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A dream debut for world soccer's deadliest striker, a day to forget for Cristiano Ronaldo, and a Rolex surprise: Catch the highlights from the the Premier League's opening weekend

A dream debut for world soccer's deadliest striker, a day to forget for Cristiano Ronaldo, and a Rolex surprise: Catch the highlights from the the Premier League's opening weekend

Barnaby Lane

Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo had vastly different weekends.Getty/James Gill; Reuters/Toby Melville

The English Premier League returned this weekend after the summer break with all 20 teams in action.
Erling Haaland scored twice for Manchester City. Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for Manchester United.

Cristiano Ronaldo was left on the bench as Manchester United lost.

Ronaldo didn't look pleased at being put on the bench. Reuters/Toby Meville

Ronaldo missed nearly all of Manchester United's pre-season campaign amid rumors that he wants out of the club.

As such, he was left on the bench for manager Erik ten Hag's first match in charge against Brighton on Sunday, but it proved to be a costly decision.

United found itself 2-0 down at half-time as the club's new central defender Lisandro Martinez struggled and Marcus Rashford failed to make a splash up-top.

Though Ronaldo eventually came on in the second half and helped notably shift the dynamic of the match, it was too little too late as Brighton won the match 2-1 to record a first-ever victory at Old Trafford.

The world's deadliest striker enjoyed a dream debut for Manchester City.

—NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 8, 2022

Erling Haaland scored 85 goals in 87 matches for Borussia Dortmund before joining City this summer, and it didn't take him long to get the ball rolling for his new team on Sunday.

The 22-year-old opened his Premier League account after just 36 minutes when he converted from the penalty spot after being brought down in the box by West Ham's goalkeeper.

He then doubled his team's lead and his tally for the day in the second half after he was fed through on goal by Kevin de Bruyne, slotting the ball home with aplomb.

So excited was he by his debut performance, Haaland cursed twice on live television after the match.

"It's a bit shit," he said when asked about a chance he missed that would have seen him bag a hat-trick.

Warned about his language by the interview, he then replied: "Shit, sorry."

The league's new teams shone, mostly.

Bobby Decordova-Reid, Aleksandar Mitrovic. Getty/Mike Hewitt

Fulham, which was promoted after winning the championship last term, pulled off the result of the weekend as it held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.

Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrović was the hero on the day, scoring both of Fulham's goals.

Bournemouth, which finished second in the championship last year, also enjoyed a fine return to England's top flight as it beat Aston Villa 2-0.

But Nottingham Forest, which came up through the playoffs, struggled, as Newcastle bested it 2-0.

A Newcastle player gave away a Rolex watch to a fan.

—ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 7, 2022

Newcastle may have recorded its third-straight opening day victory, but the highlight of day from St. James' Park came off the field.

After the victory, Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin made a remarkable gesture as he handed over a brand new Rolex watch to a fan as he left the ground.

The fan later tweeted to say he had been left "speechless" by the Frenchman's generosity.

"I'm still in shock," Steve Dutton wrote.

—Steve Dutton (@SteveDu29895087) August 6, 2022

Chelsea and Tottenham both won.

Chelsea new boy Kalidou Koulibaly had a solid match against Everton. Getty/Chris Brunskill

Both Tottenham and Chelsea made big changes to their squads over the summer and got off to perfect starts as they recorded wins over Southampton and Everton, respectively, on Saturday.

Tottenham swept aside Saints 4-1 thanks to goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier, and Dejan Kulusevski, with manager Antonio Conte saying he saw "a lot of positive things" in his team's performance.

Chelsea, playing its first season under its new owner Todd Boehly, didn't quite blow Frank Lampard's Everton out of the water, but a penalty kick from Jorginho was enough to secure a 1-0 win.

Elsewhere over the weekend, Leeds United beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1; Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 2-0; and Leicester City and Brentford saw out a hard-fought 2-2 draw.

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