Joe Allen of Liverpool battles Zoltan Gera of West Brom during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool at The Hawthorns. Photo: Getty Images
Liverpool lost its first Premier League game since Brendan Rodgers took over as coach, falling 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion after defender Daniel Agger was sent off early in the second half on Saturday.
Arsenal began life without Robin van Persie with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Sunderland, but Fulham and Swansea both enjoyed 5-0 routs.
Fulham did not miss American midfielder Clint Dempsey during its Premier League opener, cruising past Norwich at Craven Cottage.
Coach Martin Jol said after the match that reports that Dempsey rejected the opportunity to play against Norwich were untrue.
"To say he refused to play is probably a bit harsh but he wanted to move and if you want to move, you don't want to take risks so you don't want to play in case you get an injury,'' Jol said.
Newcastle beat Tottenham 2-1 on a winning penalty by Hatem Ben Arfa. Demba Ba opened the scoring for Newcastle in the 54th minute but Jermian Defoe tied it in the 76th minute.
Newcastle coach Alan Pardew was sent to the stands after pushing a match official and likely will face further punishment by the English soccer association.
Neither of the top Premier League teams were in action. Manchester City begins its title defense on Sunday and Manchester United plays on Monday.
West Ham and Reading each avoided a loss in their first matches since gaining promotion. West Ham beat Ashton Villa 1-0, and Reading played to a 1-1 draw against Stoke.
In the second-tier League Championship, American defender Jonathan Spector entered in the 63rd minute of Birmingham's 1-1 draw against Charlton, his first appearance since tearing a thigh muscle in May against Blackpool in the promotion playoffs.
Tag : #Liverpool #Premier League
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