English Premier League - Part 1: Winners of the first weekend
Arguably the best league in the world kicked off from its dusty wheels on the 14th of August with money cow’s Manchester City playing against the eternal top four contenders, Tottenham Hotspurs. The first weekend of the season had its fill of surprises and controversies but one thing that satisfied every football purist was the amazing tempo of football in every game that was played.
The first team on this list of winners from the first weekend of the English Premier League is no one other than the current English champions Chelsea. After an abysmal pre-season and a disappointing loss to Manchester United in the Community Shield, the blues opened their league campaign with an emphatic six nil victory over minnows West Bromwich Albion. Critics might say that the game lacked some balance in competition as Chelsea are a far better football side than West Bromwich but a team can only beat what’s in front of it on a given day.
Last season, Chelsea led the English league table after thirty one of the total thirty eight matches. With their cricket score line win over West Brom, bookies have opened up a bet which considers Ancelloti’s men leading the table this time around from August till the finish in May of 2011. If Chelsea do achieve this feat, it will be a completely remarkable accomplishment. In the summer pundits were busy writing off the aging football side, who offloaded old timers such as Deco, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho to name a few.
There is still an argument that Chelsea might falter after the season hits its full stride near Christmas, a time when squads come into play. This Blues squad at the present isn’t all that impressive and experts do point to the fact that if Drogba does get injured, there is a lack of a proper goal scorer in Chelsea’s ranks. The London based club’s fans can derive hope from the availability of Anelka but in all honesty in the past two seasons, Drogba has been a far better player in front of the goal than the Frenchman.
The way Chelsea played against West Brom also brings another matter to the forefront, the issue of motivation. After the likes of Lampard, Drogba, Anelka, Malouda and John Terry returned to the club following a saddening FIFA World Cup in South Africa, their need to prove themselves all over again has re-emerged. This is something that will be crucial to Chelsea’s charge to retain their league championship crown.
A temperamental individual who emerged from Chelsea’s season opening with a lot of applaud and respect is Didier Drogba. After getting his first hatrick of the season in the first game of the season, the Ivory Coast striker has scored in the last thirty two league matches that he has started for Chelsea. Carlo Ancelotti, who took over at Chelsea last season and won the title in his first year in-charge at England, has also successfully turned Stamford Bridge into a fortress once again. Chelsea’s last three league matches at Stamford Bridge have been won by the Champions by a collective score line of twenty one goals to zero.
Another center forward who proved his worth in the first match of the season was Darren Bent. In his days at Tottenham, the English striker once missed a sitter in front of the goal. In the ensuing press conference, Harry Redknapp termed the chance as an opportunity so easy that his wife wouldn’t have had trouble finishing it off. The transfer window that followed, Bent made his move to Sunderland.
Last season, Bent ended the English Premier League season with twenty four goals. Since his move to the black cats, Darren has matured into an expert goal scorer. In Sunderland’s first league game of the 2010-2011 season against Birmingham, Bent opened his goal scoring account for the new league season. The English international footballer has turned into a deadly finisher, who is fit enough to lead the line at the Stadium of light, something that Harry Redknapp’s wife might struggle to do.
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