EPL Table: Saturday's Opening Results, Scores and 2015 Premier League Standings
Manchester United kicked off the 2015-16 Premier League season with a win on Saturday as they overcame Tottenham Hotspur, while Chelsea began the defence of their title with a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City.
Newly promoted Watford played out a pulsating 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park, while fellow new boys Bournemouth slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa.
Elsewhere, Leicester City and Crystal Palace began their seasons in style with comfortable wins over Sunderland and Norwich City, respectively.
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| Saturday, August 8 | Manchester United | 1-0 | Tottenham |
| Saturday, August 8 | Norwich | 1-3 | Crystal Palace |
| Saturday, August 8 | Bournemouth | 0-1 | Aston Villa |
| Saturday, August 8 | Everton | 2-2 | Watford |
| Saturday, August 8 | Leicester City | 4-2 | Sunderland |
| Saturday, August 8 | Chelsea | 2-2 | Swansea |
| Sunday, August 9 | Newcastle United | TBD | Southampton |
| Sunday, August 9 | Arsenal | TBD | West Ham |
| Sunday, August 9 | Stoke | TBD | Liverpool |
| Monday, August 10 | WBA | TBD | Manchester City |
| 1 | Leicester City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 |
| 2 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 5 | Watford | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Swansea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Tottenham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 11 | Sunderland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 |
| 12 | Norwich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| 13 | Arsenal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Liverpool | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Manchester City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Newcastle United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Southampton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Stoke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | West Ham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Saturday Recap
Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United enjoyed their first win of the season as manager Louis van Gaal handed five of his summer signings their debuts.
Sergio Romero, Matteo Darmian, Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin all started for the Red Devils, while Bastian Schweinsteiger featured from the bench.
However, it was Spurs' right-back Kyle Walker who handed United the decisive goal, which was particularly unfortunate, as Gary Lineker notes:
"And we have our first goal of the season. Tottenham's Kyle Walker scores, sadly in his own goal.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) August 8, 2015"
After Ashley Young found Wayne Rooney in the penalty area, Walker charged down the striker only to see Rooney's shot deflect off him and past Michel Vorm.
United struggled to convince for much of the game, failing to hit the target until the 65th minute, but there were encouraging signs for the Old Trafford faithful.
Manchester Evening News' Rob Dawson believes the Red Devils were worth all three points and singled out new arrival Darmian for praise:
With winnable games coming up, including a trip to Aston Villa before hosting Newcastle United, the Red Devils can continue their strong start to the season and rack up some early points in August.
Meanwhile, tricky home games against new-look Stoke City and Everton either side of a trip to Leicester await Spurs.
If Mauricio Pochettino's men fail to bounce back with some positive results, their season could take some time to recover as they bid for a top-four finish.
Chelsea 2-2 Swansea City
Thibaut Courtois was sent off for Chelsea, who could not overcome a positive and impressive Swansea side that in the end settled for a draw against the reigning Premier League champions.
The Swans began the match brightly as they enjoyed some early chances through Bafetimbi Gomis, but it was the hosts who took the lead through Oscar after his delivery from a free-kick found its way into the net without a touch.
Swansea equalised shortly after as Andre Ayew struck on his debut, pouncing on a rebound from Gomis' low effort, but the Blues were immediately in front once again when Willian's cross deflected off the hapless Federico Fernandez and over Lukasz Fabianski.
Jefferson Montero caused a host of problems for Branislav Ivanovic on the wing as Swansea tested Chelsea, and he enjoyed a breakthrough when Courtois was calamitously sent off after colliding with Gomis on the edge of the area:
As Opta Joe notes, Mourinho's Chelsea have a poor disciplinary record:
Gomis duly converted the penalty, and the Frenchman almost put the Swans in the lead after finishing Montero's cross, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.
Despite Garry Monk's side looking the stronger of the two, many took to social media to predict a late Chelsea winner, such as ESPN's Miguel Delaney:
However, it was not to be, and Swansea held on for a well-earned point.
The Swans host Newcastle United in Week 2 and could compound the Magpies' difficult start to the season, depending on how Steve McClaren's side hold up against Southampton on Sunday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, face the unenviable task of travelling to the Etihad without the suspended Courtois. Asmir Begovic is an able replacement, but the Blues will be ruing the sale of Petr Cech now.
