pts (Chesterfield, Peterborough, Fleetwood and Crawley also have 6/6)
5.08pm BST
So what do we make of all that?
West Ham will surely be the most damaged by todays events; Sam Allardyce doesnt seem to have much slack as it is, and his side really shot itself in the foot today.
5.01pm BST
Tottenham win and Bentaleb had himself a great game. Not sure if he misplaced a single pass.
The young Algerian did play well. Big things for him under Pochettino, youd think.
4.59pm BST
And from the Championship: Birmingham 1-0 Brighton, Blackpool 1-2 Blackburn, Bolton 2-2 Forest, Bournemouth 1-0 Brentford, Cardiff 3-1 Huddersfield, Charlton 2-1 Wigan, Fulham 0-1 Millwall, Norwich 3-0 Watford, Reading 1-0 Ipswich, Rotherham 1-0 Wolves. Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Derby.
4.56pm BST
Weimanns goal did it for Paul Lambert; the fanfare over Bojan didnt come to a lot.
4.55pm BST
That late Austin penalty miss was costly for QPR and their three-man back line. James Chesters goal did the job.
4.54pm BST
These two also share the spoils; Sunderland will be the happier after being worse off for much of the game.
4.53pm BST
Late equaliser by Wood there. And the kind of result youd have expected.
4.53pm BST
What an ending there. That was quite something. Big Sam wont be finding that easy at all and will be ruing Mark Nobles missed penalty as well as the James Collins red card that let Spurs back into it.
4.52pm BST
Were currently looking at four away wins and two draws in todays Premier League games so far...
4.51pm BST
My goodness! Eric Dier, playing at right back and of course making his Spurs debut, makes a diagonal run across the defence, takes Andros Townsends ball in behind, rounds Adrian and slots into the empty net! Who on earth could have seen a winner coming from that source? Incredible enterprise and composure.
4.47pm BST
Aaron Cresswell has been named Man of the Match at Upton Park. No surprise, hes been excellent on his debut after arriving from Ipswich. Neat, tenacious and a fine left foot. This guy is the real deal.
4.46pm BST
Chris Wood seemed on the verge of a move to Wolves earlier this week, but he took his place on the bench for the Foxes this afternoon and hes done it, hes equalised and maybe changed how his own future will look.
4.44pm BST
Patrick Van Aanholt centres from one side, Sebastian Larsson appears from the other to convert, and that was against the run of play.
4.43pm BST
Charlie Austins spot-kick is saved by Allan McGregor!
4.42pm BST
Chester, the scorer, is penalised for handball. Protests aplenty; this one may have been harsh too.
4.40pm BST
Theres also a resounding derby victory-in-waiting for Plymouth over Exeter in League Two: Curtis Nelson has just put the Home Park side 3-0 up against their nearest and dearest.
4.39pm BST
And also in League One, its now Scunthorpe 0-4 Preston. Two for Joe Garner. Misery at Glanford Park, or whichever sponsors name it should be.
4.37pm BST
Sheffield United, under Nigel Clough, are well fancied for a tilt at the Championship this season, but they lost their first game to Bristol City and are now 2-0 down at Coventry, Jim OBrien and a Rob Harris own goal delighting the adoring Sixfields hordes.
4.35pm BST
Arsenal: Arsenal: Szczesny, Debuchy, Koscielny, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Alexis, Cazorla, Sanogo.
Palace: Speroni, Kelly, Dann, Hangeland, Ward, Puncheon, Jedinak, Ledley, Bolasie, Chamakh, Campbell.
4.32pm BST
Berahino again! Top scorer last season with nine, and he now has two goals here. A clinical sidefooter after Vito Mannone made an initial parry.
4.31pm BST
Aaron Wilbraham has scored twice for Bristol City against Colchester. They are 2-1 up, but what youll have probably forgotten is that Wilbraham, 34, was a Premier League player with Palace last season.
4.28pm BST
And action at West Ham, where Spurs seem encouraged by that James Collins red card and are really putting a lot of pressure on now. Andros Townsends long-range right-footer, tipped over by Adrian, was very close and then he daisy-cut one across the face of goal...it only needed a touch...
4.26pm BST
Jeffrey Schlupp has had a chance to be a hero for Leicester, moments after coming on.....but, faced by the whites of Tim Howards eyes, he shot way off target. Still 2-1 to Everton there.
4.24pm BST
The below is true. But Adrian was not beaten.
4.23pm BST
A fan has just run the entire length of the pitch, chased by a load of stewards, and taken the Tottenham free-kick.
4.22pm BST
Its now 3-0 to Norwich against 10-man Watford. Lewis Grabban, with his first for the club, and Alex Tettey have put this one well beyond the visitors.
4.21pm BST
Ten aside, no complaints: Adebayor is released by Holtby and drives at the defence, Collins bodycheck is needless really, as there seem to be other defenders available to cover, but its a second yellow card and Sam Allardyce will be furious at this loss of momentum.
4.19pm BST
At Upton Park, Holtby and Townsend are on for Lennon and Lamela. The latter, in particular, has been invisible but Im not sure this is the best situation in which to make (more) damning judgments.
4.18pm BST
Picking up where we left off earlier, the Os have turned it around at Boundary Park...
4.14pm BST
A bit of concern at Upton Park as new boy Aaron Cresswell goes down, but he seems ok and the game goes on there. The home side are putting the pressure on at the moment and theres not a lot of verve on show, but Spurs have 33 minutes of crosses to deal with.
4.12pm BST
And it only took a little dig at Blackpool to get a goal out of them, too. Tomas Cywka has brought it back to Blackpool 1-2 Blackburn.
4.11pm BST
Its James Chester, who gets ahead of Rio Ferdinand and heads into an unattended far post!
4.10pm BST
Heres a stab at that DJ set from Holly McGuire (cc. Jon Ramsay):
You Tripped at Every Step Elvis Costello; Long Shot Teenage Fanclub; Under Pressure Queen and Bowie; Money (Thats What I Want) Beatles version.
4.09pm BST
There, that was all it needed. Begovic should parry the ball away from Weimann, and he converts to set up what would be a bit of a surprise in the circumstances.
4.07pm BST
Weve not seen too much from Stoke v Villa yet. Bojan and Diouf, the biggest new attractions, havent had too much of a kick and the visitors seem fairly comfortable.
4.05pm BST
Blackburn look in good form; Blackpool are still in rather a lot of trouble. Rudy Gestede has been excellent since joining from Cardiff last winter.
4.04pm BST
Pretty much, anyway. Lets get cracking again...
4.03pm BST
Another snippet from the Championship is that Cardiff got up and running during that half, Peter Whittingham and Kenwyne Jones seemingly setting them fair against managerless Huddersfield who lost 4-0 to Bournemouth last week, remember before Murray Wallace pulled one back.
4.00pm BST
Also, there was another injury to report towards the end of those Premier League halves. Robert Snodgrasss debut for Hull was curtailed just before the break, Stephen Quinn replacing him.
3.58pm BST
In Scotland earlier, Celtic beat Dundee United 6-1. Thats nine goals in two games for Ronny Deilas side, who seem spurred on by their Champions League reprieve.
3.57pm BST
And this from Darren Hilton: To keep your emails exotic, Im watching the Everton match 9,000 feet up in the Andes in Quito, Ecuador. McGeady and Naismith wouldnt have been in my starting 11 for Everton today, but what do I know? Roberto knows best.
Lack of oxygen must have been getting to you, Darren. Anyway, this is all fine, but are any of you actually at a game? Or watching a particularly obscure one?
3.50pm BST
Before I go for a coffee, heres a message from another nuptials-dodger, Ruairi: Following the Saturday clockwatch from Tallinn, Estonia, were out here for a wedding. I met Jari Litmanens best friend last time I was here 3 years ago. Who knows this time...Martin Poom? Jari himself?
Its the inverted commas that interest me.
3.49pm BST
The party at Kenilworth has been put on hold AFC have just taken the lead in retro Wimbledon fashion - this was a goal straight out of the Dave Bassett/Bobby Gould era. Goalkeeper James Shea launched the ball forward, Adebayo Akinfenwa flicked on, and Matt Tubbs crashed home. Good old route one.
3.48pm BST
West Ham 0-0 Spurs (Naughton sent off; Noble missed pen)
Leicester 1-2 Everton
3.45pm BST
He is the Scottish Messi after all! Another one that thuds in off the woodwork, this time the crossbar, and the perfect time to score. Everton look like being entertainers this season once more.
3.44pm BST
Its Luton 0-1 AFC Wimbledon in the game John mentioned earlier, by the way. Matt Tubbs in the 42nd minute.
3.43pm BST
Let our pictures tell the story heres a gallery from around the grounds.
3.42pm BST
Saido Berahino equalises and there are a few exhalations of relief up at the Hawthorns.
3.41pm BST
They need this...
3.40pm BST
Bit of a pause in proceedings at Leicester while Danny Drinkwater gets some treatment. Time to look at that McGeady goal again the THWANG off the far post as his whipped shot put Everton ahead was, whoever you support, very pleasing.
In fact, Drinkwater has had to go off. Dean Hammond replaces him. Thats a blow for the hosts, as Drinkwater was influential last term.
3.37pm BST
Heck of a game there, with Britt Assombalonga getting off the mark for Forest.
3.36pm BST
So thats the Canaries up and running against Watfordinesada.
3.34pm BST
To the northern side of the border, where Andrew McMahon looks ahead to a time-honoured grudge match:
A big month coming up in Scotland as we head towards September and the biggest event of this, or any other, season. Yes, the Dundee derby is back. The world-famous Dundee United FC took full points from their first two games against Aberdeen and Motherwell to be the early pace setters, whereas new boys Dundee have struggled with two draws, and are currently losing at home to Partick Thistle. Ill be looking out for Hull, too, who have got themselves a player in Andrew Robertson, who left United in the summer after a stellar season at Tannadice.
3.33pm BST
Jon Ramsey is in more exotic climes: Currently following the MBM while DJing at a half empty bar in Singapore. Hope youre taking your duties slightly more seriously Nick ;). Ill level with you, Jon and I know each other, he knows well the sweat that will be going into this live blog. Now what would a Premier League Clockwatch DJ set include...?
3.30pm BST
My goodness. Lloris goes one way: good. Noble puts it the other: bad.
3.29pm BST
For the handball that has just given West Ham a penalty its been hotly disputed...
3.28pm BST
Championship updates: Reading 1-0 Ipswich, Blackpool 0-1 Blackburn, Bolton 1-1 Forest - more later, theres a penalty at West Ham....
3.26pm BST
Before that flurry in Leicester, I was typing something about Jamie Cureton scoring for Dag & Red at Burton (they still lead 1-0). This piece from Jacob Steinberg tells you why thats remarkable.
3.25pm BST
We need more of that. Be more like John, please. If youre at a game, tell us what its like.
3.24pm BST
My colleague John Ashdown gets in touch from Luton:
Hello from a jam-packed Kenilworth Road, where league football has returned after a 1,939-day absence. AFC Wimbledon are the visitors and its been a scrappy start, the only incidents of note three handball penalty shouts for the home side, each as unlikely as the last.
3.23pm BST
Ah, this Premier League of ours. Pinball from a Leicester corner, one bite for debutant Ulloa, two bits, ball thrashed to Tim Howards left from eight yards. If were to get profound, weve just seen two quite recognisable sides of Everton here too.
3.22pm BST
Make sure you see this one tonight! Kaspar Schmeichel saves at the feel of Sylvain Distin, but the ball spins out to Aidan McGeady who sets himself out on the left and curls one with impossible accuracy inside the far top corner.
3.19pm BST
Bringing you this one because Orient, who lost so cruelly in the play-off final in May, have started the season badly despite spending pretty big in the summer. Hangover.
3.17pm BST
Its pretty quiet, otherwise, in the Premier League at the moment. Wes Morgan just sliced wide for Leicester against Everton it was a difficult chance and he did well to keep it down.
3.15pm BST
Not a good start for Felix Magath at the moment. He was out-Mick McCarthyd last week and Ian Holloway seems to have his number in this west vs east London ding-dong.
3.12pm BST
Steven Hovington is feeling stern: We will not neglect the Championship this afternoon he quotes back at us. So how come it took half an hour to report that Leeds had scored? Just admit youre not bothered about anything but the PL.
Wont tell you who I support then, Steven, but to be honest that was more due to a lack of fingers and surfeit of incoming team news than any wilful neglect. Charlton have just gone a goal up against Wigan through Jordan Cousins, as it goes.
3.10pm BST
Reading MBM at a wedding in Lisbon. COYB. Need a big game from Naismith (aka the Scottish Messi), says Rob Aldus, whose sending of this epistle in the subject line of his email speaks of a certain furtiveness. Before Rob says his vows (ha, ha), lets tell him that Leicester v Everton is pretty nip and tuck so far, with the visitors just on top.
3.07pm BST
An early red card in the Championship at Norwich, where Joel Ekstrand has been dismissed for visiting Watford. Hopefully they, Udinese and Granada have the squad depth to accommodate for his suspension.
3.06pm BST
And it is, of course, Lee Cattermole from 35 yards. Ben Foster got a hand to it, but these sides have begun the season as they left off.
3.03pm BST
No goals yet, but youve three to read about here. Our man Danny Taylors report from a shock result at Old Trafford is fresh and live!
3.02pm BST
Murphy Medji is following proceedings on a dodgy wifi connection on a coach between Split and Zagreb, which is exactly the detail we need. Hes Really hoping for a powerhouse performance from Cresswell and Noble, so lets wish him luck with that.
3.00pm BST
Dont. Go. Anywhere.
2.57pm BST
Roberto Martinez will be viewing this game as optimistically as he does everything with optimism, says Jeff Stelling. Yes, the Premier League is back.
2.55pm BST
Five minutes to go! The teams will be striding out now. But to what? Any brassy new entrance music, wherever it may be in the world, and we need to know about it.
2.53pm BST
Im reading the MBM in Helsinki, and it all looks very different from the reassuring old lo-tech, random-emboldening, odd-indented text, generally-unfussy style, writes Charles Antaki, who well assume has not been ruminating over the finer points of Erik Lamelas use in the last five minutes. And you could see everything at once, kind of. Is what Im seeing a special format for Finland? What have the Finns done to have snazziness foisted upon them - I mean, I know theyre tops in the design world, but surely the MBM is immune from such considerations of cool?
Its nice though, huh? I think its just to distract you from the actual words.
2.49pm BST
This fan is going to the game. Are you?
2.47pm BST
Simon Joyce writes in about Erik Lamela. Hes clearly going to get an early cruncher and then go missing for the rest of the season. I might have given him a non-London derby first start this season, quoth he. Its a fair point Lamela, of course, debuted against Arsenal last season. Seriously though, what Mauricio Pochettino can make of the Argentine is one of this early-seasons Things To Keep An Eye On.
2.40pm BST
Wow. As soon as our live match report pops through the letterbox, well send it your way.
2.40pm BST
I feel duty bound, now, to point out that these are not my legs.
Saturday football clockwatch live! Join @NickAmes82 now http://t.co/l9YC7z1M2P (Photo: Getty) pic.twitter.com/wF56AxTL9K
2.37pm BST
The Upton Park revolution may have to wait a bit longer if todays team news is anything to go by. Kouyate is a good player but not exactly one given to slick combos; Enner Valencia is not quite match fit so starts on the bench; the same does for Mauro Zarate; Diafra Sakho has only just joined and isnt involved; Carlton Cole starts up top. A midfield of Nolan, Noble, Kouyate and Downing doesnt seem overly given to inspiration. Not sure that is especially Sam Allardyces fault he needs to get the new boys up to speed and thatll take time. For now, it might be more of the tried and, by the Upton Park faithful at least, not very trusted at all. With Spurs attacking lineup looking pretty fluid, it might be a long afternoon for Sam and his critics.
2.31pm BST
We will not neglect the Championship this afternoon, but Middlesbrough might wish we did. Theyve lost 1-0 at Leeds, not really a result youd have had down in the (nascent) form book. Billy Sharp, on his debut, scored in the 88th.
2.28pm BST
Indulge me: we need to talk more about Mame Biram Diouf. Slightly overlooked as a returnee to the Premier League, and having barely featured at Manchester United you can understand it to an extent, but the Senegalese striker is 26 now and scored 35 goals in 71 games for Hamburg. Hes tall, quick, clever, a calm finisher. Cant wait to see Bojan, but Diouf could be one of the leagues best striking additions. What think ye?
2.25pm BST
Stoke: Begovic, Bardsley, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters, Whelan, Nzonzi, Bojan, Ireland, Arnautovic, Diouf. Subs: Sorensen, Huth, Muniesa, Adam, Walters, Sidwell, Crouch.
Aston Villa: Guzan, Cissokho, Hutton, Vlaar, Senderos, Delph, Westwood, Richardson, NZogbia, Weimann, Agbonlahor. Subs: Given, Baker, Clark, Bacuna, El Ahmadi, Bent, Grealish.
2.21pm BST
Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Moore, Konchesky, Knockaert, Drinkwater, King, Mahrez, Ulloa, Nugent. Subs: Hamer, Hammond, Schlupp, Hopper, Taylor-Fletcher, Wasilewski, Wood.
Everton: Howard, Stones, Baines, Distin, Jagielka, McCarthy, Barry, Pienaar, McGeady, Naismith, Lukaku. Subs: Robles, Mirallas, Besic, Atsu, Osman, Coleman, Alcaraz.
2.17pm BST
Update! Update! Gylfi Sigurdsson has put Swansea back in front at Old Trafford! Get the last 15 or so with Barry G.
2.16pm BST
West Brom: Foster, Wisdom, Dawson, Olsson, Pocognoli, Mulumbu, Gardner, Dorrans, Berahino, Brunt, Anichebe. Subs: Myhill, Ideye, Davidson, ONeil, Sessegnon, Yacob, Baird.
Sunderland: Mannone, Roberge, Van Aanholt, Brown, OShea (c), Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell, Johnson, Wickham, Fletcher. Subs: Pantilimon, Bridcutt, Gomez, Altidore, Mavrias, Graham, Buckley.
2.13pm BST
QPR: Green, Simpson, Traore, Dunne, Caulker, Ferdinand, Barton, Mutch, Faurlin, Austin, Remy. Subs: Murphy, Hill, Phillips, Onuoha, Henry, Hoilett, Zamora.
Hull: McGregor, Davies, Chester, Bruce, Elmohamady, Robertson, Huddlestone, Livermore, Snodgrass, Ince, Jelavic. Subs: Harper, McShane, Figueroa, Meyler, Quinn, Brady, Aluko.
2.09pm BST
West Ham: Adrian, OBrien, Reid, Collins, Cresswell, Nolan, Noble, Kouyaté, Downing, Cole, Vaz Te. Subs: Jaaskelainen, Zarate, Demel, Diame, Poyet, Valencia, Burke.
Spurs: Lloris, Naughton, Dier, Kaboul, Rose, Bentaleb, Capoue, Lennon, Eriksen, Lamela, Adebayor. Subs: Friedel, Soldado, Holtby, Townsend, Kane, Dawson, Davies.
2.04pm BST
This, here, is what Bojan did on his Stoke debut:
2.01pm BST
Anyway, talk to us. What would you like to see this afternoon? Where are you watching your football? And what game particularly grabs your fancy? @NickAmes82 or nick.ames.casual@theguardian.com take your pick.
Heres another Im fascinated by: Stoke v Aston Villa. Villas transfer activity had been pretty underwhelming until Carlos Sanchez pitched up the other day, but they still seem in a bit of trouble and you could be forgiven for including them among your relegation predictions. Stoke, for their part, have Bojan on board and have just snared Victor Moses. Mark Hughes certainly moved them towards a more possession-based game last season and it looks as if thats about to be married with real flair, too.
1.57pm BST
And Barry will have much more for you here
1.53pm BST
And Louise Taylor has some thoughts on and perhaps for Mike Ashley. Newcastles game with Manchester City is, of course, tomorrow.
1.52pm BST
How else can we amuse you before the teams start filtering in? Well, while watching Ander Herrera you could always read about him if you havent already. Sid Lowes interview is customarily excellent.
1.50pm BST
1.49pm BST
You already know that United are a goal down/Swansea are a goal up/were clearly biased in one direction or other....but theres also a match going on in the Championship at the moment. Its Leeds 0-0 Middlesbrough, and there are 19 minutes left to play at Elland Road.
1.46pm BST
To whet your appetites, here is Ki scoring the Premier League seasons goal and Phil Jones suffering the Premier League seasons first shooting.
1.36pm BST
Which match stands out for you? Leicester v Everton a Ross Barkley-less Everton, of course, which is a big early blow for Roberto Martinez stands out for me. The goalposts have moved a little now at Goodison Park after last seasons excellent performance (they finished fifth, remember), and with £28m having been spent on Romelu Lukaku there is something akin to serious expectation there now. It wont be easy at Nigel Pearsons Leicester, who built carefully for promotion from the Championship, have not made wholesale changes during the summer and play decent football with very good width. Might be a few goals in this one.
West Brom v Sunderland also looks interesting, not least because you can see things getting a bit nasty at The Hawthorns this season if Alan Irvine, Ideye Brown (who doesnt instantly seem to be one of the summers bargains) and company dont hit the ground running.
1.30pm BST
That was actually meant to be my Facebook status, but this has probably saved some serious unfriending. Anyway, wasnt Football Christmas in the middle of June this year if were honest? And shouldnt anyone who actually, seriously uses that phrase be summarily dismissed from all sections of society and confined to an early afternoon listening to Michael Owens dulcet strains in his/her earpiece? Aaah. Doesnt matter youd have to be cold of heart, or too busy having a really great time filming proceedings with your iPad, not to feel a little weak at the knees at the Premier League/EPL/BPL/Best League In The World/Old Division Ones return. There is something of comfort and sustenance about all this and, even if some of the usual suspects may not quite be up to post-World Cup speed, there should be plenty to keep us occupied as we see whos hit the ground running and whos nursing a nasty bump.
1.30pm BST
Nick will be here shortly.
Continue reading...