English Premier League Opening Weekend: Five Things We Learned

With the first round of Premier League fixtures nearly completed, (Tottenham v Everton was postponed due to the recent spate of London riots, and Manchester City have yet to take on new-boys Swansea tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. EST) let's take stock of what we've seen this weekend.

Here's some stats from the total of eight Premier League matches that have been played:

—14 goals scored
—3 goalless draws
—several red cards (sprinkled in among a rash of yellow cards, cast a pall over the weekend fixtures)

That sour note aside, it has been wonderful to see the most entertaining blend of football in the world back in action.

It's been a smashing start of what looks to be another fantastic season in England's top flight.

Let's take a look at five of the biggest talking points from the first round of action.

Big Money Doesn't Always Mean Big Results

This weekend was the latest example of the principle that money doesn't always equate to wins.  

Two of the summer's biggest spenders, Chelsea and Liverpool, were held to 0-0 draws against Stoke City and Sunderland, respectively. Though Chelsea perhaps can lay claim to the argument that they managed to grab a point away from home while Liverpool stuttered in the friendly confines of Anfield, neither side showed the predatory instinct of a true title contender.

New Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas may bristle at questions concerning his squad choices after only one game, but his decision to start last January's big-money buy Fernando Torres over Didier Drogba was an inevitable lightning rod for debate. With only one goal's return with his new club, the Spaniard has done little to justify his £50 million price tag.

Liverpool's makeover was more pronounced, as Kenny Dalglish's starting XI on Saturday featured four off-season acquisitions (Jose Enrique, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson).

It was Adam's well-placed delivery from a free kick that was met by a Luis Suarez header to put Liverpool in front—a lead that would be nullified by a stunning volleyed goal by Sunderland's own new signing, Sebastian Larsson—plucked from Birmingham City's relegation-induced fire sale.

Any injection—be it a kidney transplant or a new signing in football—takes time to adapt. You can never expect players to immediately be at 100% after switching teams or leagues.

And give credit to Stoke and Sunderland—both were well-organized and physical in defense, allowing precious few opportunities on goal. Indeed, Steve Bruce's Black Cats were even looking for the winner in the late stages of their match against the Reds.

Villas-Boas certainly has his work cut out for him as he searches for the right balance in attack, while his colleague Kenny Dalglish needs to get his new midfield signings clicking as a cohesive unit. His choice to start Jordan Henderson was a questionable one—as the former Sunderland star failed to impress before making way for Dirk Kuyt.

It's Tough to Be the New Kids

This weekend was an important reminder of how tough it is to be a newly-promoted team in the Barclays Premier League. As Blackpool showed last year, shooting to the top portion of the standings before eventual relegation—it is infinitely difficult to survive when one is surrounded by wolves (and not just Mick McCarthey's side, mind you).

Feel-good story Queens Park Rangers–finally back playing top-level football after a 15-year absence—were swept off their home pitch by Bolton, who delivered a 4-0 "welcome thrashing" at Loftus Road.

The look on the players' faces wearing blue and white said it all: they had been humiliated. After an offseason which saw their wealthy owners fail to spend big money, QPR looked lackluster and second-best in every department. Hopefully this will be a sign to the owners that they need to spend some money if they want to avoid relegation.

Meanwhile, Norwich City fought back to claim a tough away point against Wigan Athletic—who endured a relegation battle of their own in 2010-11—in a 1-1 draw.

Swansea City have perhaps the toughest task of the opening weekend, traveling to Eastlands to face the club with oil money oozing off its crest at the moment: Manchester City. Should Swansea—the first Welsh side ever to play in Premier League—scrape a point against their big-spending opponents, it would be cause for celebration.

Joey Barton Just Can't Stop Fighting

The title is self-explanatory.

After all the problems the highly-talented attacking midfielder had with Twitter during a summer filled with Nietzsche references and contentious jabs at anyone who dared question his attempt to force a move away from Newcastle, Toon manager Alan Pardew still decided to include the troubled midfielder in his starting XI.

If any United fans were on the fence about securing season tickets at Magpie Park, Barton's performance on Saturday must have had them rushing to confirm their bids.

While his playing—aside from a near-spectacular full-volleyed attempt on goal—was nothing special, his antics and hijinks had him leading evening news telecasts throughout Britain. 

Newcastle v. Arsenal has been a contentious fixture in recent years, with noteworthy scrapes coming between Samir Nasri and—guess who—Joey Barton in 2008, before the most recent incident: Barton's stamping Abou Diaby in last season's fixture at Magpie Park.

Saturday's clash was once more a physical encounter. Early on in the second half, after tackling the ball away from Barton, Arsenal defensive midfielder Alex Song felt the Newcastle No. 7 had pushed him after the whistle, and proceeded to stomp on the back of the English Enfant Terrible's leg.

Barton immediately writhed upon the ground before hustling over to the fourth official to plead his case, rather heatedly.

Though Song deserved a straight red for the offense, no card was given. The Sky Sports announcers presiding over the match wondered aloud whether Barton would be able to hold his nerve for the rest of the encounter.

With fifteen minutes to play, Barton gave them their answer. With the score still knotted at 0-0, Arsenal's new signing Gervinho went down in the Toon penalty area after minimal contact.

Never one to let injustice of any form stand if he has anything to say about it, Barton sprinted over to the Ivory Coast international and roughly pulled him to his feet, grabbing him viciously by the neck. Gervinho fought back before teammate Aaron Ramsey arrived to pull him away from the fast-growing fracas.

Before cooler heads prevailed, however, Gervinho extended his right hand, slapping Barton on the cheek.

Stunned by the forceful nature of the slap, Barton took a moment to consider his next course of action before flopping spectacularly to the ground, covering his entire face as he rolled about.

Referee Martin Atkinson, having watched the whole scenario unfold, immediately sent Gervinho off with a straight red—resulting in an automatic three-game suspension. The instigator Barton escaped with a yellow. Gervinho's card was entirely justified: how Barton remained in the match was absolutely ridiculous.

Immediately taking to Twitter to plead his case after the match had ended, Barton once more retweeted his favorite philosophers in his latest misguided attempt to plead his innocence. For a man with so much to say, he comes up with relatively little original material.

One thing is sure: if Barton goes down that easily under a slap, just imagine what a punch would do.

For a man who questions journalists—he tweeted that he would pay to "watch them play football before 52,000 people—Barton deserves to go a round in the ring with Manny Pacquiao.

In any case, think twice before you mess with him.

As Always, Manchester United Find a Way to Win

Manchester United met West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns looking for a strong start to their title defense.

The game started off very well for the Red Devils, with Wayne Rooney finding the net in the 13th minute. After all of last season's well-chronicled struggles, it can only be a boon for United's No. 10 to have scored so early.

United dominated possession throughout the first half. Then, Shane Long latched onto a pass just inside the penalty area, before wrong-footing his defender and firing in a low shot across goal. 

The young Spaniard, who met criticism after his bumbling of Edin Dzeko's shot in the Community Shield last weekend, was two steps too slow in reacting to the young Irish No. 9's strike, allowing it to pass beneath his arms for a goal. An equalizer against the run of play due to a keeping mistake during a match in which they had dominated: you couldn't fault someone for mistaking it for an Arsenal match.

While they should have been leading, they went in to halftime level. The second half had its fair share of chances for both teams, but Ashley Young capitalized in the 81st minute in his Manchester United debut, sending a low shot off Albion defender Steven Reid's knee before taking another deflection into the net past a helpless Ben Foster.

Three points for United thanks in no small part to a healthy dose of luck. New characters, same old script.

Top to Bottom, the Premier League Is Still the Best in the World

A lot of people on this site will tell you that La Liga is the best league in the world. While Spanish Primera has El Clasico—the classic rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid—twice a year, the league's talent level drops off steeply after those two sides.

Case in point: Barcelona and Real Madrid finished 2010-11 with 96 and 92 points, respectively. Valencia, the third-place finisher, had 71.

Contrasted with the final standings in the Premier League, where the top four were separated by 12 points—it's fairly obvious which league boasts better competition. This past weekend—when title contender Chelsea were held by mid-table side Stoke—was a perfect example.

The Premier League is the most physical league in the world, and its games are played at the fastest pace, to boot (pun intended).

How often is it that Real Madrid and Barcelona suffer defeat at the hands of a La Liga cellar dwellar?

Rarely, if ever. Games in the Premier League are renowned for their intensity and often end in narrow results. Simply put, you can never know what will happen next.

The quality is far and beyond any other league in the world. The results this weekend were very different from what many experts predicted.  

And if there's something you can predict about England's top flight, it's unpredictability.