The Premier League kicks off this Saturday with new boys Fulham taking on an Arsenal side who will be desperate to improve on last season’s poor league finish.
Arsenal will, of course, be the favourites. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be most people’s pick to score the first goal of 2020/21 Premier League.
Fulham’s hopes will be pinned on last term’s top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic. The former Newcastle United man scored 26 times in 2019/20.
Will there be any goals? A 0-0 draw is not beyond doubt.
The first goal of the new season is always a special thing. It signifies the start of ten turbulent months. We look back at the first scorer of the season over the last decade.
First Premier League Goal of the Season Over the Last Ten Years
14 August 2010 – Nikola Kalinic (Blackburn Rovers)
The Croatian scored the only goal of the game as Blackburn Rovers beat Everton 1-0, in his second and final season in the Premier League.
The striker netted 13 times in 53 appearances for Blackburn but saw his time on the field reduced after Sam Allardyce was sacked.
He went on to have a decent spell at Ukrainian side Dnipro which was followed by two good seasons at Fiorentina. AC Milan came calling in 2017/18 and took him on a season-long loan. He didn’t quite reach the goal scoring heights everyone thought he would.
Despite that, he was bought by Atletico Madrid but failed to impress and was loaned out to Roma. He didn’t do enough to convince I Giallorossi to make the move permanent. He returned to Atletico for the start of this season.
Kalinic’s international career is probably best remembered for his refusal to come on as a late substitute against Nigeria at World Cup 2018. He was sent home as Croatia made it all the way to the final. He hasn’t played for the national side since.
13 August 2011 – Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
The opening goal could have come quicker that day. Luis Suarez missed a penalty after five minutes. He made amends in the 12th minute with a header. The game against Sunderland did end in a 1-1 draw.
Not much needs to be said about his career since leaving Liverpool in 2014, with only the league cup to show for his time in England.
Winning a double of La Liga and the Champions League in his first season with Barcelona, a host of domestic trophies followed. He has gone on to score almost 200 times for the Catalan club.
His career has been marred by controversial incidents, including biting opponents and a racial slur, something which seems to be disappearing with experience.
He looks set for a new club this summer with Juventus the favourites and David Beckham’s Inter Miami as a surprise contender.
18 August 2012 – Michu (Swansea City) – Premier League Debut
A Premier League debut and two goals for Michu in a demolition of Queens Park Rangers. He arrived for a modest fee of around £2 million from Rayo Vallecano. It appeared money well spent as he scored 22 times, including one in the League Cup final. His performances that year earned him his solitary Spanish cap.
Unfortunately for Michu, an ankle injury-plagued the remainder of his career. He struggled in 2013/14 season and only managed to net six times. An unsuccessful loan spell to Napoli signalled the end of his career at the top level. Zero goals in half a dozen appearance. Swansea released him in 2015.
He did manage to find his shooting boots again a year later but it was in the Spanish fourth tier for Langreo. A step up to his old club Oviedo in 2016 was his last season playing football. He retired at 31.
He went on to work behind the scenes at Oviedo and helped them out financially when they were facing an uncertain future. If you were asked to define the term ‘cult hero’ or ‘one-season wonder’, then Michu would be the answer.
17 August 2013 – Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
This was undoubtedly Daniel Sturridge’s best period in football. His first-half strike against Stoke City was enough to give Liverpool a slender 1-0 win. It was his first of twenty-one league goals that season as Liverpool almost clinched the title.
Injuries have always played a part in his career. Only managing to play over thirty club games in two professional seasons to date. He stayed at Liverpool for five more years but fell down the pecking order when Jurgen Klopp took over. Spending most of his time on the sidelines or the bench.
A loan move to West Bromwich Albion ended in disappointment where he failed to score once, although injury prevented much game time.
His last club was Turkish Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor, but despite a positive spell both parties agreed to terminate his contract before the end of his first season.
He was banned the same day for four months after breaking gambling rules. An appeal found his previous penalty, the year earlier, to be too lenient.
Without a club and back from his ban, could we see a return to England for Sturridge?
16 August 2014 – Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City)
A shock opening day victory for Swansea at Old Trafford, the South Korean opened the scoring to silence the Manchester United fans.
He had a successful time a Swansea, winning the League Cup, along with Michu, and helping the Welsh side to safe mid-table finishes most years until their eventual relegation in 2018.
His career since then has not been successful. He signed for Newcastle United in 2018, despite having a loan spell at Sunderland five years earlier. He amassed a total of twenty-five games at St. James’ Park before a disastrous move to Mallorca in La Liga, which ended in just one appearance.
The former Celtic man recently returned to FC Seoul, where he made his professional debut.
8 August 2015 – Kyle Walker own goal (Playing for Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester United) – Premier League own goal
Not a game to remember, this one. Kyle Walker’s own goal in the first half was the only goal of the game. Walker moved onto Manchester City in 2017, winning two Premier League titles. He is one game away from his 50th England cap.
The first goal scored by an attacking player that season was Jamie Vardy. He finished the season as the clubs’ top scorer as Leicester City went on to win the title.
13 August 2016 – Adama Diomande (Hull City)
Former Tippeligaen champion and Norwegian International striker Diomande spent three seasons at Hull City. However, he failed to register a prolific spell for the club. His opener against champions Leicester one of his few highlights – a game they went onto to win.
He stayed on after Hull were relegated that season, but now plays in the MLS for Los Angeles FC. His strike rate has vastly improved since his departure from Yorkshire, but enough to reclaim his place in Norway squad.
11 August 2017 – Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)
Lacazette netted two minutes into his Premier League debut in a thrilling 4-3 win over Leicester. A lot was expected of the Frenchman after his transfer from Lyon for an initial £46m.
Whilst he and strike partner Aubameyang are providing the goals, Arsenal are a shadow of their former selves, despite the FA Cup win last season.
If manager Mikel Arteta fails to propel Arsenal up the table this season, you would have to feel that Lacazette and others may not be around the Emirates much longer.
He will be targeting a place in France’s Euro 2021 squad, after the disappointment of only making the standby list for the 2018 World Cup win. However, he has not been capped since 2017.
10 August 2018 – Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
A penalty in the opening few minutes by the newly crowned World Cup winner set Manchester United on their way to a 2-1 victory over Leicester.
A four-time Scudetto winner with Juventus, Pogba’s time at United has been under much scrutiny. Many feel his performances are lacking.
Some believe his time in Manchester has been up for a number of years but he still remains. An injury-ravaged season in 2019/20 restricted his playing time and he finished the season with just one goal.
With another big season ahead for the Red Devils, will Pogba be a part of it when the transfer window closes?
9 August 2019 – Grant Hanley own goal (Playing for Norwich City against Liverpool)
An unfortunate start to the season for Grant Hanley. The Scottish international diverted a Divok Orgi cross into his own net. A sign of what was to come for Norwich as they were relegated. Hanley played 15 times in the league during an injury-hit season. He still has three seasons left on his current contract with the Canaries.
The first goal scored by an attacking player was Mohammed Salah and, just like Vardy four years earlier, he went on to be his club’s top league scorer as Liverpool won the title.
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