Five classic opening day Premier League matches from years gone by

Remember these high-scoring affairs?

The new Premier League season gets underway this weekend with a selection of mouth-watering clashes.  

Manchester United host Leicester City on Friday night, before Wolverhampton Wanderers take on Everton, Liverpool face West Ham United and Arsenal play Manchester City across the weekend.

The Coral News Team can’t wait for those encounters. But how will they match up to opening games past? We’ve looked through five of the best from the past six seasons.

Chelsea 2-3 Burnley, 2017-18

Burnley went into this clash at Stamford Bridge 12 months ago having won just one away game during the entirety of the 2016-17 season. Chelsea entered as the reigning champions and 1/4 shots to win the match.

But the script was well and truly flipped, as a brace from Sam Vokes and Stephen Ward’s angled drive sent the Clarets into a 3-0 half-time lead. The Blues, down to ten men at this point, responded through Alvaro Morata and David Luiz in the second-half. Sean Dyche’s men held on to secure a famous opening day victory as Gary Cahill was also sent off late on for the hosts.

Arsenal 4-3 Leicester City, 2017-18

Opening matches are rarely dull at the Emirates Stadium. And so it proved once again under the lights, as Arsenal edge a pulsating encounter 4-3 against the recent Premier League champions.

Alexandre Lacazette put the Gunners ahead after two minutes but they quickly fell behind to goals from Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy. Danny Welbeck restored parity just before half-time, only for Vardy to head home from a corner on 56 minutes to make it 3-2.

Arsene Wenger’s men pushed forward during the closing stages and got their reward in the final 10 minutes. Aaron Ramsey made it 3-3 before Olivier Giroud rose highest to power home a header off the underside of the bar and break Foxes hearts.