Teams on alert

Watch out, Manchester!

Out of the teams that are competing for a top four spot in English Premier League, only Chelsea were winning comfortably in the first matchday (should I mention Everton?), while Man City only defeated Southampton 3-2 in a narrow match.

The first team to suffer defeat were Liverpool. Although Kop fans might blame Atkinson for his poor refereeing decisions throughout the match, Liverpool's performance was in fact below expectations, as always.

At Goodison Park, Man United suffered first opening day defeat in eight years, courtesy of a Fellaini's header. Ferguson's decision to bench Robin van Persie was criticised. Perhaps we could see the former Gunners top scorer start alongside Rooney against Fulham? Fergie might be tempted to give him a full debut then.

Well, Man United's main weakness during the match was at the defence. Michael Carrick was being outplayed by Fellaini for most of the match. Fergie had no choice. Evans is expected to start against Fulham this weekend though, while other defenders are still recovering.

Meanwhile, Arsenal were not on form either. Their lacksture finishing proved fatal although gaining 70% of possession for the match against Sunderland. Out of their 23 shots, only 3 were on target. That showed their over reliance of RVP last term. Now that RVP had left, his successor Podolski and Giroud couldn't replicate his heroics on their debuts, yet. While Alex Song signed for Barcelona, certainly Wenger need to reorganise his team again since two of his former key players had left.

Good news for Chelsea though, as they defeated Wigan easily as their new recruits seemed promising. Eden Hazard was even being compared to legend Gianfranco Zola by Roberto  Di Matteo after the match. Substitute appearance by Oscar was impressive as well. So, there is possibility that Juan Mata might be rested against Reading tomorrow, partly because of the depth at the area. That goes without mentioning former Werder Bremen playmaker Marko Marin, who is currently injured.

Although Man City won, their biggest concern was the injury of Sergio Aguero. Recent scan showed that he is expected to be unavailable for 1 month. Will this affect their upcoming matches without the title-winning goalscorer last season? Good news for their next opponent, Liverpool!