[Albion](https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/) opened their season with a 1-1 draw against Fulham.
Here are a few aspects which were seen and heard on and off the pitch as Premier League football returned.
Tributes paid
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Fans of both teams stood in silence to honour Diogo Jota and Andre Silva before the game. Although a few voices could be heard at times during that period, they were quickly quietened and could easily have been fans who were arriving and unaware of what was going on. While a period of applause has been adopted on many occasions as it is harder to disrupt, silence is a braver and more fitting way to mark such tragic circumstances and a decision to go with that rather than applause was the right one in this case.
In-game applause around the stands from his like-minded supporters for fan of the year Keith ‘Toddy’ Todd was also fitting and it had a came soon after Albion had scored.
Set-piece setback
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The fact Albion conceded from a corner in their first competitive game with a new set-piece coach was not ideal. Rodrigo Muniz was in space for his first touch and finish and there were some observations from fans that Albion should have had men on the posts.
The hosts had looked solid at set-plays until then and Lewis Dunk should arguably have scored from a header at an Albion corner.
New faces must wait
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Albion only had one debutant on opening day but easing new boys in gradually is not unknown. There were no new faces, for example, in the XI which kicked off the first game at Manchester United three years ago, although Deniz Undav and Levi Colwill made debuts as substitutes.
Boss gets a new look
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_(Image: Simon Dack)_
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Fabian Hurzeler spoke about Carlos Baleba having a new look but so did the head coach himself. He opted for smart casual attire – all black other than white trainers – rather than team tracksuit or similar. Graham Potter made a similar switch during his tenure whereas Roberto De Zerbi was all black from the start.
Out of play - confirmed
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Even from some distance away, it looked like the ball had gone out of play before Carlos Baleba pulled it across goal for Yankuba Minteh to finish early on. There was not a huge amount of excitement around the stadium when the ball hit the net but, with the technology available, it made sense to allow the move to be completed just to be sure.