Review

Fulham give Liverpool a shock as Spurs turn on style

6 Aug 2022

Promoted side hold title contenders to a draw while Spurs hit four on a thrilling first Saturday

The first Saturday of the 2022/23 Premier League was full of thrills as title contenders Liverpool had to come from behind twice at promoted Fulham to start their season with a draw, while Tottenham Hotspur continued last season's impressive form with a 4-1 victory over Southampton.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was Fulham's hero at Craven Cottage with a double as Marco Silva's side made it three Premier League matches in a row unbeaten against the Reds.

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Mitrovic's 32nd-minute header put Fulham 1-0 up before Darwin Nunez came off the bench to mark his Premier League debut with a 64th-minute equaliser.

A Mitrovic penalty restored Fulham's lead but Mohamed Salah maintained his incredible opening-weekend record, scoring for the sixth successive season in Matchweek 1 with 10 minutes remaining.

Despite seeing his team save a point Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was unhappy with his team's performance. When asked how frustrated he was, Klopp replied: "You really want to know on a scale of one to 10? Twelve."

Spurs went behind to Southampton's James Ward-Prowse, but inspired by Dejan Kulusevski, who got a goal and an assist, they went 2-1 up by half-time. Antonio Conte's side turned on the style to add two more goals after the break for Spurs' biggest opening-day win in their 30 years in the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest were unable to celebrate their return to the Premier League after 23 years. They lost 2-0 at Newcastle United, who claimed their first win of the season 14 matches earlier than in 2021/22 thanks to sublime goals from Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson.

Elsewhere AFC Bournemouth, had more joy on their return, claiming a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa. Jefferson Lerma's opener was timed at 1min 56sec - the quickest scored by a promoted side in their first match back. Kieffer Moore added a second goal on 80 minutes.

Leeds United recorded a 2-1 comeback victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road. Daniel Podence gave Wolves an early lead but Rodrigo equalised and a Rayan Ait-Nouri own goal turned the match on its head.

In Saturday's final match, Chelsea beat Everton thanks to a first-half penalty from Jorginho, but last season's third-placed side struggled to convert their dominance at Goodison Park into further goals.