Fulham managed to get their 2013-14 Premier League campaign off to a winning start by clinching all three points away from home against Sunderland.
While the Black Cats dominated large periods of the clash at the Stadium of Light, it was the Cottagers who were able to take their chances in the early stages of the second half through Pajtim Kasami.
Paolo Di Canio's men tried to force through an equaliser after going 1-0 down, but they were frustrated by their opponents, who stopped them from taking anything from the opening league fixture.
Discover how the match unfolded with our minute-by-minute coverage below.
Good afternoon all. The wait is finally over! Premier League footballer has returned for a new season, and right here we will be focusing on the opener between Sunderland and Fulham at the Stadium of Light.
The 2013-14 campaign is already just over an hour old as Liverpool opened proceedings at Anfield against Stoke City. They're 15 minutes into the second half with the Reds leading 1-0. You can follow all the action here.
Back to matters at hand in the North-East. Paolo Di Canio begins his first full season in charge of the Black Cats after just clinching survival from relegation. Meanwhile, Martin Jol will kick off his third season with the Cottagers this afternoon, in the hope of getting off to a winning start.
With just under an hour to go until kickoff, the teams are in!
Fulham XI: Stekelenburg; Riether, Hangeland, Hughes, Richardson; Taarabt, Sidwell, Boateng; Duff, Kasami, Berbatov
Sunderland bench: Wickham, Moberg Karlsson, Diakite, Ba, Cuellar, Dong-won, Mannone
Fulham bench: Stockdale, Senderos, Ruiz, Karagounis, Briggs, Rodallega, Bent
Let's have a look at these lineups then. For Sunderland, new boys Valentin Roberge, Cabral, Jozy Altidore and Emanuele Giaccherini have made the starting XI, while former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone has been snubbed for Kieron Westwood in goal. Remember, Di Canio has made 10 signings so far this summer!
Interestingly, Darren Bent has not been added to Fulham's starting lineup following his arrival to Craven Cottage on a loan deal from Aston Villa this week. The forward, who also attracted the interest of Crystal Palace and Newcastle United, has been given a spot on the bench.
However, new shot-stopper Maarten Stekelenburg has been given a spot between the posts while loan signing Adel Taarabt will get his chance to prove himself to Jol in this 3pm kickoff.
As we edge nearer to the starting whistle, let's take a look at previous form of the two sides. Sunderland are unbeaten in their last four opening games of the season, but they have drawn their last three of those encounters.
Fulham fans won't be too pleased to hear that they have struggled away from home - claiming just one victory from seven opening away fixtures, which dates back to the 2009-10 season when they won 1-0 over Portsmouth.
Although, it's not all doom and gloom for the Cottagers as they have been able to keep a clean sheet in their last four Premier League matches on the first day of the campaign.
We have just over five minutes to go until the players emerge from the tunnel!
GAME ON! And we're underway at the Stadium of Light, with homw side kicking from left to right.
It's a quick start to this Premier League encounter, with the fans in full voice from the terraces. A swift move from the home side finds the feet of Sessegnon driving in from the left, but the forward is just flagged offside.
Sunderland are on the attack again as new boy Giaccherini storms down the left-hand side to cross the ball into the box looking for Sessegnon, but Fulham do just enough to snuff out the chance.
CHANCE! A half-chance I suppose you would say for the home side through Cabral, who finds space just yards outside of the penalty area. He controls the ball and thumps it towards goal, but it's dipping too high and goes over the crossbar.
It's been all Sunderland so far, but Fulham manage to get their first move on the ball underway from midfield as Sidwell glides the ball into Richardson's path, but his cross into the box fails to find Berbatov.
Fulham are finding their feet in this game now. Taarabt is trying to get involved by finding pockets of space. He manages to get away from the defender to set up a shot, but he falls to his feet pleading for a foul, which goes unnoticed.
It's a bit frantic at the moment! Neither side have been able to test the respective keepers, but both are tussling for the ball in midfield. Richardson has been given a lot of space down the flanks for Fulham, but another cross into the box comes to nothing.
Sunderland get the ball back in midfield from Johnson, who is pleading for a corner after lofting the ball into the box. The former Manchester City man is claiming that it got a deflection off the defender as it went through, but the referee is having none of it.
Sessegnon tries to make the breakthrough, but it's a poor attempt from the player, who shoots from 30 yards out, but it bobbles past the post, leaving his teammates frustrated as he had plenty of options around him.
SUBSTITUTION. It's bad news for Fulham, who have had to make an early change. Richardson has been forced to make way for youngster Briggs after the defender was seen clutching his hamstring.
Some nice play down the side from Sunderland there, as Sessegnon speeds past his opponents to feed the ball into Giaccherini in the box, but the player is just muscled out and fails to make an attempt on goal.
BOOKING! Boateng brings down Giaccherini as he's on the charge, resulting in a deserved yellow card for the Fulham player.
From the free kick Larsson kicks the ball straight into the wall, but it bounces back into the box, leaving Sidwell to head the ball away from danger and give away a corner, which comes to nothing for the home side.
CHANCE! Cabral, who has not scored a goal for two years, tries another attempt to test Stekelenburg with another long-range shot. He's unsuccessful once again though, as the ball swerves the opposite way he wants it to go and bobbles past the post and behind the line.
It's still very hectic in the middle of the park, but having that clinical touch in the final third is what's missing for both sides at the moment. As it stands, while Sunderland have created most of the play, you could see a goal coming from either side (if at all).
Cabral is involved yet again trying to create chances. He passes out wide to Calback, who fizzes the ball into the box but it drives through in front of goal with no Sunderland shirts there to pick it up and launch a shot at goal. Di Canio's reaction is animated, as you'd expect!
CHANCE! Some good play between Johnson and Giaccherini allows the new boy to take a shot at goal, but while he put plenty of power into it, the ball fell into the hands of Stekelenburg.
SAVE! A great save from Stekelenburg was needed to stop Sunderland from taking the lead, and he did just that. Celustka finds himself about 30 yards out from goal and takes a shot on the half-volley, which swoops towards the top left-hand corner of the goal, but the Fulham stopper is able to leap and get fingertips on the ball to keep the scoreline at 0-0.
Taarabt and Berbatov have barely touched the ball for Fulham as we edge closer to the 40-minute mark of the first half. While the visitors have been stubborn in defence, they have been able to feed in the pair, leaving them isolated up the field.
Giacherrini switches sides and manages to get away from Boateng and pull back the cross for Cabral, who attempts a header at goal, but he doesn't get enough power on it to test the keeper.
Despite Sunderland's dominance in the first half, Fulham had a chance to upset the run of play with a free kick on the edge of the box after Cabral brought down Taarabt. However, the attempt from the QPR loanee hammers straight into the wall. Not what Jol would have wanted from his new signing.
HALF TIME: Sunderland 0-0 Fulham
Well, it's safe to say that that first 45 minutes won't do down as one of the most thrilling of opening day halves. While Sunderland have had plenty of possession and created the most chances, they have been unable to make those opportunities count. For Fulham, they have struggled to get past the halfway line, leaving Berbatov especially isolated up front, and for Taarabt, his only effort came towards the end of the half through a free kick.
Sunderland have been able to use new signings Cabral and Giaccherini quite well in this opening half, and they seem to be slotting into the side comfortably. Cabral especially has created some scoring chances from midfield.
In terms of the second half, Di Canio will be telling his players to keep the intensity, but they will definitely need to improve in the final third in order to find the breakthrough. For Fulham, they need to keep hold of the ball and try to stifle Sunderland's midfield so they can have a chance of creating some plays of their own.
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! The second 45 minutes of the clash has begun. Let's hope for some goals!
Straight away, Giacherrini is involved and showing that eagerness to get forward. He draws the play out wide to get a cross into the box. The ball is pulled back by the new signing in the hope of finding the oncoming Sessegnon, but his teammate fails to get there in time to take a shot on goal.
Johnson takes on Briggs down the side, but he gets closed down quickly and Fulham get possession, with Berbatov screaming for the ball to be played early so he can launch a counter-attack. Instead, Sidwell decides to play it safe and knock it to the back.
Briggs lofts a cross into the box in the hope of finding Berbatov, but O'Shea is able to clear his line with ease, stopping Fulham's attack once again.
Sunderland are loving their long-range shots at the moment! This time Johnson runs in from the side to fire towards goal, but it's high and wide.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 Fulham (Kasami)
Wow, where did that come from?! The deadlock has finally been broken, but it's the away side that have nabbed it! The Cottagers get a corner, which is delivered into the box from Duff . Kasami manages to leap higher than his marker to get his head onto the ball and power it into the top corner and give his side their first goal of the new season.
Cabral tries once again to find the back of the net, but once again his shot goes skywards! A cross into the box from Johnson gets pulled back into the feet of Sunderland's summer signing, but he can't wrap his foot around it correctly, and the ball flies into the stands.
Despite Fulham having their tails up, Sunderland haven't given up on trying to find an equaliser, as Johnson storms down the right towards the penalty area. He pulls the ball back for Altidore, but there are too many Fulham shirts in his way in order to launch an attempt on goal.
Sunderland could get a sniff at goal here as they get a free kick just on the edge of the area. It's deserved due to a clumsy challenge from Hangeland. He pushes Altidore down to the ground as he tries to run into the box.
It's Johnson who takes the free kick, but he storms his shot into the wall. It bounces back towards him, but his second attempt is also blocked. A poor effort from the home side.
CHANCE! Altidore shows some great strength there and almost gets rewarded for it with a goal, but it isn't to be. He collects the ball with his back to goal, but swiftly turns to get a shot on, but he just drags it passed the post.
SUBSTITUTION. Fulham have made their second change of the game by bringing Boateng off the field, with Karagounis replacing him.
You would think that Fulham would be eager to grab a second goal and kill off the game, but Sunderland look more likely to get an equaliser at this point. They've been creating more chances and had most of the possession, but once again, they're letting themselves down in that final third.
The new signings are linking up well here for Sunderland. Cabral feeds the ball into Giacherrani on the left, but the player is rightly flagged offside.
SUBSTITUTION Sessegnon's time on the field comes to an end as Ji enters play.
SAVE! That was close! Altidore picks up a loose ball in the box. He's just metres away from sending it goal-bound, but Stekelenburg comes down heavily to block the shot and keep Fulham in the lead. However, it looks as though the keeper has suffered an injury in the process.
SUBSTITUTION Stekelenburg clutches his right shoulder instantly after making the save, which causes Jol to call on Stockdale from the bench to come onto the pitch. This means that new signing Bent will be unable to make his debut today.
This game has gone a bit scrappy. At the moment, both sides are struggling to keep the ball on the ground in midfield. Di Canio is growing more agitated on the touchline too. His team have just over 10 minutes to find the net.
Giacherrini tries once again to force the breakthrough for Sunderland. He drives to the line and manages to get a tight cross into the penalty area, but it just glances off the post and away from the goal.
It's all getting a bit desperate for Sunderland here as they begin throwing everything at the goal, but a long ball over the top from O'Shea goes into no-man's land.
BOOKING! Berbatov gets given a free kick against him after a tussle with Colback, but he gets a yellow card for dissent by throwing the ball into the ground.
SUBSTITUTION Di Canio brings on Wickham for Celustka, showing his intentions to find a goal before the match is out.
Colback storms down the side to get a cross into the box but Riether does well as he blocks the cross, leaving Sunderland with just a few minutes to nab a point from this game.
CHANCE! Sunderland are so close to drawing level, but it's another opportunity missed. Johnson whips a fierce cross into the box, which finds the head of Ji. However, his header just goes wide.
The fourth official indicates five minutes of added time.
Johnson gets another cross into the box as Sunderland fire everything at Fulham, but his effort is too near to Stockdale, who manages to reach into the air and grab the ball without a Sunderland player getting a head to it.
Sunderland get a late free kick in a dangerous area, just outside of the left edge on the box. Larsson whips the ball in but it's headed clear. I imagine that's Sunderland's last chance of getting an equaliser.
FULL TIME: Sunderland 0-1 Fulham
Di Canio looks on in disappointment as Fulham grab their first three points of the new season on away turf, beating Sunderland by a single goal in the second half. It wasn't the best of performances from the visitors, but they won't care as they get their campaign off to a winning start.
Sunderland will feel dejected that they were unable to get anything out of this game given the fact that they dominated for large periods of time throughout the contest. However, the Black Cats can take positives from their new signings as Giaccherini, Altidore and Cabral all looked like they will adapt to the team well.
So, there we have it, Fulham come out on top, alongside Liverpool, Aston Villa, Southampton and West Ham United, who have all secured opening game wins so far this weekend. Until next time!
