A look through history shows that the first day of the top-flight season can often be misleading
By WhoScored
It would not be a Premier League opening week without football-starved fans and pundits leaping to some kneejerk conclusions.
Sunderland, tipped by many to make a swift return to the Championship, caused the biggest upset of the weekend with a thumping 3-0 win over West Ham, marking their first Premier League success in the month of August since 2010. Suddenly Sunderland are being talked up as safe, West Ham as doomed, and Graham Potter already on borrowed time.
Brentford, Burnley and Everton joined West Ham in being dragged into the relegation fight conversation, with their respective 3-1, 3-0, and 1-0 defeats sparking talk that all could now be in for a tense survival battle.
