AFTER 100 days of no action, the Premier League returned last night but not as we know it. A horrendous decision from the officials saw Sheffield United held away at Aston Villa with a dull 0-0 draw. It was normal business resumed for Manchester City who brushed Arsenal aside with a convincing 3-0 win to […]
AFTER 100 days of no action, the Premier League returned last night but not as we know it.
A horrendous decision from the officials saw Sheffield United held away at Aston Villa with a dull 0-0 draw.
It was normal business resumed for Manchester City who brushed Arsenal aside with a convincing 3-0 win to delay Liverpool’s title win for another week.
And while supporters will need to get used to a new era of top-flight action, here are ten things we learnt following the long-awaited restart.
In solidarity to the global outcry over George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis policeman, every player and official showed their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
With protests going on around the world, the Premier League played its part by removing the names from the shirts and replacing them with “Black Lives Matter”.
Before the game at Villa Park, players from both teams wore T-Shirts supporting the movement and spreading the message.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola also called for more to be done in the fight for equality after the full-time whistle.
To help enhance the experience from their armchairs, viewers were given the opportunity to watch the games with recorded crowd noise.
It cleverly responded to action on the field although it appears a number of those watching at home found it “odd.”
Without the noise, the games were being played inside eerily-empty stadiums with just echoes of noise coming from players and coaches.
Lord Sugar wrote: “Watching Aston Villa v Sheffield United. Weird with no real crowd noise. But better than nothing.”
Another fan added: “The crowd noise is so out of sync with the action it’s hilarious.”
The biggest controversy of the night came at Villa Park where Sheffield United were denied a blatant goal.
Despite all the money pumped into VAR and goal-line technology, it failed to notify Michael Oliver when Villa keeper Ørjan Nyland carried the ball into his goal.
They said that “the seven cameras located in the stands around the goal area were significantly occluded by the goalkeeper, defender and goalpost.”
The huge blooper will only help out Manchester United who are battling with the Blades for a spot in Europe next season.
The likes of Jamie Carragher cut a lonely figure while reporting at the Etihad Stadium.
With Gary Neville up in the gantry, Carragher was allowed to roam about during the game while providing his expert opinion.
The Sky cameras would pan to the former defender attempting to keep dry under his umbrella in the pouring rain.
Other select journalists from organisations kept their distance in the press area while wearing face masks.
Supporters obviously aren’t allowed inside the stadiums to sit next to their mates.
But two Villa fans weren’t going to let Covid-19 from enjoying the action together.
Despite the rain, they sat under a gazebo and watched the match from a laptop screen while enjoying the odd beverage.
It seems as if this will be the new norm for football fans for the time being.
The Premier League are taking zero chances when it comes to limiting the risk of spreading the virus.
That includes spraying every corner flag and the goalposts with anti-bac to help keep them clean.
Even the match ball is wiped over at half time.
One of the biggest concerns for managers will be the number of injuries picked up.
There was always the risk after such a long absence that players would struggle to see out the contest without picking up a knock.
Man City’s Eric Garcia was worryingly taken off on a stretcher with oxygen towards the end of their contest.
Arsenal had Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari hobble off in the first half with injuries.
Sheffield United and Villa managed to get through the games unscathed but a number of players were cramping up with 20 minutes still to play.
And the amount of games in a short time frame is likely to see more players on the treatment table – even with the new rule to permit five substitutes.
Jack Grealish has had plenty of time to consider his new look in lockdown… but maybe he should get back to the drawing board.
The star of Villa, he certainly stood out with his new locks that included shaved sides with his long hair platted on top.
There were also a few blonde highlights and a ponytail to add the icing on the cake.
Man City decided to come up with the idea to have a fan cam behind the goal.
It included live footage of fans watching at home – a good idea if it wasn’t a struggle to fill the slots.
Manchester City have consistently been mocked by rival fans for struggling to fill seats at the ‘Emptyhad’.
And trolls were at it again last night when they noticed they didn’t fill all the spaces on the screen.
Some things never change in football.
Arsenal defender Luiz endured one of the most disastrous substitute appearances in Premier League football when he was introduced midway through the first half.
In his 25-minute cameo, Luiz was at fault when Raheem Sterling fired the hosts ahead.
Four minutes into the second half, he was shown a straight red card when he hauled down Riyad Mahrez inside the penalty area.
That is likely to be the Brazilian’s last contribution in an Arsenal shirt.
