Manchester United and Chelsea was a safe the result, Arsenal still only boss Wenger ?  confident steps from Liverpool.

Manchester United 0 Chelsea 0: First Moyes –  Mourinho duel draw

At this early stage of the season, it was simply a game they didn’t want to lose.

Manchester United’s first goalless draw for 119 matches ensured that Moyes didn’t lose his first home match as their manager, while Mourinho maintained his excellent record against them.

When they meet again at Stamford Bridge in January, the stakes will be higher, but all that can be drawn from last night’s encounter is that there is little to choose between the teams and both will be challenging hard for the Premier League title.

Moyes will have been greatly encouraged though by the performance of Wayne Rooney. Despite Chelsea’s persistent interest, his commitment matched his quality.

And he was cheered throughout by United fans so eager for him to stay at Old Trafford.

When he raced back to dispossess Ramires near the corner flag and then sent Robin van Persie away with a pass, the roar from the crowd was as loud as if he had scored the winner. United had more of the ball and the better chances, with Danny Welbeck missing the best of them, but Chelsea were superbly organised and resilient.

There was a minute’s applause before kick-off for former United players Jack Crompton and Brian Greenhoff who passed away during the summer.

Among the crowd for an early showdown between two of last season’s top three, were England boss Roy Hodgson and Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini, whose side face United next month.

As expected, Moyes gave Rooney his first start since Chelsea won at Old Trafford on May 4, despite Chelsea apparently waiting for the game to finish before submitting a third offer.

Any fears of a negative reaction from United fans however were dispelled when his name was announced to loud cheers and chants of “Rooney, Rooney” as the players did their warm-up.

United had more possession in the early stages, but had to wait until the 23rd minute before they threatened a goal when Michael Carrick won the ball off Ramires and Van Persie’s shot rattled the side netting.

Van Persie couldn’t climb high enough to get any power or direction on his header from Patrice Evra as United attempted to build up some attacking momentum. Then Rooney, receiving the ball from Tom Cleverley, made room for a shot that he fired tamely straight at Petr Cech.

United were quick to close down Chelsea with some fierce tackling. After a late challenge on Oscar, Antonio Valencia received a lecture form referee Martin Atkinson.

But it was Kevin De Bruyne who picked up the first caution for a foul on Van Persie.

To add injury to insult, De Bruyne was left with blood trickling from a split lip after Van Persie attempted to fend off his challenge with his forearm.

Jose Mourinho was furious that Valencia had escaped and De Bruyne had not and made his feelings known in his typically theatrical fashion to fourth official Mike Dean.

The two teams had shown each other too much respect in a cautious first half, but United cranked up the tempo in the second half in a bid to make the breakthrough with Welbeck heavily involved in their attacking work.

He linked well with Evra, but the United left-back was blocked as he surged into the area.

Welbeck then curled a shot high and wide and wasted the best chance of the game so far after 55 minutes, lofting his effort into the Stretford End.

United had appeals for a penalty dismissed by referee Atkinson when Cleverley’s shot crashed against Frank Lampard, who was turning away from the ball.

Rooney underlined his growing confidence by spinning away from Gary Cahill to try his luck from 25 yards, but Cech fielded the shot comfortably.

Valencia had worked hard, but had blown hot and cold and Moyes decided to replace him with Ashley Young.

Cole appealed for a penalty after an excursion into United’s penalty area, but he went down far too easily after brushing against Phil Jones and referee Atkinson got his second big call of the night spot on.

Match Stats

Manchester  United: De Gea 6, Jones 6, Ferdinand 7, Vidic 7, Evra 6, Valencia (Young 67, 6) 8, Cleverley 6, Carrick 6, Welbeck (Giggs 78) 6, Rooney 7, Van Persie 6.

Subs: Anderson, Smalling, Lindegaard, Kagawa, Buttner.

Chelsea: Cech 6, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 6, Terry 7, Cole 6, Ramires 6, Lampard 5, De Bruyne 5 (Torres 60, 6), Oscar 7, Hazard 6 (Azpilicueta 93), Schurrle 6.

Subs: Essien, Mikel, Lukaku, Schwarzer, Mata.

Booked: De Bruyne, Torres. 

Manchester United vs Chelsea Match Video

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Fulham 1 Arsenal 3:Arsenal and Wenger have passed the shock of the first week of

Olivier Giroud has scored three goals in three games and at Craven Cottage on Saturday he put in a performance full of endeavour and skill.

Yet Arsenal are still looking for a new striker, as well as a midfielder to sharpen up a side who have fallen behind their rivals.

Still looking to spend, still looking for the ingredients that will elevate this team into the elite again.

The critics, who manager Arsene Wenger accused on Saturday of “brainwashing” Gunners fans with their constant pessimism, point out that although Giroud scored in the defeat against Aston Villa, he did little else.

And that against Fenerbahce, although he scored again, he should have had a hat-trick. And they point to a slim tally of 11 league goals last season.

That is why a player of Luis Suarez’s venomous finishing ability is being sought. Decent though Giroud is, he is not quite top class, they say.

But the player sees it differently. After his excellent opener, which set up a comfortable second win in four days for the Gunners, he said: “I look forward to new players coming in.

“I am on a good run, I feel really confident, good in my game and I do the job on the pitch.

“If there is a new striker coming, it’s a good thing for the squad. I try to help the team win. Nothing more.”

Giroud’s opener was neatly taken after 14 minutes, when Aaron Ramsey’s shot hit him and dropped into his path.

By the time Lukas Podolski rammed in the second four minutes before half-time, as Ramsey and the excellent Santi Cazorla ran the game, it was effectively over as a contest.

Giroud added: “I did well, like the team. I really wanted to help the team win after the bad result against Villa. We were really disappointed with that and we wanted to correct it and dictate the game.

“We all wanted to put that right. When things do not work, the fans want new signings. But we want to show that the squad is together and give an answer on the pitch.”

Wenger, expected to go back for Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye this week, said: “These players are not playing for their future. They are playing like this because they enjoy the style of play and because they are ambitious. They want to win the league.

“This is the first year when we have not been traumatised by losing players. If we can gain one, two or even three more, we will do it.

“Confidence is fragile for all of us. I feel relieved. I care about this club. This is not a personal trip. This is about doing things well for the club I love and I am happy we are back on track.

“We have lost one game in the league since the beginning of March. That’s why it was a shock last week against Villa. It is like that.

“The media has brainwashed the Emirates crowd. Because we haven’t won trophies for years everything is negative. But we have to live with that.”

After withstanding a brief spell of Fulham pressure, with debutant Scott Parker feeling his way into Martin Jol’s team, Arsenal struck again on the break as Cazorla set up Podolski for his second goal in the 68th minute.

Match Facts 

Fulham (4-4-1-1): Stockdale 5; Riether 7, Hughes 6, Hangeland 6, Riise 6; Duff 5 (Bent 59, 6), Parker 6, Sidwell 5 (Karagounis 75, 6), Taarabt 7 (Kacaniklic 62, 6); Kasami 6; Berbatov 6.

Booked: Parker, Kasami.

Goal: Bent 77.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szczesny 7; Jenkinson 7, Sagna 7, Mertesacker 6, Gibbs 7; Ramsey 7, Rosicky 7 (Wilshere 70, 6); Cazorla 8, Walcott 7, Podolski 7 (Sanogo 81); Giroud 7 (Monreal 72, 6).

Booked: Ramsey, Wilshere.

Goals: Giroud 14, Podolski 41, 68.

Referee: H Webb (South Yorkshire).

Fulham vs Arsenal Match Video

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Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 1:Brendan Rodgers happy with good start to the new season with the Reds

Sturridge started at Manchester City and was on the fringes of the first team before deciding his future lay with Chelsea.

However, after a £3.5million transfer to Stamford Bridge, he found the big names dominated and he could not get a game.

Liverpool’s manager Brendan Rodgers reminded him of all this when he took Sturridge to Liverpool for £12m in January. He told the player what had happened to stall his career and outlined what life could be like at Anfield.

The result, with his winning goal at Aston Villa, is that Sturridge has scored 12 Premier League goals in his first 13 games for Liverpool, only one short of his total goals in some three and a half years at Chelsea.

“When you are a young player in among the stars, you are fighting for your place in the hierarchy. Your ego is out there and you’re trying to position yourself where you think you are,” said Rodgers.

“Here, Sturridge is comfortable, he knows where he sits.

“Sturridge has the England captain behind him, advising him and guiding him, all his team-mates are working, and he is part of that.

“Off the pitch, Sturridge has no arrogance, but he does possess a lovely footballing arrogance.”

Liverpool are level on points at the top with Chelsea because of the two wins Sturridge has brought with 1-0 victories over Stoke and Villa. Rodgers predicts more, saying he could become England’s No1 striker and could make his own big name at the World Cup.

“People look at him and would think he could maybe be a Brazilian striker with his body physique, pace and power,” said Rodgers.

“England are fortunate to have him because he’s a big talent. I have no doubt he will be a massive asset for England.”

Sturridge took his goal well after Ron Vlaar failed to intercept the ball, beating Villa’s defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan with his controlled run. Villa striker Christian Benteke would still have earned a draw out of the contest but for two Simon Mignolet saves and the jury is still out, on this performance, whether Paul Lambert’s team will do better this season.

Like Villa, it took until September for Liverpool to win a game last season, but now they are quickly up and running through Sturridge.

“There’s a few things in his transformation,” said Rodgers. “He thrives on confidence. He has come into a special football club where the supporters have made him feel welcome.

“He made the move to Chelsea thinking that he was going to get more opportunities, but there was Didier Drogba and other senior players in front of him, and he never got the chance to prove himself.

“Sturridge has been here since January and strikers are judged on goals – if you judge him on that, his record is very good.

“There is absolutely no question Sturridge is potentially the top English striker.

“It was a terrific goal – a good finish, good composure and another excellent performance from him.

“When I spoke to him I said Chelsea were a good club, but Liverpool are one of the most iconic clubs in the world.

“I told him that he was never going to have a better platform and he had the confidence of a manager who has always believed in him.”

Match Facts

Aston Villa (4-3-3): Guzan 6; Lowton 6 (El Ahmadi 65, 5), Okore 6, Vlaar 6, Luna 6; Bacuna 6, Westwood 6 (Helenius 83), Delph 7; Weimann 6 (Tonev 73, 5), Benteke 7, Agbonlahor 6. Booked: Luna, Delph, Lowton.

Liverpool (4-4-2): Mignolet 7; Johnson 6, Toure 7, Agger 7, Enrique 6; Henderson 6, Gerrard 6, Lucas 6, Coutinho 7 (Allen 83); Aspas 5 (Cissokho 69, 5), Sturridge 7. Booked: Aspas, Johnson, Lucas. Goal: Sturridge 21.

Referee: M Clattenburg (Co Durham).

Aston Villa vs Liverpool Match Video

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English Premier League Week 2 Other Results

Stoke City 2 Crystal Palace 1

Hull City Tigers 1 Norwich City 0

Southampton 1 Sunderland 1

Everton 0 West Brom 0

Newcastle 0 West Ham 0

Sunday, August 25

Cardiff City 3 Man City 2

Tottenham 1 Swansea City 0

Monday, August 26

Man United 0 Chelsea 0

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