Ronaldo runs at the Reading defenceFrank Lampard got his season up and running with a brace at Fulham, Arsenal and Liverpool both won comfortably, while Manchester United were held at Reading.
Manchester City's players handed relief to under-fire Stuart Pearce in claiming a comfortable 2-0 defeat of West Ham at Eastlands, with the same scoreline seeing a rejuvenate Aston Villa heap more misery on Charlton incumbent Iain Dowie.
Gareth Southgate could soon be feeling the heat at The Riverside, if his players continue to churn out performances like the one that saw them fall to a 1-0 defeat against an improving Blackburn.
Wigan and Watford had to settle for a share of the spoils at The JJB Stadium and a similar 1-1 stalemate ensued a day later, on Sunday, when Newcastle hosted Everton at St James' Park.
While Chelsea may not be playing champagne football just yet they are not scraping the cider barrel either, with a 2-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage including a Lampard double, that saw him banish his spot-kick hoodoo with a successful conversion.
Arsenal at Emirates Stadium have stuttered thus far this term and while a 3-0 victory over Sheffield United suggests a facile success, there was more than the odd exasperated groan heard prior to William Gallas' 65th minute opener.
The rampaging Frenchman may appear to be somewhat of an odd heir to Dennis Bergkamp's oft celebrated number 10 shirt but his fiery finish was befitting of the vintage Dutchman. A Phil Jagielka own goal was sandwiched between a Thierry Henry goal on his return, that added gloss to a polished second half display.
Of those sides promoted it is Steve Coppell's Reading that have garnered most praise and more importantly, points, with Saturday's draw with United their best result to date.
The Royals even had the temerity to take the lead in front of an ecstatic home crowd, through a Kevin Doyle penalty, only to have to settle for a point when Cristiano Ronaldo cut inside to fire an equaliser on 73 minutes.
Tottenham continue to flatter to deceive and while their performance at Anfield was not as bad as a 3-0 scoreline suggests, sceptics are already labelling last season's exploits as the proverbial flash in the pan.
Martin O'Neill is the manager with the Midas touch and his Villa side will be pushing for Europe if they continue such fine form, with a 2-0 victory over Charlton the latest installment in the Ulsterman's Midlands story.
Watford have yet to taste a victory in the top flight but their performances have been full of vigour and after falling behind to Henri Camara's goal for Wigan, Adrian Boothroyd's side showed resilience in claiming a point courtesy of Hameur Bouazza's fine strike.
Shabani Nonda has impressed in the early part of his Blackburn career and his first half header was enough to condemn Middlesbrough to a disappointing 1-0 defeat on home soil.
Georgios Samaras has had his critics but on Saturday he looked a class act in grabbing two fine goals, as City beat a West Ham side that looks out-of-sorts since the arrival of Argentine duo Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.
Everton boss David Moyes was left fuming when Shola Ameobi's goal was allowed to stand despite the Newcastle striker being offside but his mood was softened somewhat when Tim Cahill netted an archetypal header to level.
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