Premier League

Football is back and, apparently, better than ever. Liverpool and Arsenal played out a seven goal thriller in London, the Merseyside club racing to a 4-1 lead before surrendering two late goals and giving Arsene Wenger’s men a brief moment of joy.

After a first half for Manchester United that could be described as "about as anonymous as is possible," Zlatan made good on his track record in major league debuts and scored from 25 yards out. He's now scored in every major league debut: La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Champions League...and Premier League.

Here's his long shot at the 64' that managed to slip past Bournemouth keeper Artur Boruc:

In two seasons with Sunderland, Jermain Defoe has managed to save Sunderland from relegation twice. Goals are key to survival, and Defoe consistently provides them from the forward position. He’s been doing so for almost sixteen years — since his Premier League debut with West Ham United during the 2000-01 season.

Defoe’s greatest EPL return was 18 goals during the 2009-10 season. You’d expect, at 33 years of age, that his goalscoring ability would’ve plummeted since then. You’d be wrong.

Leicester City opened their title defense in the worst possible fashion on Saturday, losing to a newly promoted Hull City side whose own preseason has bordered on the shambolic.

Leicester became the first ever reigning Premier League champions to lose their opening game, and they’ve been defeated by the early favorites for relegation, Hull City.

Leicester’s far-reaching preseason, including matches against Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, doesn’t appear to have sufficiently readied the East Midlands club. 

The big kick off is here, and, wouldn’t you know it, the stars have aligned in the perfect manner for fans wanting to do nothing but watch football all weekend.

It’s as if Premier League, Liga MX, MLS, Olympic, Bundesliga and La Liga representatives all got together and did this for us. Head to the store tonight, grab all the sustenance you need to survive Saturday and Sunday, and bunker down.

Football is back.

The eagerly anticipated return of Paul Pogba in Manchester United red will go on for at least another five days after the Football Association informed United that the midfielder must serve a one-match ban for a suspension he accumulated in Italy.

Pogba picked up two yellow cards in the Copa Italia, resulting in a one match ban that’s followed him to England. He was cautioned in consecutive matches, the semi-final against Internazionale and the final against Milan, resulting in an automatic one-match ban.

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has given his thoughts on what it would take for the Foxes to defend their Premier League crown. Essentially, Leicester will need E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to touch down in Piccadilly Circus, London’s equivalent of Times Square.

Ranieri has never been one to champion his own side’s chances, at least in public. Last season, he targeted survival, then the top 10 and finally a Champions League place while the rest of the world declared Leicester City title favorites.

Jose Mourinho has unleashed a clear dig at Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klopp by reacting to their comments surrounding Manchester United’s signing of Paul Pogba for an excess of £100 million.