MX23RW : Thursday, January 30 00:46:46| >> :600:366485785:366485785:

Top five opening day matches in the Premier League

Sports Mole looks back over five of the most memorable opening day encounters in Premier League history.

Although there are still just over nine weeks to go until the Premier League returns, the fixtures for the 2013-14 season were released earlier today.

With fans up and down the country keen to see who their side will be up against on the opening day, below Sports Mole has selected five memorable encounters from the first day of previous campaigns since the Premier League was introduced back in 1992.

Southampton 3-4 Nottingham Forest, 1995
Not even a hat-trick from Matt Le Tissier was enough for the Saints to collect the points from their home encounter with Forest. Colin Cooper opened the scoring with a free kick from distance for the away side, before a brace by Bryan Roy and a strike from Ian Woan sealed the victory.

Everton 1-6 Arsenal, 2009
There are not too many teams that would fancy a trip to Goodison Park to start their season. It proved to be a stroll in the park for the Gunners though, as they went 6-0 up thanks to Cesc Fabregas (2), William Gallas, Thomas Vermaelen, Denilson and Eduardo da Silva. The home side found the net late on through Louis Saha on what was a miserable afternoon for the Toffees.

Wigan Athletic 0-4 Blackpool, 2010
Ian Holloway's Blackpool gave an indication of what was to come from them following their promotion with an entertaining display at Wigan. Summer signing Marlon Harewood was the hero, scoring twice, while Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Alex Baptiste added further goals.

Wimbledon 0-3 Manchester United, 1996
It was arguably the game and goal that changed David Beckham's life forever. Eric Cantona and Denis Irwin had put United in command at Selhurst Park, but what was to come from Beckham in stoppage time shocked everyone. He spotted Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan off his line and from just inside his own half, he lofted the ball over the stranded stopper and into the net, making him a celebrity overnight.

Leicester City 0-5 Bolton Wanderers, 2001
Expectations were low when Bolton returned to the Premier League, but they showed that they were not there just to make up the numbers during their visit to Filbert Street. Kevin Nolan and Per Frandsen claimed two goals apiece, while Michael Ricketts also got among the scorers.

ID:89691: cacheID:89691:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5701:
Written by
Liam Apicella
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson proudly displays the FA Cup and Premier League trophies
Read Next:
Ferguson's all-time Man United XI
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!