LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur began the Thomas Frank era in the Premier League with a convincing 3-0 home victory over promoted side Burnley on Saturday thanks to a majestic double from striker Richarlison which included an acrobatic volley.
The Brazilian opened the scoring in the 10th minute when he turned in a cross from new recruit Mohammed Kudus and the pair combined again on the hour mark when Richarlison volleyed a well-timed effort into the net to extend the lead.Six minutes later, Brennan Johnson made it 3-0 on the counter-attack after Richarlison won the ball back in midfield as Burnley struggled to deal with Spurs’ press and intensity.It was no meek surrender from the visitors, however, as they managed to get forward and take nearly as many shots as Tottenham, but Scott Parker’s side lacked quality in finishing.
Meanwhile, Liverpool talisman Mo Salah and substitute Federico Chiesa struck late goals as the Premier League champions began the defence of their title by beating Bournemouth 4-2 in a thriller on the opening night of the season at Anfield.
On a bittersweet evening charged with emotion after the July death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, newcomer Hugo Ekitike bagged a goal on his league debut to put the hosts ahead after 37 minutes and Cody Gakpo doubled the lead in the 49th.But Antoine Semenyo, who was the target of racist abuse in the first half that led to a pause in the game, pulled one back for the visitors in the 64th minute and completed a double 12 minutes later to rock Liverpool and shock the home fans. However, Chiesa came off the bench and sent the Anfield faithful away happy with an 88th-minute strike after goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic swatted away a ball into the box by Salah, who scored himself deep into added time to wrap up the three points.”Fantastic,” Liverpool boss Arne Slot said of Italian forward Chiesa’s goal. “He came in in the end because we needed a goal. For him then to score in such a moment is special.”It’s even more special because the fans have supported him. It’s nice he gives them something in return with a great goal.” The game was halted for several minutes after Bournemouth’s Ghana international Semenyo reported the racist abuse.”It’s totally unacceptable,” Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said. “Kind of in shock to be honest that it happened. In this day and age, it shouldn’t be happening. “I don’t know how Ant’s played on to be honest and come up with those goals ... Something has to be done. We’ll support him in there and hopefully he’ll be ok.”