Sport
Shaw on the mend? It’s 7 points in 7 days
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As the World Cup fades to a distant memory and domestic football gets underway again, Seven Points in Seven Days makes a return. There has already been plenty of action to discuss.
1. VARseille?
Ligue 1 kicked off again this week, in doing so becoming the latest league to introduce video technology. Dimitri Payet made a piece of history against Toulouse by scoring the first VAR-assisted goal in the French top flight, converting a penalty after a handball was awarded. He added a second on the way to a comfortable 4-0 win for Marseille, with Germain and Thauvin scoring the others late on to send the side top of the league after the first round of fixtures.
2. Luke Makes Sure
The first-time occurrences weren’t limited to France. In Manchester, Luke Shaw finally opened his account for the club against Leicester City – his goal came after an early Paul Pogba penalty, and proved enough to secure an opening day win for United despite a late strike from Vardy. It wasn’t just on the pitch that Pogba made headlines; his post-match remarks cast further doubt on his relationship with Jose Mourinho, and fuelled rumours that he might be on his way to Barcelona.
3. Kane Curse Continues
Harry Kane’s bizarre inability to score in August continued against Newcastle, but an unconvincing Tottenham were able to triumph 2-1 regardless. Spurs, who achieved a Premier League first by making no signings whatsoever in the summer, were handed the win courtesy of goals from Vertonghen and Alli either side of an excellent Joselu header. Goal- line technology was needed to award the opener, which was revealed to have crossed the line by just 9 millimetres.
4. Strong Start for Favourites
The rest of last year’s top five also managed to begin their Premier League campaigns with victories. Manchester City overcame Arsenal, who were playing under a new manager for the first time in this writer’s lifetime; there was little sign of complacency from Guardiola’s men, who are strong favourites to retain their title. However, their potential challengers also looked in fine fettle. Sarri got off to a great start at Chelsea with a 3-0 triumph over Huddersfield, but it was Liverpool that truly shone. Klopp’s men eased past West Ham United 4-0 – Salah picked up where he left off with the opener, before a Mane brace and a goal for Sturridge twenty seconds after coming on wrapped things up. Naby Keita already looks to be a transformative acquisition.
5. Richarlison Show
The team from the other side of Stanley Park also witnessed some encouraging signs from their side. Everton could only manage a draw with newly-promoted Wolves, but given that there was a controversial first-half dismissal for Phil Jagielka this can be considered a decent result. New signing Richarlison was by far the standout performer as he bagged both goals on his debut. However, he didn’t seem to be sorely missed back at Vicarage Road – a masterclass from Roberto Pereyra ensured that The Hornets came out on top against Brighton.
6. Ronaldo Debut Goal… Sort of
Over in Italy, at Pereyra’s former club, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo was emulating Richarlison by getting off to a scoring start for his new team. The Juventus Twitter account proudly declared that the Portuguese star had scored eight minutes into his debut, although a quick read of the small-print revealed that the goal came in an intra-squad friendly against the youth team. Serie A does not get underway until next week – in the meantime, this match against the young prospects is a curious preparatory tradition at Juventus. The game ended 5-0 after seventy minutes, when a pitch invasion brought an end to proceedings. It transpires that it is a custom for fans to take to the pitch after this fixture, although they usually wait for the final whistle!
7. Barcelona Claim Super Cup
Ronaldo’s old foes Barcelona instantly claimed their first piece of silverware of the new season by beating Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup. This was the first time the trophy was not decided over two legs, instead taking place at a neutral venue – Sevilla had threatened to withdraw altogether in protest at a ruling that an unlimited number of non-EU players could be fielded, but the game did eventually go ahead. Barcelona initially fell behind, but Pique brought things level before Ousmane Dembele netted what turned out to be the winner. It might well not have been: a 91st minute penalty for Sevilla was dramatically saved by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to seal victory for the Spanish champions.
– James Martin (@JamesMartin013)
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