English Premier League

Arsenal 6-1 Everton

Arsenal produced a stunning opening-day performance to underline boss Arsene Wenger's belief his young stars can win the title.

The Gunners exposed Everton's frailties in defence and the hosts' lack of depth.

The last time Everton lost 6-1 at home was back in 1958, and Arsenal did the damage that time as well.

Their passing, movement and finishing left Everton in shreds, and the north Londoners were three up at the break through Denilson, debut defender Thomas Vermaelen and his centre-back colleague William Gallas.

Everton boss David Moyes had suggested beforehand the Joleon Lescott saga had destabilised his team, but few would have predicted to this extent.

After the interval Cesc Fabregas struck with two fine goals, the result maybe suggesting Moyes should sell Lescott with Manchester City still interested, and spend the money on re-vamping his squad.

Everton included Lescott despite the ongoing saga of Manchester City's attempts to sign him, which prompted Moyes' angry outburst yesterday at the Eastlands club's tactics.

Brazilian striker Jo had recovered from an ankle problem, while Steven Pienaar was passed fit after knee trouble.

Arsenal gave their new Belgian defender Vermaelen his league debut, but were without Theo Walcott (back), Abou Diaby (groin), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Johan Djourou (knee).

But their absences did not seem to matter as they systematically took Everton apart at the back.

Moyes got a heroes' reception from the Goodison Park faithful, and Lescott's name was greeted with far more cheers than jeers from a sell-out crowd.

But Moyes then had to sit and watch as his usually reliable rearguard, admittedly missing the excellent Phil Jagielka, fell apart before his eyes.

Arsenal were sharp from the start and their passing game was quickly on song. And when Phil Neville misplaced a ball in midfield, the Gunners flowed forward before Nicklas Bendtner drove a shot over the bar.

Then Bendtner headed down for Robin van Persie to see his shot on the turn deflected wide by Lescott.

Everton were having to work tremendously hard in midfield to contain the tempo of Arsenal's game and the Toffees barely created a chance in the opening half.

The goal Arsenal had been threatening arrived after 26 minutes. Bendtner surged in from the left before flicking a pass to Cesc Fabregas, who instantly turned the ball into Denilson's path.

The pace of the move left Everton floundering, and the fine strike from the Brazilian from just outside the area dipped and curled into the top corner.

Everton's response was predictably furious and they had Arsenal hemmed into their box for a spell.

Only a goal-line clearance from Denilson following Marouane Fellaini's header from a Leighton Baines corner stopped an equaliser.

Arsenal, though, were cutting through Everton with movement and accurate passing, and after 37 minutes they were two ahead.

Van Persie's free-kick from the right found Vermaelen beyond the far post, and the defender headed back into the bottom corner for a fine debut goal.

Everton's marking for that was dreadful, with Fellaini and Joseph Yobo seemingly at fault. But four minutes later when Gallas headed home another free-kick, this time from Fabregas, the defending was even worse.

The Frenchman had a free run into the six-yard box to guide his header home completely unmarked. Goalkeeper Tim Howard appealed for cover as colleagues stood motionless.

Everton were shell-shocked, and it got worse three minutes after the interval.

Everton were caught by a pitch-length move from Arsenal that ended with Fabregas cruising into the box to send his shot past Howard.

Denilson had started the surge deep on the left and found Van Persie before a neat pass left the Arsenal skipper to do the rest.

Moyes then made a triple substitution. Saha replaced Leon Osman, Dan Gosling came on for Tony Hibbert while Jack Rodwell took over from Jo.

The reshuffle included Neville reverting to full-back from midfield, where he had struggled. Rodwell, Fellaini and Pienaar both had chances as Everton struggled to get some pride back.

Arsenal sent on Emmanuel Eboue for Bendtner after 63 minutes, the game long won.

But Fabregas was not finished. After 69 minutes he collected a throw from Manuel Almunia and ran from inside his own half without facing a tackle to drive home the fifth.

Their jobs done, Arsenal took off Fabregas and Van Persie, sending on Aaron Ramsey and Eduardo.

With the ground emptying fast, and the Gunners' fans in full song, Everton just wanted this embarrassment to end as quickly as possible.

But Eduardo still had time to score the sixth, netting from close in after Andrey Arshavin's shot had come back off a post with two minutes to go.

Everton finally got onto the score-sheet in injury time when Saha netted after Pienaar's shot had been blocked.

Teams:

Everton Howard, Hibbert (Gosling 58), Yobo, Lescott, Baines,Osman (Saha 58), Neville, Cahill, Pienaar, Fellaini,Jo (Rodwell 58).

Subs Not Used: Nash, Vaughan, Duffy, Baxter.

Goals: Saha 90.

Arsenal Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy,Fabregas (Ramsey 72), Song Billong, Denilson,Bendtner (Eboue 63), van Persie (Eduardo 72), Arshavin.

Subs Not Used: Mannone, Silvestre, Gibbs, Merida.

Goals: Denilson 26, Vermaelen 37, Gallas 41, Fabregas 48, 69,

Eduardo 88.

Att: 39,309

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

Man City 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

Manchester City launched themselves into what they hope will be a golden era with a victory at Blackburn that answered many of the questions that have been asked of them over the summer.

Emmanuel Adebayor set them on their way, lashing home Shaun Wright-Phillips' cut-back after just three minutes. Then, with stoppage time approaching and City looking

likely to hold onto the lead provided by their £25million new-boy, Stephen Ireland popped up to fire home after a mazy solo burst.

In between, City were forced to survive periods of intense Rovers pressure. But with Kolo Toure in fine form and Shay Given making excellent saves to deny Chris Samba and Jason Roberts, City were able to celebrate their success with gusto.

Hughes only named three of his six summer signings in his starting line-up, although two more were on the bench - including Carlos Tevez - for the start of a campaign that has been eagerly awaited for so long by so many.

And the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes, two of the men irritated by City's rise, plus a 6,000-strong travelling Blues army did not have to wait long for the first glimpse of what their side are now capable of.

As Adebayor wheeled away to celebrate his first City goal, a few of those fans must have been pinching themselves at the wonder of it all.

Not that they had long to celebrate. City's goal had come on the counter-attack following a Blackburn corner and it soon became evident the home side were going to enjoy a long period of dominance.

Striking duo Roberts and Benni McCarthy proved difficult to subdue, as did El Hadji-Diouf and Morten Gamst Pedersen in wider positions.

However, for all the attackers Hughes has brought in this summer and the continuing fall-out from his pursuit of Joleon Lescott, the Welshman has reinforced his defence as well.

Gareth Barry is a very useful screening player in midfield while Toure is a central defensive rock, who always keeps his head without ever looking like enduring one of those momentary lapses his partner Richard Dunne suffers so frequently.

And behind Toure was Given, a relative veteran having arrived from Newcastle last January at the cost of £6million to force Joe Hart to pursue his England ambitions with Birmingham.

Amid a plethora of Blackburn chances, a couple stood out.

McCarthy cushioned a fine header into the path of Roberts and a Diouf corner that dropped onto Chris Samba's head.

Unfortunately for the hosts, on the first occasion Roberts lashed his shot over. On the second Given flew across his goal to make an excellent save.

Roberts was denied another sight of goal by Dunne's last-ditch tackle and when Keith Andrews had a penalty appeal turned down in stoppage time, Sam Allardyce must have wondered how he came to be giving an interval team-talk to a team staring defeat in the face.

Of course, winning when you are not playing well is a mantra of all top clubs, so Hughes had no apologies to make on his return to Ewood Park.

In fact, City were marginally the better side when the teams returned, with Adebayor looking far more lively than he had done in his last few performances with Arsenal.

Not that Rovers were throwing in the towel. Roberts brought another excellent save from Given with a stooping header.

That attack triggered a response of sorts from City, who went agonisingly close through Robinho.

It was the Brazilian's only meaningful contribution and not long after he had been denied by Paul Robinson's full-length save, his number 10 was flashed up on the board as Tevez waited to be introduced.

As usual, Tevez's industry caught the eye.

Robinson denied him a debut goal before Ireland, collecting Wright-Phillips' crossfield pass, calmly took his time before beating Robinson at his near post.

Teams:

Blackburn Robinson, Jacobsen, Samba, Givet, Warnock,Diouf (Hoilett 86), Andrews (Gallagher 75), Nzonzi, Pedersen,Roberts (Di Santo 65), McCarthy.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Grella, Khizanishvili, Olsson.

Booked: Warnock, Gallagher.

Man City Given, Richards, Dunne, Toure, Bridge,Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Barry, Robinho (Tevez 69), Adebayor,Bellamy.

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Petrov, De Jong, Weiss.

Booked: Richards.

Goals: Adebayor 3, Ireland 90.

Att: 29,584

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).

Chelsea 2-1 Hull City

Didier Drogba's double strike gave new Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti a winning start to his Barclays Premier League career.

The Ivory Coast international grabbed the winner in added time to shatter battling Hull's hopes of a point.

Chelsea had trailed to a 27th-minute goal from Hull's debut boy Stephen Hunt, but Drogba levelled the scores in the 37th minute with a dipping 25-yard free-kick and then grabbed the winner late in the game to secure maximum reward for the home side.

But prior to Drogba's face-saving strike there were worrying echoes of the Luiz Felipe Scolari era.

Chelsea resorted to far too much intricate approach play on the edge of Hull's penalty area and when that failed they opted to punt long balls into the danger zone from either flank.

They were tactics reminiscent of Scolari's ill-fated reign and, just as Chelsea did so often under their former coach, they saved themselves with a late winner.

The home side should have taken the lead as early as the second minute but Drogba fired wide from six yards after Michael Essien's superb cross fell directly at the feet of the unmarked striker.

Hull gave Chelsea a warning in the ninth minute when captain George Boateng shot just wide of Petr Cech's right-hand upright from 20 yards.

Four minutes later a cross from Hunt was headed over by Dean Marney. The Hull midfielder was allowed to ghost into the penalty unmarked and should have done better with his finish.

Cech then had to be alert to save another shot from Boateng as the Tigers began to find some success in the attacking third.

Hull had weathered the early Chelsea storm and had been far from second best.

Chelsea looked impressive going forward in their diamond formation but the same could not be said for the defensive element of the system.

The home side's failure to clear a free-kick in the 27th minute cost them dearly.

Chelsea had been upset at the free-kick awarded by Alan Riley when the official insisted that Jose Bosingwa had tugged the shirt of Hunt.

It got worse for the Blues when Andy Dawson sent the free-kick towards the Chelsea penalty area.

It was only half-cleared to Boateng on the edge of the area and his shot cannoned off both Ashley Cole and Mikel before falling to Hunt to apply an easy finish into an unguarded net.

That made it a terrific start to his Hull career for Hunt who was booed all afternoon by the Chelsea fans.

They still have not forgiven the former Reading player for the challenge in an October 2006 match which left Cech with a fractured skull. Cech is still required to wear protective head gear.

The Blues were level in the 37th minute thanks to a superb free-kick strike by Drogba.

Seyi Olofinjana was penalised by Wiley for holding off Mikel 25 yards out and Drogba punished them severely when he sent a dipping shot over the defensive wall and into the right corner.

Boaz Myhill then had to dive low to his left to prevent Michael Essien from giving Chelsea the lead five minutes before the interval.


Ancelotti's side should have gone in front within seconds of the re-start.

Drogba set up strike partner Nicolas Anelka perfectly but the France international failed to beat Myhill from six yards.

In the 56th minute Myhill twice denied Drogba with stunning saves as the Ivory Coast international looked for his second goal of the game.

In the 68th minute Hull replaced Hunt with new signing Kamel Ghilas to a chorus of boos from the Chelsea fans and the Blues substituted Malouda, bringing on Deco.

Essien almost gave Chelsea the lead in the 74th minute but his 20-yard volley was narrowly wide of the target.

Bosingwa then brought a fine diving save from Myhill as his effort looked to creep in.

Substitute Salomon Kalou, on for Anelka, then headed over from Deco's cross as Chelsea chased a winner.

But Drogba scored a vital winner two minutes into added time when he somehow chipped the ball over Myhill and into the far corner from an acute angle.

Teams:

Chelsea Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole,Mikel (Ballack 46), Essien, Malouda (Deco 69), Lampard,Anelka (Kalou 79), Drogba.

Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Sturridge, Hutchinson.

Booked: Drogba.

Goals: Drogba 37, 90.

Hull Myhill, Mouyokolo, Turner, Gardner, Dawson,Mendy (Geovanni 78), Olofinjana, Marney (Barmby 44), Boateng,Hunt (Ghilas 69), Folan.

Subs Not Used: Duke, Halmosi, Zayatte, Cousin.

Booked: Mendy, Barmby.

Goals: Hunt 28.

Att: 41,597

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).

Teenager Jack Wilshere struck twice as Arsenal beat Scottish champions Rangers to win the Emirates Cup.

The 17-year-old was rewarded for a man-of-the-match display when coming off the bench in Saturday's game against Atletico Madrid with a place in Arsene Wenger's starting XI.

Wilshere grabbed his latest opportunity with both hands to fire the Gunners ahead inside two minutes.

Arsenal never looked back, as fit-again Croatia hitman Eduardo soon made it 2-0 before Wilshere, once more man-of-the-match, wrapped things up with another well-taken strike in the second half.

Both teams had named stronger teams than for Saturday's opening games, when Rangers overcame Paris St Germain।

There were starts for regular Gunners goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, captain Cesc Fabregas as well as Andrey Arshavin, who netted twice when coming on as substitute against Atletico.

Rangers brought in keeper Allan McGregor, Kevin Thomson and Steven Naismith, who once had a trial at Arsenal.

It was, though, soon first blood to the English side when youngster Wilshere snatched the lead.

Fabregas' chip into the area found Arshavin, who touched the ball back and it broke for Wilshere.

The 17-year-old calmly struck the ball to the bottom corner, and although McGregor got a hand to it, could not keep the shot out.

Before Rangers could recover, Arsenal were 2-0 up in the 11th minute.

Putting the boot in: Gers skipper Dave Weir (R) looks on in vain as
Croatian striker Eduardo makes it two for the hosts

Arshavin knocked a long ball down to Fran Merida, who had far too much space to run into.

The youngster, once on the books of Barcelona, picked out Eduardo on the right side of the penalty box, and the Croatia marksman opened up his body before stroking the ball into the bottom corner.

The Glasgow side finally made some progress when Pedro Mendes got clear down the right, and his pass across goal was cut out by Mikael Silvestre.

Arsenal, though, remained dangerous and Merida was just off target when he let fly from 25 yards.

McGregor made up somewhat for his earlier handling error when he touched over a delicate chip from Wilshere.

As expected both teams made changes at the restart, Armand Traore and Denilson coming for William Gallas and Gael Clichy, while Rangers introduced Lee McCulloch, Kenny Miller and Nacho Novo.

The Scots had an early chance when Novo broke down the right, crossing towards Naismith, with Alex Song making an important block on the loose ball at the far post.

At the other end, Arshavin was just off target following good work from Fabregas.

Rangers, though, continued to look dangerous on the break.

Naismith sent Steven Davis clear down the right after a slip by Song. The midfielder raced forwards to collect the return pass, but could not beat Almunia.

After 62 minutes, Arshavin was replaced by Nicklas Bendtner, with FA Youth Cup winner Sanchez Watt coming on for Eduardo.

Merida then was substituted for Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey - another promising youngster in the Arsenal squad.

The three young Gunners combined to make it 3-0 on 71 minutes.


Watt chased down what looked a lost cause as Madjid Bougherra attempted to shield the ball out of play.

However, the forward managed to hook it back to Ramsey, who then picked out the run of Wilshere at the far post, the 17-year-old smashing in his second of the game.

The match over as a contest, Arsenal made another change when Rosicky, fit again following some 18 months of injury problems, replaced Fabregas.

There was still time for Kenny Miller to drag a shot wide when put into the penalty area - which just about summed up Rangers' afternoon.