Everton beaten by Fulham; Crystal Palace too strong for Sheffield United; Solanke equalises for Bournemouth
Carlton Morris slotted home from the spot at the other end following Lewis Dunk’s handball to set up a tense finale but Adingra capitalised on a dreadful error from Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu before fellow substitute Evan Ferguson sealed the Seagulls’ emphatic victory.
With Caicedo seemingly heading for the exit, Brighton handed debuts to Mahmoud Dahoud, James Milner and Pedro. Albion’s advantage was almost instantly wiped out as Hatters forward Morris thumped a header too close to home goalkeeper Jason Steele from Ryan Giles’ corner before Welbeck hit the base of the right post at the other end.
Albion looked set to ease to victory on the back of last season’s club-record sixth-placed finish which secured a Europa League place. But Bournemouth, playing under new boss Andoni Iraola for the first time, were good value for the point they earned when Solanke rounded Alphonse Areola with eight minutes remaining.
The Cherries were relieved again when Michail Antonio’s flick from a corner was cleared from underneath the crossbar by Philip Billing. But it was the Hammers who broke the deadlock moments later after Pablo Fornals, trying to fill a Rice-shaped hole in the West Ham midfield, won possession 30 yards out.
Their dominance told in the 82nd minute when Antoine Semenyo’s wayward shot fell at the feet of Solanke, who showed tremendous composure to slip round Areola and tap into an empty net.Everton paid the price for a string of missed chances as their goalscoring issues were exploited by Fulham in a 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park.
Despite generating twice as many shots as the visitors, Dyche’s side were undone by one square pass across their six-yard area when Andreas Pereira beat Nathan Patterson to an Aleksandar Mitrovic’s through-ball for a 73rd-minute tap-in by Decordova-Reid. But it was the home team who suffered the most as they generated 19 shots to their opponents’ nine from just 41 per cent possession but failed to capitalise with Calvert-Lewin’s deputy Neal Maupay most culpable.
Everton were fortunate the visitors were even more toothless in attack themselves, although Willian, 35, gave 21-year-old right-back Nathan Patterson, who made just 21 appearances in a debut season affected by injury, an uncomfortable 45 minutes before he was replaced by De Cordova-Reid at half-time.By contrast, on the other side of the defence Ashley Young, Everton’s second-oldest debutant at the age of 38 years and 34 days, was coping easily with Harry Wilson – 12 years his junior.
The return of Calvert-Lewin and a debut for new signing Youssef Chermiti, the £15 million Sporting Lisbon striker watching from the directors’ box, cannot come soon enough.Odsonne Edouard’s second-half goal earned Crystal Palace a 1-0 win against Sheffield United to worsen the gloom at Bramall Lane. United’s return to the top flight after two seasons away ended with a whimpering defeat to compound a negative few weeks which saw the sale of Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Robbie Keane looking forward to big season for Evan FergusonFollowing on from his breakout season last term, Keane thinks big things could be in store for the young Irishman.
Read more »
Premier League opening weekend fixtures, kick-off times, team news and TV detailsPromoted sides Luton and Sheffield United both in action on Saturday while Chelsea and Liverpool clash on Sunday
Read more »
Michael Walker: Premier League is on the way to becoming a battle of the top eightWere Manchester City and Pep Guardiola not so brilliant, and rich, this would be a genuinely intriguing contest
Read more »
The Premier League's war on dodgy boxes extends to IrelandWe look at why and how illegal streaming happens, and why it's more expensive to watch the Premier League in Ireland than in most other countries.
Read more »