5 takeaways from English Premier League Matchday 1

The English Premier League is back in our lives and things are great again. Starting on Friday, the 2021-22 campaign started off with a bang, as Brentford stunned Arsenal with a 2-0 victory. 

Then on Saturday and Sunday, we saw even more incredible action that folks are still talking about. In this piece, we've got five takeaways from the action, which of course includes Paul Pogba's brilliance at Old Trafford 

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5. Can Manchester United go on a title run with Paul Pogba leading the way?

Old Trafford was buzzing from start to finish on Saturday, as Manchester United FC took home a 5-1 win over Leeds United. While Bruno Fernandes recorded a hat-trick and looked superb, we can't forget about the play of Paul Pogba. 

The midfielder was unreal, providing four assists in the win. He's only the seventh player in EPL history to record four assists in a single game. Simply tremendous. Pogba and United looked fantastic, but they've got to keep things going consistently. If they can keep playing at such a high level, they sure could be in the title race next spring. 

4. Manchester City isn't invisible

After Manchester City FC signed Jack Grealish on a record transfer, people were ready to give City the title again. Everyone went ahead and assumed they'd win the league for the fourth time in five years. Well, let's hold the phone on that. 

On Sunday, Tottenham, without Harry Kane mind you, recorded a stunning 1-0 victory over Pep Guardiola's men. On top of that, MCFC only recorded four shots on target. What in the world? This loss was a fresh reminder that City has flaws too and the title won't be handed to them. This race could be wide open later this year. 

3. Chelsea was downright electric against Crystal Palace

Also in London, How about the Blues of Chelsea? Chelsea FC looked brilliant against Crystal Palace, starting the campaign with a 3-0 victory. As you might have been able to guess, Christian Pulisic, who loves playing Palace, found the back of the net. 

What made this victory even more impressive is that Chelsea was without several key players, including N'Golo Kante, Romelu Lukaku and others. Imagine this Chelsea team at full strength. With their depth, the reigning Champions League winners have what it takes to record a memorable season. Chelsea will be a team to watch from start to finish. 

2. New year, same problems for Arsenal

While Arsenal was without Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to start the year against Brentford, suffering a 2-0 defeat was nothing short of embarrassing for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta is seeing fans all over social media call for him to be sacked.

Remember, this was Brentford's first EPL match in 74 years. They went on to dominate Arsenal on Friday. Arsenal supporters were deflated after the final whistle. Arteta needs to figure things out and fast. His seat is getting hotter and hotter with each defeat. 

1. There will be no easy league title win this season

While Liverpool and Man City have cruised to easy EPL title wins in back to back seasons, don't expect that for 2021-22. When was the last time we saw so much depth and loaded rosters for teams in the English Premier League? 

This year has the makings of having 2-3 teams in the title hunt entering the last few weeks of play. That's only going to make things even more fun and interesting down the stretch. Will it be United? Chelsea? City? Liverpool? Someone else? We can't wait to find out.