Man City, Spurs win first games; Sunderland return to EPL with victory
The opening weekend of the English Premier League continues, as Sunderland marked their EPL return with an emphatic 3-0 victory over West Ham, while Tottenham and Manchester City enjoyed convincing wins. Aston Villa and Brighton were both held to opening-day draws.
Sunderland began their first Premier League campaign in eight years with a brilliant start, thrashing West Ham 3-0 at the Stadium of Light. After a convincing first half, the home crowd erupted when a towering header found the bottom left corner to open the scoring by Eliezer Mayenda.
Daniel Ballard doubled the lead with a stunning strike before French international Wilson Isdoe sealed the victory, curling a superb effort into the far corner.
Pep Guardiola’s side, Manchester City, kicked off the season with a smashing 4-0 win against Wolves away from the Etihad. The visitors opened the scoring after 34 minutes through Erling Haaland before doubling their advantage from a crucial interception by Oscar Bobb, which set up Tijjani Reijnders.
City’s debutants made their mark as former AC Milan midfielder Reijnders found the net, and Rayan Cherki sealed the late match winner with a stunning strike from 18 yards, driving the ball into the bottom corner of José Sá’s post.
Aston Villa and Newcastle shared points in their Premier League opener with a 0-0 draw at Villa Park. Eddie Howe’s side dominated much of the first half, creating chances through Schär, Gordon, Barnes, and Osula, but couldn’t find a way past Bizot in goal.
Villa grew into the game after the restart, with Kamara and Rogers testing Nick Pope, but their momentum was cut short when Ezri Konsa was sent off for a foul on Gordon. With the hosts reduced to ten men, Newcastle continued to press but still failed to break the deadlock.
Brighton and Fulham also settled for a draw, with both sides leaving it late to share the spoils. The Seagulls took the lead after the interval when Sander Berge brought down Georginio, leading to an immediate penalty that Matthew O’Riley calmly converted.
Just as Brighton looked set to claim all three points, Rodrigo Muniz struck deep into added time with a header to snatch a point for Fulham.
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