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szdaily -> Sports -> 
Man U, Chelsea off to flying starts
    2021-08-16  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

MANCHESTER United, Chelsea and Liverpool all served notice of their title intentions with crushing wins as the Premier League enjoyed a return to its familiar format Saturday.

At Old Trafford, more than 72,000 spectators — Britain’s biggest soccer crowd since the pandemic — saw Bruno Fernandes’ hat trick and Paul Pogba’s four assists sweep Manchester United to a 5-1 thrashing of fierce rival Leeds, a statement of intent from a team whose last of its record 20 top-flight titles came in 2013.

It was the highest-scoring encounter on a day featuring 25 goals across seven matches, at an average of 3.57 — much higher than a typical season’s average.

Chelsea, the European champion and a big title contender like United, flexed its early-season muscles by overwhelming Crystal Palace in a 3-0 win that could have been heavier in front of nearly 39,000 fans.

Liverpool was the other expected title challenger to begin its league campaign and Mohamed Salah set up two goals before scoring himself — the fifth straight season he has netted in the opening round — in a 3-0 win at promoted Norwich.

The British Government lifted social-distancing measures  July 19, paving the way for clubs to allow fans back in force after they were shut down for almost the entirety of last season and the end of the 2019-20 season. Capacities aren’t quite at their maximum, though, because certain areas of stadiums have limited access around players and officials.

A packed crowd at Old Trafford was treated to a midfield clinic by United’s two most high-profile players.

Pogba has again been linked with a move away from United during the offseason but he was laughing and joking around after the final whistle after collecting more assists in one game than he managed in the entire 2020-21 campaign. Fernandes was the beneficiary with his first hat trick in English soccer — and none of the goals coming from the penalty spot this time.

Fernandes ran onto Pogba’s clipped pass for United’s 30th-minute opener and, after Luke Ayling equalized for Leeds with a long-range strike in the 49th, Pogba played in Mason Greenwood for an angled shot that regained the lead for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

In the Premier League’s opener Friday, Arsenal was downed 0-2 by newly-promoted Brentford.(SD-Agencies)

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