Two mistakes by new goalkeeper Petr Cech sent a much-hyped Arsenal side crashing to a 2-0 defeat at home to West Ham United, while Liverpool’s start to the new English Premier League season ended with a late 1-0 win at Stoke City on Sunday.
Cech arrived from Chelsea with a reputation for keeping clean sheets, but a header from Cheikhou Kouyate in the 43rd minute and a low shot by Mauro Zarate in the 57th minute unexpectedly beat the 33-year-old goalkeeper.
There was little goalmouth action at Stoke until Liverpool’s Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho scored with a ferocious long-range shot in the 86th minute.
Photo: AP
The points were shared at St James’ Park, where a Newcastle United side under new coach Steve McClaren drew 2-2 with Southampton in the day’s other game.
Arsenal toiled in the sunshine at the Emirates Stadium, dominating possession, but lacking ideas against a West Ham side that have been playing competitive pre-season soccer in the UEFA Europa League under new coach Slaven Bilic.
“We were not convincing offensively, nor defensively,” Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports.
Photo: AFP
“I knew before the game it would be a tricky game ... but you feel guilty, because if you cannot win the game, do not lose it. I believe that just before half-time and just after half-time we gave very, very cheap goals away and then we made it even more difficult for ourselves,” he added.
Tipped to be title challengers this season after winning two consecutive FA Cups and beating champions Chelsea 1-0 in the Community Shield a week ago, Arsenal’s league opener was a reality check.
“We have to keep our focus,” Wenger said. “It is just the start of the season. I am convinced that we will respond well to that accident.”
Blame for those accidents is bound to rest on Cech, after he rushed out to clear a free-kick, but his gloves arrived second to Kouyate’s head. Arsenal’s marquee signing for a reported fee of about £11 million (US$17.3 million) was then wrong-footed by Zarate’s shot from outside the area.
“Any championship is never a motorway,” Wenger said.
“It is always [about] responding well to accidents. Today we have been hurt mentally and it is a good opportunity to show we respond,” he added.
Bilic had no doubts about the impact of his side’s victory, which also saw an impressive debut from the youngest West Ham player to appear in the Premier League — 16-year-old defender Reece Oxford.
“It is a great start for us,” Bilic said.
“Not only because of the three points, but it is three points against a team that is one of the main contenders for the title this year and that had done really well in the pre-season... If you to add that, that it is a London derby and in the last five years we lost all the games home or away against them, that makes it even bigger,” he added.
Liverpool also faced a big game of sorts, taking on a Stoke side that had humiliated the Reds in their final game of last season — inflicting a 6-1 defeat on Brendan Rodgers’ team.
The tables were turned on Sunday by Coutinho’s moment of magic, when the Brazilian took possession and shrugged off a challenge before unleashing a booming shot that grazed the tips of Jack Butland’s gloves on its way in.
“I think we showed a different type of will and different character than obviously the last time we were here,” Rodgers said.
“We defended really, really well, and good organization, and we knew that if we could hold the game and stay tight, then obviously as the game wore on our quality can come through. It worked perfectly for us and I thought the players were outstanding. ... It was a wonderful, wonderful goal,” he added.
Meanwhile, McClaren had to settle for a point in a game where both sides had the lead for a while.
Goals from Papiss Cisse and new signing Gini Wijnaldum put Newcastle in command after Graziano Pelle’s 24th-minute opener for the visitors.
However, substitute Shane Long rose to power home a cross from Dusan Tadic with 11 minutes to go to secure a point.
LIGUE 1
AFP, PARIS
Girondins de Bordeaux and AS Saint-Etienne both suffered Ligue 1 opening-day defeats on Sunday, while last season’s runners-up Olympique Lyonnais were held to a 0-0 draw by Brittany side Lorient at their Stade Gerland.
At the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Willy Sagnol’s men were 10 minutes from victory before Nicolas de Preville canceled out Wahbi Khazri’s 41st-minute opener and Theoson Jordan Siebatcheu grabbed a dramatic 88th-minute winner for Stade de Reims.
At Toulouse, Loic Perrin gave Saint-Etienne a 17th-minute lead before the home side turned matters around.
Martin Braithwaite leveled the match 10 minutes after Perrin’s opener before star striker Wissam Ben Yedder put away the winner eight minutes into the second half.
Toulouse finished the match with 10 men when Aleksandar Pesic was shown a straight red card with four minutes left.
In the weekend’s final match, Lyon ran into an inspired goalkeeper in the form of Lorient’s Benjamin Lecomte, who defied Hubert Fournier’s side time and time again.
On another down note for Lyon, star striker Alexandre Lacazette was substituted in the second half with what appeared to be a back problem.
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