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Sport

08th Aug 2015

The best reactions to the opening day of the Premier League

Welcome back...

Tom Victor

The opening day of a new Premier League season is not a time to draw conclusions.

Teams are still finding their feet and managers are often far from settling on their best starting XI.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the opening weekend for what it is – a chance to welcome back competitive top-level football after weeks of keeping ourselves occupied in other ways.

There were many new additions after a 2014/15 campaign which left some wanting more.

More than 100 new players have been brought in by top-flight clubs, while this weekend also marked the dawn of the team and fixture hashflags.

Manchester United welcomed Spurs to Old Trafford in the early kick-off, but it proved to be a tepid affair with only one particularly notable moment.

The 3:00 games started at a much faster pace, though, with Leicester and Watford both opening up early leads.

https://twitter.com/TheM_L_G/status/630044748145889280

Miguel Layun gave the Hornets an early lead at Everton, but it was Leicester who really impressed early on, racing into a 3-0 lead at home to Sunderland.

Elsewhere, a very new-look Aston Villa took on Bournemouth

While the third of the promoted teams, Norwich, took on Crystal Palace at Carrow Road,.

Heading into the late kickoff between Chelsea and Swansea, Leicester sat atop the table after a 4-2 win. Palace, Villa and Man United occupied the other Champions League places with Watford and Everton just behind after their 2-2 draw.

It looked as though Leicester’s new boss Claudio Ranieri has been settling in well already.

There was a scare for fantasy football managers around the country around 5:15, as Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois picked up an injury in the warm-up.

https://twitter.com/cavanide_/status/630051500685922304

He was ultimately ruled fit to play, only to then get himself sent off in a 2-2 draw.

https://twitter.com/cavanide_/status/630071554567749632

Of course, while this season may be a chance for some to turn over a new leaf, some things never change.