Gameweek 1 of Fantasy Premier League has finished and it has given managers lots to think about going forward. Before you set your Gameweek 2 lineups, it's always worthwhile to look back at what happened before looking ahead.
Liverpool (2.21) 4-2 (1.70) Bournemouth
Big chances 3-3, Saves 1-6, Corners 6-7
Liverpool began their title defense in the opening game of the Premier League campaign against Bournemouth, who had just lost Illia Zabarnyi to PSG, Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid and Milos Kerkez to Liverpool. The Reds were trying to integrate Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike into the starting XI, having lost the Community Shield on penalties to Crystal Palace the week before.
New signing Adrien Truffert showed that he was going to pick up where Kerkez had left off in a Bournemouth shirt, and an early cross into the box slid past Antoine Semenyo. The first controversial VAR decision of the year came shortly after, as Marcos Senesi appeared to slap the ball out of the path of Ekitike as the final defender but was judged not to be denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Shortly after, Ekitike scored his first Premier League goal after riding a challenge and slotting past the keeper. Liverpool made it 2-0 after the break when Ekitike pulled it back for Cody Gakpo, who slotted it calmly into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
For those who backed the new defensive signings in FPL, they were left disappointed as they were substituted off just one minute before the end of the 60 minutes. If the substitution had come a minute later, they would have picked up an extra appearance point and clean sheet points.
Minutes later, the main challenge for Arne Slot appeared without Ryan Gravenberch. Liverpool lost the ball in the opposition half, and David Brooks was able to get in behind the defense easily and cross to Semenyo at the back post.
The Liverpool lead didn't last much longer, and after giving the ball away easily on the edge of the opposition box, Semenyo made a 70-yard break where he was shepherded poorly by Konate and slipped the ball past Alisson with ease.=
Heading towards 90 minutes, Liverpool brought on their attacking reinforcements, and it was Federico Chiesa who scored the goal (his first in the Premier League), which put the Champions back in the lead
As Bournemouth chased for another equaliser, they left too much room for Mohamed Salah in behind, and he sealed the victory at 4-2, giving comfort to all the FPL managers who backed him as their captain.
Most FPL Points
15 Semenyo, 11 Ekitike, 8 Salah
Defensive Contribution Winners
Van Dijk 21, Tavernier 20, Adams 19, Senesi 15
Shots
4 Ekitike, 3 Gakpo, 3 Salah, 3 Szoboszlai, 3 Semenyo 3 Evanilson
Bonus Points
3 Semenyo, 2 Ekitike, 1 Salah
Aston Villa (0.2) 0-0 (1.43) Newcastle
Big chances 1-2, Saves 3-3, Corners 3-6
Newcastle travelled to Villa Park for the season opener after a summer dominated by Alexander Isak, a player who has made himself unavailable because he wants a move to Liverpool which is being blocked by the club.
Newcastle had the first big chance of the game as Anthony Elanga put the shot into debutant Marco Bizot. Anthony Gordon was free for the ball to be squared but Elanga didn't spot it.
Newcastle continued to pepper the Villa goal, but with Gordon as the central striker, they couldn't take advantage.
Villa started to make inroads back into the game, and Ollie Watkins had his only shot of the match go straight at the keeper. After a poor cross, Gordon got sent on the counterattack, and Ezri Konsa pulled him down by the shoulder. A straight red card left Villa defending with 10 men for the last period of the game.
Most FPL points
9- Pope
9- Burn
9- Livramento
Defensive contribution winners
Onana-14
Cash-11
Schar-11
Burn-11
Bonus points
3- Livramento
2- Pope
1- Burn
Sunderland (0.68) 3-0 West Ham (0.56)
Big chances 2-0, Saves 4-2, Corners 5-7
The first 60 minutes of the game were back and forth between the two sides, with West Ham edging the better of the chances. Jarrod Bowen was a popular FPL pick and had an early shot from a tight angle that turned around the post. The best opportunity came for new West Ham wing-back El Hadji Malick Diouf, whose effort, which was heading in, was cleared away by the sliding Daniel Ballard.
The opener came in the 61st minute when a deep Omar Alderete cross came into Eliezer Mayenda, who turned it past Mads Hermansen.
The second goal was another brilliant ball in, this time by Simon Adingra, which found Ballard. His bullet header was unstoppable, and it was interesting that he held his position in the box for a longer period than normal after a corner chance broke down.
A West Ham free kick forced Robin Roefs on his debut to make a tremendous one-handed save to keep the game at 2-0.
The game was sealed at 3-0 after a series of West Ham corners, and Wilson Isidor found acres of space for the counterattack and he finished well.
Most FPL points
17- Ballard
8- Mayenda
8- Roefs
Defensive contribution winners
Ballard-14
Bonus points
3- Ballard
2- Mayenda
1- Roefs
Spurs (2.32) 3-0 (0.94) Burnley
Big chances 2-0, Saves 4-3, Corners 6-5
The Thomas Frank era at Spurs in the Premier League began as planned with a strong 3-0 victory over newly promoted Burnley.
On 10 minutes, new signing Mohammed Kudus put a lovely ball into the box which Richarlison was able to hook into the back of the net.
Richarlison doubled the lead with an incredible acrobatic finish after another Kudus cross came behind him. The game was sealed at 3-0 with a neat finish from Brennan Johnson after being threaded through by Pape Sarr, who played in a more advanced role in the game. Richarlison played his part in the goal as he held the ball up well and allowed Sarr to run onto it and feed through Johnson.
Most FPL points
13- Richarlison
10- Kudus
9- Vicario
Defensive contribution winners
Cullen- 12
Bonus points
3- Richarlison
2- Vicario
1- Kudus
Brighton (1.48) 1-1 (0.76) Fulham
Big chances 2-1, Saves 1-3, Corners 4-3
Brighton started the game enthusiastically with a breakdown on the left that will excite both FPL managers and club fans alike. Baleba looked at his best, picking up the ball in midfield and feeding the popular FPL asset Maxim De Cuyper, who took up an advanced position. The ball ended up in the back of the net from Yankuba Minteh, but the ball had crossed the line before Baleba played it back across.
Brighton opened the scoring in the second half after Georginio Rutter was brought down in the box by Sander Berge. Midfielder Matt O'Riley stepped up and slotted the penalty away.
Fulham had a few penalty shouts themselves, but they were all turned away by VAR. The most convincing was a Yasin Ayari challenge on Josh King, but the midfielder was judged to win the ball despite catching the youngster's heel first. Wayne Rooney insisted that the reaction of the Fulham players wasn't enough to convince the referee.
Brighton had a chance to seal the game late on when a Diego Gomez shot ended up nearly creeping past Bernd Leno, and a Brajan Gruda shot slipped past the post.
They would live to rue these chances as Rodrigo Muniz scored from a 96th-minute corner. Fulham continued their record of scoring goals from their subs.
Most FPL points
10- O'Riley
7- Muniz
Defensive contribution winners
Wieffer- 18
Bonus points
3- Muniz
2- O'Riley
1- Ayari
Wolves (0.56) 0-4 (2.47) Manchester City
Big chances 0-3, Saves 0-3, Corners 4-5
Man City started the season with plenty of new faces in their lineup.
James Trafford, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders all made their first Premier League starts, while Rayan Cherki entered later from the bench.
Wolves had the ball in the back of the net first in the game, but Marshall Munetsi was offside before he put his header in the net.
The scoring was opened by Erling Haaland. Reijnders did some great work in midfield to beat his man and found Rico Lewis with a lofted ball. Lewis squared it to Haaland, who was waiting free at the back post.
The second goal came from a counterattack, which saw Oscar Bobb having acres of space and two options, Reijnders to his left and Haaland to his right. He found Reijnders, and he tucked it away in the bottom corner.
Reijnders was heavily involved in the third, too, as he took down the ball in the box and pulled back to the onrushing Haaland, who slotted into the bottom corner.
Cherki made an impact when he came onto the pitch, and within seven minutes, had scored to seal the game 4-0 for City.
Most FPL points
13- Haaland
11- Lewis
10- Reijnders
Defensive contribution winners
Andre- 15
Air-Nouri- 15
Bonus points
3- Haaland
2- Lewis
1- Ait-Nouri
Chelsea (1.60) 0-0 (0.66) Crystal Palace
Big chances 2-1, Saves 4-2, Corners 11-2
Crystal Palace started their season having won the Community Shield against Liverpool on penalties. Chelsea, on the other hand, were welcomed back to Stamford Bridge in a competitive game for the first time since becoming Club World Cup Champions.
Early in the game, a Reece James corner was sent goalward by Marc Cucurella, but Ismaila Sarr was able to clear off the line. One of the most controversial moments of the gameweek came just 10 minutes later, at the 13-minute mark. An Eberechi Eze free-kick was disallowed as Marc Guehi was within a meter of the wall, a rule that very few fans have ever seen enforced. It also echoes of last season when Eze had a free kick wrongfully disallowed in GW1.
A Jean-Philippe Mateta chance fed by Adam Wharton continued the first-half pressure, but Robert Sanchez made a strong save with his chest.
In the second half, the introduction of young Brazilian Estevao added a sense of urgency to Chelsea's attacks, and his cross was just a little bit too high for Pedro Neto to direct in.
In the final moments, Andrey Santos was found around the penalty spot in acres of space, but he was unable to keep the shot down.
Most FPL points
9- Acheampong
9- Mitchell
8- Sanchez
8- Lacroix
8- Cucurella
Defensive contribution winners
Lacroix- 16
Caicedo- 12
Mitchell- 11
Bonus points
3- Acheampong
2- Cucurella
1- Sanchez and Mitchell
Nottingham Forest (1.86) 3-1 (1.50) Brentford
Big chances 4-1, Saves 2-2, Corners 5-5
Nottingham Forest started their campaign having only scored one goal in preseason, and Nuno Espirito Santo had raised concerns about his team's attack, having lost Anthony Elanga. Brentford also faced major changes as they had their first Premier League game without Thomas Frank as manager.
Forest got their goal early as a sixth-minute Elliot Anderson corner bounced around the box and Chris Wood was able to poke it past Caoimhin Kelleher, who transferred from Liverpool this summer.
Brentford's first chance came in 40 minutes as Thiago had a chance, which was well created by Rico Henry but was blocked over the bar by Neco Williams. Just moments later Forest went down the other end of the pitch and an excellent cross by Morgan Gibbs-White was found by a diving header from Dan Ndoye.
The first half couldn't have finished much worse for Brentford as a loose ball in midfield was slammed forward by Elliot Anderson, and Wood once again found the back of the net.
Gibbs-White nearly scored a spectacular scissor-kick-esque backwards strike in the second half, but it floated just over the ball.
Brentford managed to get a consolation back in the game after the ball struck Ibrahim Sangare on the arm and Thiago got his goal from the penalty spot.
Most FPL points
13- Wood
9- Ndoye
6- Thiago
6- Anderson
Defensive contribution winners
Van Den Berg- 14
Aina- 12
Bonus points
3- Wood
2- Ndoye
1- Anderson
Manchester United (1.52) 0-1 (1.31) Arsenal
Big chances 0-1, Saves 2-7, Corners 3-4
This was a massive fixture in Gameweek 1 which saw Manchester United unveil their new attacking signings of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, while Arsenal were also hoping for a strong Viktor Gyokeres performance to set his Arsenal career alight.
Arsenal started the season as they had relied largely on last year and scored from a set piece. A Declan Rice corner was fumbled by Altay Bayindir and found Riccardo Calafiori free at the back post.
After that, United took the strong position of the match, and chances on either side of the 30-minute mark saw Patrick Dorgu hit the post and Matheus Cunha put the ball straight at David Raya.
Five minutes later, a Cunha shot across the face of the goal also made David Raya produce a top-quality save.
In the 78th minute, a Dorgu cross was headed goalward by Mbeumo, and another Raya save was needed to divert it away from goal. The last chance was again a controversial decision as Saliba lunged in from behind Cunha without winning the ball, but no penalty was given.
Most FPL points
13- Calafiori
10- Raya
9- Saliba
Defensive contribution winners
Saliba- 14
Odegaard- 14
Zubimendi- 12
Yoro- 11
De Ligt- 10
Bonus points
3- Raya
2- Calafiori
1- Saliba
Leeds United (2.13) 1-0 (0.80) Everton
Big chances 3-1, Saves 1-2, Corners 7-2
Gameweek 1 finished with Leeds' return to the Premier League and Everton playing their first game before opening their new stadium.
The first half was quiet with only one shot on goal coming from Joel Piroe, but Jordan Pickford was out to meet him quickly. Wilfried Gnonto also had a long-distance effort glide just over the bar.
New Leeds keeper Lucas Perri was tested for the first time in the second half by Carlos Alcaraz and he got down well to it.
The game finished in controversial circumstances as a long-range effort was deflected from outside the box, and James Tarkowski blocked the ball with his arm. Debutant Lukas Nmecha slotted the penalty and Leeds won 1-0.
Most FPL points
9-Gudmundsson
8- Strujik
8- Stach
Defensive contribution winners
Tarkowski- 15
Stach- 13
Bonus points
3- Gudmundsson
2- Strujik
1- Rodon
