LONDON, 12 August 2007 — A stunning 87th-minute free kick by captain Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa as the new Premier League season opened yesterday.
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Manchester City beat West Ham United 2-0, Roy Keane’s promoted Sunderland snatched a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and Sam Allardyce’s first game as Newcastle United boss ended in a 3-1 win at former club Bolton Wanderers.
Liverpool looked set for a disappointing start when their 31st-minute lead, courtesy of an own goal by Villa’s Danish defender Martin Laursen, was canceled out by Gareth Barry’s 85th-minute penalty.
But Gerrard curled home an inswinging free kick from 25 meters two minutes later, dipping the ball into the top right-hand corner after deftly bending it around the Villa wall.
“Over the last couple of seasons we’ve been very frustrated with the starts we’ve made,” Gerrard told Setanta Sports.
“We’ve dropped silly points and been playing catch up with the big boys early on.
“The idea this year is to get a solid start and try to stay in the (title) race all the way.” Champions Manchester United, FA Cup holders Chelsea and Arsenal are all in action today.
Manchester City’s goals came from new signings, following the takeover by former Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, with Italian striker Rolando Bianchi and Brazilian midfielder Geovanni on target.
“Absolutely perfect,” was Eriksson’s verdict after the former England coach’s debut as a Premier League manager.
“We played 40 minutes of good football in the first half, the next 20 were very good, then West Ham played well and we suffered,” the Swede told Sky Sports News.
“But I suppose in the Premier League you suffer, you can’t dominate for 90 minutes. I’m very happy. The boys did an excellent job and showed we can play good football.” Sunderland’s winner came from new signing and substitute Michael Chopra in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Keane, who steered Sunderland from the relegation zone to the second division title after taking over last season, told Sky Sports News: “I thought the best team won.
“Another late goal, we had plenty of them last season and hopefully there are more to come... it’s a happy dressing room in there.” There was no room for sentiment for Allardyce on his return to the Reebok Stadium. His side were 3-0 up in under half an hour, with Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins scoring twice, as they swept aside a Bolton side managed by his former assistant Sammy Lee.
“It’s a great start to the season for me and the lads,” Allardyce said.
“The players’ application was terrific in the way we went about the job, in the first half particularly, punishing a Bolton side who were obviously really up for it.”
Elsewhere, Blackburn Rovers came from behind to beat Middlesbrough 2-1, Everton were 2-1 winners over Wigan Athletic and promoted Derby County drew 2-2 with Portsmouth.
Newcomers Klose, Toni Help
Bayern to 3-0 Win Over Rostock
In Berlin, Miroslav Klose scored twice and Luca Toni got another on their debuts for Bayern Munich in an easy 3-0 victory over promoted Hansa Rostock at home yesterday. Bayern, championship favorites after their record €70 million ($95.87 million) spending spree in the close season, lived up to pre-season expectations with an entertaining attacking style not seen in Munich for years.
It took just 14 minutes for Italy striker Toni, a transfer from Fiorentina, to score his first Bundesliga goal. Klose broke through to the left and unselfishly slotted the ball for Toni to tap in as Rostock keeper Stefan Waechter came out to challenge him. Klose doubled the lead by pouncing on a loose ball in the 66th minute when Waechter mishandled a Philipp Lahm shot from the left. Klose then outjumped two Rostock defenders five minutes from time to head in a Lahm cross to the far post.
Celtic Recover to
Rout Falkirk 4-1
In Glasgow, defending champions Celtic surged back from a goal down to win 4-1 at Falkirk and secure their first Premier League win of the season yesterday.
Celtic, held to a 0-0 draw by Kilmarnock in their opening game, fell behind after four minutes when Michael Higdon headed home an inviting cross by Steven Thomson.
But Celtic equalized on the half hour after Italian midfielder Massimo Donati, who had a near post shot parried by Falkirk keeper Tim Krul, squeezed the rebound under him forcing defender Kenny Milne to turn the ball into his own net.
Falkirk faded after the interval, but Celtic squandered several chances before Aiden McGeady hit the post with a spectacular overhead kick on 76 minutes and Kenny Miller rammed home the rebound from eight meters. Milne’s misery was compounded when he was shown a red card for bringing down Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink on 79 minutes and gave Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura the chance to curl in a fine free-kick for 3-1. Celtic completed the scoring shortly after when Miller released Vennegoor of Hesselink who rounded Krul before rolling the ball into an empty net.
