Weekend review

Hull get off to a flier, while the reigning champions slip up

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 18th August 2008

Gabriel Agbonlahor Aston Villa Manchester City Premier League Football

Agbonlahor: Seven-minute hat-trick

AN EPIC SEASON
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The long wait finally came to an end this weekend as Premier League football returned with a vengeance.

Spectacular goals, a seven-minute hat-trick, a five-goal thriller and mixed fortunes for the top flight new-boys all helped to create a spectacular opening to what promises to be an epic season.

Reigning champions Manchester United began the new campaign in the same manner as they began the last, decidedly unspectacular, while pretenders to the crown - Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool - all took maximum points from their first fixtures.

Blackburn boss Paul Ince's first taste of life among the big boys provided the perfect start, and Tottenham once again failed to live up to their pre-season hype.

Hull, West Brom and Stoke are all widely tipped for a swift return to the second tier, but the Tigers proved that sheer hard work can be enough to cause an upset or two.

The KC Stadium seems like a logical place to begin, as Hull's 104-year wait for top flight action came to end.

Phil Brown's men got off a decidedly shaky start against Fulham as they fell behind to a Seol Ki-Hyeon header inside eight minutes, but responded in magnificent style.

Brazilian playmaker Geovanni could prove to be an astute piece of business for the Tigers, and it was the former Manchester City man who fired the home side level with a sublime curling effort on 22 minutes.

Then with nine minutes left on the clock, all hell broke loose as Caleb Folan kept his cool to slide home a dramatic winner.

One game does not make a season, but Hull have already secured as many victories as Derby managed in the whole of the 2007/08 campaign and look capable of holding their own among England's elite.

Unfortunately for West Brom and Stoke they were unable to replicate the heroics of the Tigers.

The Baggies got the new season up and running as they made the unenviable trip to Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.

Tony Mowbray's men gave a good account of themselves against a youthful Gunners outfit, but ultimately slumped to a 1-0 defeat.

The impressive Samir Nasri scored the first goal of the 2008/09 campaign, rounding off a typically flowing Arsenal move inside four minutes.

If Stoke were under any illusions as to how tough life in the top flight can be, they were given a harsh lesson at the Reebok Stadium by a resurgent Bolton.

The Trotters will be keen to avoid becoming embroiled in a relegation dogfight of their own this term and eased to a 3-1 win in their opening game.

Gretar Steinsson's thunderbolt set them on their way after 34 minutes, before Kevin Davies (41) and Johan Elmander (45) wrapped up the points inside the first half.

The introduction of Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence after the break helped bring the Potters to life, although the former's injury-time header was nothing more than a consolation.

The game of the day, and arguably the weekend, was at Goodison Park, where Blackburn prevailed in a topsy-turvy encounter with Everton.

David Dunn curled Rovers into a 22nd minute lead on Merseyside, but saw his strike eclipsed by Mikel Arteta's cleverly disguised free-kick just a minute after the break.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni then put the hosts in front when he powered home a header just after the hour-mark, only to see some sloppy defending hand Roque Santa Cruz the simplest of chances to restore parity on 66 minutes.

With time running out, Andre Ooijer then became the unlikeliest of heroes for Paul Ince's men as he bundled home to secure a 3-2 win.

Tottenham have once again been touted as potential top-four challengers, but looked anything but away at Middlesbrough.

Juande Ramos' men were comfortably beaten 2-1 on Teesside, and it could have been more.

Afonso Alves wasted a good early chance, while David Wheater had a perfectly good goal ruled out for a supposed tug on Michael Dawson.

However, the towering centre-back did get on the scoresheet after 71 minutes when he finished off an Alves effort which had cannoned back off the crossbar.

Former Spurs star Mido then doubled Boro's advantage with nine minutes remaining as he deflected Didier Digard's low drive past a helpless Heurelho Gomes.

Robert Huth put through his own net in stoppage-time, but it was too little, too late for Tottenham.

Dean Ashton bagged a brace for West Ham at Upton Park as they secured a 2-1 success over Wigan.

The burly striker scored twice inside the opening 10 minutes to bag maximum points for Alan Curbishley's Hammers.

However, there was to be disappointment for the England international later in the game as he hobbled off with a calf problem, which ruled him out of Fabio Capello's plans for the friendly against Czech Republic.

The Latics did pull themselves back into contention when Amr Zaki halved the deficit two minutes after the break with an excellent finish, but they were unable to find a further breakthrough.

Liverpool huffed and puffed without much success at the Stadium of Light, before the irrepressible Fernando Torres dug them out of a hole against Sunderland.

The Spanish superstar fired an unstoppable winner seven minutes from time to ensure that the Reds emerged as 1-0 victors.

Rafa Benitez's men must improve dramatically if they are to become realistic title challengers, but will be happy to have taken three points from a tricky trip to the North East.

While Liverpool toiled on Saturday, Chelsea were mightily impressive 24 hours later.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's reign at Stamford Bridge began in eye-catching fashion as the Blues disposed of FA Cup winners Portsmouth 4-0.

Joe Cole (12) and Nicolas Anelka (26) effectively killed off Pompey early on, and Frank Lampard opened his account for the season from the spot on the stroke of half-time.

Portuguese playmaker Deco then rounded off the scoring, and a fine individual performance, when he rattled home a last-minute fourth.

Manchester United were hampered by the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez for their opener against Newcastle, and struggled to carve open a stubborn Magpies side.

Obafemi Martins even gave the visitors the lead on 22 minutes when he rose unmarked to head home a James Milner corner.

However, the Red Devils responded immediately and pulled level through Darren Fletcher just two minutes later.

Both sides had chances to win the game in the second half, but were forced to settle for a share of the spoils at Old Trafford.

The final game of the weekend saw Gabriel Agbonlahor steal the show at Villa Park.

The Aston Villa winger grabbed a quick-fire treble against Manchester City to secure a 4-2 win for Martin O'Neill's men.

John Carew had given Villa a 47th minute lead, before Elano levelled form the spot for City on 64 minutes.

Agbonlahor then blew the Blues away as he found the target three times in the space of seven minutes (69, 74 and 76).

Vedran Corluka did get another back for City late on, but the points remained in the Midlands.