This weekend (and today) was the opening of the 2014/2015 Premier League season. So, what have we learned so far? While many of these observations can, and will, change over the course of the season, they are also telling of the current situation of certain clubs in the league. Observations like:
1. Southampton won’t go down easily:
Southampton did not appear to miss any of the players they sold this summer in their game against Liverpool. They were lively and dangerous and were probably hard done with a loss.
2. United still have a lot of work to do:
This isn’t saying that they won’t fix their problems, but the need for investment in the squad is obvious. Whether that will happen or not is still up for debate.
3. This season will have a lot of goals:
Twenty-two goals were scored this weekend (not including the Monday clash between Chelsea and Burnley). That’s 2.44 goals per game and two more than last season (a season which saw two teams break 100 goals).
4. Liverpool can still score without Suarez:
Two goals from Liverpool, in a scrappy win mimicking Liverpool’s heart-stopping start to last season, show that they can still score goals without Luis Suarez. Now, if they can only stop conceding.
5. The race for survival will be exciting:
With Leicester City drawing Everton, Hull beating QPR, and West Brom and Sunderland drawing 2-2, we appear to have a real dog fight on our hands to avoid relegation this season. It’ll be made even more interesting if Burnley can get a result out of their game against Chelsea today.
