Barclays Premier League Table: 2015 EPL Outlook After Saturday's Opening Results
The 2015-16 Premier League opened with a bang on Saturday, as defending champions Chelsea were immediately involved in a controversial 2-2 draw against Swansea City, which saw star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sent off during the second half.
Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0, while Everton immediately dropped their first points of the campaign, playing out a 2-2 draw against Watford. Here are the results from Saturday's action:
| 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 |
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The updated Premier League standings:
| 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 |
Recap
Kyle Walker made history for all the wrong reasons on Saturday, scoring a first-half own-goal to hand Manchester United a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. According to SportsCenter, it marks the first time in Premier League history the new season started with an own-goal.
The England international directed the ball past goalkeeper Michel Vorm while trying to keep Wayne Rooney from scoring—a goal that somewhat came against the run of play. The hosts looked shaky throughout the match, but their opponents didn't fare much better.
Per the London Evening Standard's Liam, that may be the only reason why the Red Devils got their season off to a winning start:
Paddy Crerand agrees, as shared by the club's official Twitter account:
Sergio Romero showed his quality, particularly in the second half, making several key stops to preserve the lead and his first clean sheet. Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane both came close to scoring the equaliser, while Chris Smalling nearly replicated Walker's own-goal.
He wasn't the only debutant to put in a strong performance. Full-back Matteo Darmian was voted Man of the Match by the fans for his assured, confident showing, and manager Louis van Gaal was happy with what he saw out of both players:
Spurs certainly deserved to pick up at least a point at Old Trafford, and they should take plenty of positives from this match. They'll host Stoke City on Matchday 2, while United travel to Birmingham to take on Aston Villa.
Chelsea seemed to be cruising to a win over Swansea until Courtois brought down Bafetimbi Gomis on the edge of the box, receiving the first red card of the new Premier League campaign. Bleacher Report UK shared the chaos that ensued:
Oscar had given the Blues the lead before Andre Ayew brought Swans back on level terms. The Welshmen still went into half-time trailing following Federico Fernandez's own-goal, however.
The match turned on its head when Courtois hit Gomis in the thigh as the forward tried to round him, leading to a red card and a penalty. Sky Sports Football shared images of the incident, showing the foul was committed right on the edge of the box:
Both the decision to award the penalty and the red card will be questioned by fans, as the location of the foul was unclear and Gary Cahill appeared to have the goal covered. Gomis converted the penalty to draw his team level.
With the man advantage, Swansea easily defended the draw, securing a point at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea hardly looked convincing, with PFW Player of the Year Eden Hazard nearly invisible and Diego Costa still visibly struggling for form.
Courtois' red card and automatic suspension means Asmir Begovic will likely start for Chelsea on Matchday 2, when the Blues visit the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City. Going by the team's current form, that will be anything but an easy match.
Leicester City made the biggest impression during the afternoon matches, easily handling Sunderland thanks to a brace from Riyad Mahrez. As shared by Bleacher Report UK, the 24-year-old made plenty of people who took a chance on him in fantasy drafts happy:
Jamie Vardy got the party started after just 11 minutes before Mahrez struck twice, giving the Foxes a three-goal lead heading into half-time. Mark Albrighton restored the cushion after Jermain Defoe had pulled one back, and a late rally sparked by Steven Fletcher came to nought.
Bournemouth made a strong impression in their Premier League debut but fell 1-0 to Aston Villa, with Rudy Gestede heading home the only goal of the match in the second half. The Cherries did nothing to suggest BBC Sport voters are wrong to believe they're most likely to survive the drop back to the Championship:
Crystal Palace have big aspirations after a busy summer and started things off on the right foot, beating Norwich City 3-1. Meanwhile, Watford bagged their first points of the campaign, holding Everton to a 2-2 draw.
On Sunday, Arsenal will host West Ham United in the first London derby of the season, while Southampton travel to Newcastle United and Liverpool visit Stoke. Matchday 1 of the new Premier League season ends on Monday, as West Bromwich Albion take on Manchester City.
