Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the first round of Premier League fixtures from Aug. 13-15 (all times EST).
Friday, Aug. 13
Brentford v Arsenal (3:00 p.m.)
* Brentford will be the 50th different team to play in the Premier League, and the 10th from London.
Zack Steffen did his best to keep Manchester City in its Community Shield match with Leicester City, but he couldn’t quite do enough. Kelechi Iheanacho converted on an 89th-minute penalty kick to finally find a way past the American goalkeeper as the Foxes won their second Community Shield title on Saturday, the first coming in 1971.
Steffen made four saves, including one that was arguably the play of the game, but could only get his fingertips to Iheanacho’s well-struck penalty in the closing minutes.
With one swift kick and a mighty finish, Norwich City has us ready for the Premier League to kick off already. Even though fans have had plenty of international soccer to enjoy recently, the August 13 start date of the EPL could not come any sooner.
This incredible Todd Cantwell assist was set up after the midfielder received a pass shortly after making his way into the 18 (eyy). With a defender pressing him from behind, in two quick taps and a moment of sheer brilliance, he launched the ball over his body with a bicycle kick and across the goal for a near-perfect one-timer.
The long-awaited announcement is imminent: Jack Grealish will complete a transfer to Manchester City. Grealish’s reported $140 million price tag makes him one of the most expensive English players ever.
The biggest deal in English football is effectively done. Jack Grealish is on his way to Manchester, ahead of a medical tomorrow morning. Everything else is completed, he will now become the first £100m English player.
What’s your lasting memory of the 2020-21 Premier League season? Is it Zack Steffen lifting the trophy to the heavens? Or is it Bruno Fernandes wheeling away from a penalty, mouth agape in celebration with enough room for a large cantaloupe? Or maybe it’s Jorginho hopping, skipping and prancing to the spot before necking the Chelsea badge?
One thing’s for certain — there were way, way, way too many penalties last year, giving rise to one of the most odious sentences in all of football: “There was contact.”
Speculation and excitement grow surrounding Champions League victors Chelsea in the quest to sign a new star striker. Even though the club spent around a whopping $150 million last year to bring in forwards Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, they are still shopping for a special striker before the 2021/22 season. While Havertz was battling Covid issues and Werner couldn’t win over the fans last season, the Blues will look to add a lethal striker to the club.
Players from all 20 Premier League clubs will continue to take the knee ahead of games this season to highlight their opposition to racism, the league said on Tuesday.
The Premier League said it "wholeheartedly supported" the decision, adding that players and match officials will continue to wear a No Room For Racism badge on their shirts.
Players and staff have been taking a knee prior to kickoff since the league returned to action in June last year to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Hoy los cielos del fútbol mexicano son oscuros y lúgubres. La derrota ante un Estados Unidos “B” en la final de la Copa Oro inyectó en la sangre un veneno amargo y que es difícil de eliminar. Sin embargo, entre las nubes, se cuela un rayo de luz: la recuperación de Raúl Jiménez.
El goleador sufrió una fractura de cráneo en noviembre de 2020 y se le ha echado de menos en su club, el Wolverhampton, pero también en el Tri.
Liverpool supporters have spent the summer watching the club's rivals get linked to big-name signings.
Manchester United has signed Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, while its neighbor Manchester City is linked with $100m-plus moves for Harry Kane and Jack Grealish. Down in London, Chelsea is being tentatively linked with Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland while Arsenal is in the hunt for Inter striker Lautaro Martinez.
Crystal Palace supporters have good reason to be excited for the coming Premier League season. The Eagles, not generally known for efficient or exciting business in the transfer market, are in the midst of a youth revolution in the current window as they seek to improve on last season's 14th-placed finish.