[EPL] Memorable opening matches

[rondwisan]

PremierLeague.com - Tue 17 Jun 2014
Five opening day debuts to remember
Ahead of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League fixtures, we pick five classic curtain-raising debuts

With the fixture list for the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season due out at 9am BST on Wednesday 17 June we remember five of the best performances on opening days over the last 22 seasons by players new to the English top flight.


Klinsmann's class outs at Hillsbrough
Sheffield Wednesday 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur
20 August 1994

If Sir Alan Sugar suspected that he had pulled off one of his better deals when three weeks earlier he had moored his yacht off Montecarlo and succeeded in convincing Jurgen Klinsmann to swap Monaco for North London, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman had confirmation when the striker, who had score five goals for Germany at the FIFA World Cup in June, made his Barclays Premier League debut.

In a seven-goal thriller at Hillsborough the forward had a hand in two of Spurs’s goals before popping up to head the visitors into a 4-2 lead and endear himself to supporters with a celebratory swan dive in response to criticism for his reputed tendency to go to ground too easily. Although the former Stuttgart and Inter Milan forward spent just one season in his first spell at White Hart Lane before moving to Bayern Munich, he scored 21 top-flight goals and won the Football Writer's Footballer of the Year award.


White Feather ruffles Reds
Middlesbrough 3-3 Liverpool
17 August 1996

Middlesbrough had caused a stir in the summer with the capture of the man who had scored for Juventus in the UEFA Champions League final the previous May, and Fabrizio Ravanelli answered expectations with a hat-trick against Liverpool on his Barclays Premier League debut.

The Italian cancelled out Stig Inge Bjornebye’s early penalty, equalised again after John Barnes had restored the Reds' lead and popped up with another strike with nine minutes remaining to reply to Robbie Fowler’s effort. "I am very happy and honoured to keep the ball and the shirt,” said Boro’s No 11. “I will put them alongside my trophies."

‘The White Feather’, so named for his hair, celebrated his goals by pulling his shirt over his head in a trademark goal celebration Boro fans would see on 13 further occasions in the English top flight that season. Unfortunately for Bryan Robson’s charges, Ravanelli’s goals were not enough to keep his side in the Barclays Premier League. The Italian would return to British shores and make a similar impression at Derby County, for whom he scored the first goal in a 2-1 opening day win over Blackburn Rovers.

Ronaldo's grand entrance
Manchester United 4-0 Bolton Wanderers
16 August 2003

After impressing for Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly against United, Alex Ferguson was persuaded by his own players to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, and the 18-year-old Portuguese winger immediately set about repying the faith with a dazzling 29-minute cameo at Old Trafford. After coming on for Nicky Butt with his side a goal to the good, Ronaldo ran Bolton’s rearguard ragged with his skill, speed and impudent array of tricks.

The Portuguese lured a penalty from Bolton captain Kevin Nolan, which Ruud van Nistelrooy missed, but the Netherlands forward scored soon afterwards after a move in which Ronaldo supplied the cross. Ronaldo did not score against Sam Allardyce’s side but did everything to suggest there would be more to come.

“When we first saw him play for Sporting Lisbon, he impressed us the same way Eric Cantona did when we played Leeds,” said Ryan Giggs, after scoring twice in the match. “He is a great prospect and he is going to put on more great performances like he did today. He lifted the crowd and the players and there are not many who can do that.”

Ronaldo went on to score 84 League goals, win three Barclays Premier League titles and claim a UEFA Champions League winners’ medal during his six seasons at Old Trafford. He was sold to Real Madrid in 2009.


Aguero double augurs well
Manchester City 4-0 Swansea City
15 August 2011

The signing of Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011 was a further signal of Manchester City’s determination to contend for their first Barclays Premier League title. After being rested for City’s Community Shield encounter with Manchester United, with manager Roberto Mancini believing him to be short of match fitness, ‘Kun’ was on the bench for the Barclays Premier League opener against Swansea City. Aguero appeared as a second-half substitute and City fans were treated to a memorable debut. Aguero doubled his side’s lead just nine minutes after coming on, set up David Silva’s goal and rifled in a 30-yard wonder strike in added time to round off 4-0 win.

"He's decent, isn't he?" said Joe Hart, the Manchester City goalkeeper. "He's come in at £38m, which is a big price tag, but it looks like £38m well spent." Aguero produced 23 top-flight goals that season, the last of which, with the final kick of the final match of the season, sealed the Barclays Premier League title victory for the Citizens.


Michu makes his name
Queens Park Rangers 0-5 Swansea City
18 August 2012

Very little was known about Michu when he arrived as one of a clutch of imports from the Spanish Liga by new Swansea manager Michael Laudrup, but the former Real Mallorca and Levante manager knew he was getting value for money. The attacking midfielder had scored 16 goals for Rayo Vallecano the previous season and Laudrup saw him as the perfect replacement for the Tottenham Hotspur-bound Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Michu was called upon to play in the hole in Laudrup’s 4-2-3-1 formation and he started his first match in the Barclays Premier League as he meant to go on. Swansea routed Queens Park Rangers 5-0 at Loftus Road two spectacular goals from Michu and an assist for another.

"It's been an unforgettable day,” Michu said. “It couldn't have gone better. It's my first real game for Swansea City and I scored two goals and started in great shape. I hit the crossbar as well and could have got a hat-trick.”

The Spaniard went on to score 18 goals in 35 Barclays Premier League appearances, including both goals in a 2-0 success at Arsenal and a final-day effort against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

[rio vander vidic]

Ada ronaldo euy..!!
Pengen liat real madrid beserta ronaldonya ditaklukkan united..hehe..

[rondwisan]

PremierLeague.com - Tue 17 Jun 2014
Ten of the best: Memorable opening matches
Ahead of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League campaign, we pick 10 memorable opening matches


The fixtures for the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season are released on Wednesday 18 June at 9am BST when fans around the world will be able to see against which club their own team will begin their campaign.

Premierleague.com looks at 10 memorable opening-day fixtures over the past 22 seasons of the Barclays Premier League.


19 August 1995 - Southampton 3-4 Nott'm Forest
A hat-trick from Matthew Le Tissier was not enough to stop Nottingham Forest coming out on top of a seven-goal thriller at The Dell.

The Southampton striker is the only player to score a hat-trick and end up on the losing side in a Barclays Premier League match. Forest, who were without 1994/95 top scorer Stan Collymore, who had joined Liverpool in the summer, had a double from Dutch striker Bryan Roy to thank as they took the points.

17 August 1996 - Wimbledon 0-3 Man Utd
David Beckham stole the show with a stunning strike from the halfway line as the defending Barclays Premier League champions beat Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.

Eric Cantona opened the scoring with a sublime effort from the edge of the penalty area before Denis Irwin doubled United's advantage. Beckham announced himself in the 90th minute as he caught Neil Sullivan off his line.

18 August 2001 - Leicester 0-5 Bolton
Braces from Kevin Nolan and Per Frandsen helped Bolton Wanderers mark their return to the Barclays Premier League with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Leicester City.

The newly promoted club went 4-0 up before half-time at Filbert Street with two goals from Nolan, one each from Michael Ricketts and Frandsen. The Dane completed the rout for the Trotters after the break.

19 August 2001 - Man Utd 3-2 Fulham
Fulham nearly shocked United at Old Trafford in their first Barclays Premier League match, but the newly promoted side succumbed to a trademark comeback from the league champions.

French striker Louis Saha twice gave Fulham the lead to put them 2-1 up after 48 minutes, but Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a quick double to seal the victory for the hosts.

17 August 2008 - Aston Villa 4-2 Man City
A seven-minute hat-trick by Gabriel Agbonlahor earned Aston Villa a stunning opening-day win against Manchester City. The hosts initially took the lead through John Carew but Elano levelled the match from the spot on 64 minutes.

Five minutes later, Agbonlahor scored the first of three goals to turn the match on its head with Vedran Corluka's late goal a mere consolation for City.

15 August 2009 - Everton 1-6 Arsenal
Arsenal produced a magnificent opening-day display to rout Everton at Goodison Park. Arsene Wenger's team went ahead through a curling effort from Denilson before debutant Thomas Vermaelen headed a second. A double from Cesc Fabregas and a William Gallas goal made it 5-0 before Eduardo da Silva marked his return from a long-term injury with the sixth.

Everton found a late consolation through Louis Saha. This was Arsenal's third opening-day win over the Toffees in the Barclays Premier League.

14 August 2010 - Wigan 0-4 Blackpool
Blackpool announced themselves on the Barclays Premier League stage in style as they earned a convincing 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

The newly promoted Seasiders sent the visiting Tangerine fans into raptures with a Gary Taylor-Fletcher strike on 16 minutes, before Marlon Harewood scored twice before the break to make it 3-0. Alex Baptiste's cross went straight in on 75 minutes as Ian Holloway's side wrapped up a memorable win.

14 August 2010 - Chelsea 6-0 West Brom
A Didier Drogba hat-trick inspired Chelsea to the biggest opening-day victory in the Barclays Premier League as newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion were beaten heavily.

Florent Malouda scored twice and Frank Lampard also got on the scoresheet for the defending champions Chelsea. West Brom bounced back from the defeat to finish 11th in the table.

18 August 2012 - West Brom 3-0 Liverpool
Steve Clarke marked his first match as West Bromwich Albion head coach with a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at the start of the 2012/13 Barclays Premier League campaign.

Zoltan Gera unleashed an unstoppable, rising shot from 20 yards to put the hosts in front just before half-time. Peter Odemwingie scored a penalty to double the lead on 64 minutes before Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku made it three for West Brom. Daniel Agger was sent off as Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool reign got off to a negative start.

17 August 2013 - Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa
Arsenal got their campaign off to the worst possible start as they suffered a shock home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.

Arsene Wenger's side appeared set for a comfortable home win when Olivier Giroud opened the scoring with just six minutes on the clock, but the match turned midway through the first half when Wojciech Szczesny brought down Gabriel Agbonlahor in the area and Chrsitian Benteke headed in the rebound after his penalty had been saved by the Poland international.

Asecond-half foul by Laurent Koscielny on Agbonlahor gave Benteke the chance to score from the spot again, which did at the first attempt this time, and, after Koscielny had been sent off, Villa rounded off a memorable win courtesy of a rapid breakaway goal by Antonio Luna with five minutes to go.

[rondwisan]

PremierLeague.com - Tue 17 Jun 2014
Barclays Premier League opening fixtures in numbers
We look at stats of past opening Barclays Premier League fixtures ahead of the 2014/15 season
Premierleague.com picks out the key statistics of previous season openers and the players who have shone in them.


Lampard landmarks



Frank Lampard made a record 18th appearance in an opening fixture of the Barclays Premier League season when he featured for Chelsea in their opening day victory against Hull City in 2013/14.

The club's all-time top goalscorer played the first match in 18 consecutive seasons, dating back to his first full campaign as a West Ham United player in 1996/97, and he is ahead of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, 39, is the only current player in sight of Lampard, with 15 opening matches to his name.

Lampard is also the joint top opening-day goalscorer in the Barclays Premier League. His total of eight, which began with a winning goal for West Ham against Barnsley at the start of the 1997/98 campaign, is level with Alan Shearer, the former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker.

The Premier League's all-time top goalscorer opened his account in the inaugural season of the competition in 1992, when he scored twice in Blackburn's 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace.

There have been seven opening-day hat-tricks in Premier League history, including Matthew Le Tissier's treble as his side lost 4-3 to Nottingham Forest in 1995. Fabrizio Ravanelli is the only man to score three times on debut on the opening day, as Middlesbrough battled to a 3-3 draw with Liverpool in August 1996.


Top opening-day appearances
18 - Frank Lampard
17 - Paul Scholes
16 - Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville
15 - Jamie Carragher
14 - David James, Emile Heskey, Mark Schwarzer, Gary Speed


Top opening-day goalscorers
8 - Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard
7 - Teddy Sheringham
6 - Louis Saha, Didier Drogba
5 - Dennis Bergkamp, Kevin Campbell, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Les Ferdinand, Darren Bent, Wayne Rooney


Opening-day hat-tricks
14 August 1993: Mick Quinn (Arsenal 0-3 Coventry)
19 August 1995: Matthew Le Tissier (Southampton 3-4 Nott'm Forest)
17 August 1996: Kevin Campbell (Coventry 0-3 Nott'm Forest)
17 August 1996: Fabrizio Ravanelli (Middlesbrough 3-3 Liverpool)
9 August 1997: Dion Dublin (Coventry 3-2 Chelsea)
17 August 2008: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa 4-2 Man City)
14 August 2010: Didier Drogba (Chelsea 6-0 West Brom)


Cech clean sheets

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech holds outright record for the most clean sheets on opening matches after earning a seventh shutout at the start of the 2013/14 campaign.

The 31-year-old has not conceded a goal in the first match of the past four seasons. The next highest are Mark Schwarzer and Jussi Jaaskelainen, who joined West Ham United in 2012 after 15 years with Bolton Wanderers, who have kept six opening-day clean sheets.


Most opening-day clean sheets
7 - Petr Cech
6 - Mark Schwarzer, Jussi Jaaskelainen
5 - David James, David Seaman, Peter Schmeichel
4 - Nigel Martyn, Thomas Sorensen, Shay Given
3 - Paul Robinson, Shaka Hislop, Edwin van der Sar, Neville Southall, Mark Crossley, Dmitri Kharin


Most opening-day goals conceded
21 - Brad Friedel
19 - Nigel Martyn
18 - David James, Mark Schwarzer
16 - Jussi Jaaskelainen


Toffees' Arsenal hoodoo

If past fixtures can be seen as an omen, Arsenal will look back fondly on their previous opening clashes with Everton, having defeated the Toffees on each of the three occasions they have started the campaign against the Merseyside club. Their unparelleled record includes an impressive 6-1 success in August 2009.

Arsenal get off to a flyer
2009: Everton 1-6 Arsenal
2004: Everton 1-4 Arsenal
2003: Arsenal 2-1 Everton

Arsenal v Everton is the joint-most played opening fixture, with Everton v Manchester United and Manchester United v Newcastle United also kicking off a Premier League season three times. The Blues have enjoyed more success against 13-time Premier League champions Manchester United, having beaten them 1-0 in August 2012 and drawn with the Red Devils in 1999.

Arsenal's 6-1 win over Everton is the joint-highest scoring opening match of a Barclays Premier League season, with seven goals going in on three other occasions. Chelsea hold the record for the biggest winning margin, as they routed newly promoted West Bromwich Albion 6-0 at Stamford Bridge at the start of the 2010/11 campaign.


Biggest opening match winning margin
14 August 2010: Chelsea 6-0 West Brom


Highest-scoring opening matches
20 August 1994: Crystal Palace 1-6 Liverpool
20 August 1994: Sheff Wed 3-4 Tottenham
19 August 1995: Southampton 3-4 Nott'm Forest
15 August 2009: Everton 1-6 Arsenal