Five things we learned from this weekend's Premier League matches

1 Counter-attack is key for Manchester United

The 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford was terribly harsh on Chelsea but Manchester United have shown the threat they pose on the break and that may be of interest to goal punters in-play.

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford enjoyed the space afforded to them as Chelsea tried to chase the game, while fellow goalscorer Dan James showed his pace as an impact substitute.

2 Newcastle lose the game and their shape

Arsenal were difficult to assess given they were missing so many players but Unai Emery will have been delighted to see the Gunners start with a win and a clean sheet at Newcastle.

However, it may turn out that Arsenal have not beaten a great deal as Newcastle were desperately short of attacking inspiration.

The biggest concern for Newcastle was their failure to react to falling behind and apart from substitute Allan Saint-Maximin there is not too much to get excited about.

Joelinton showed bits of promise in the first half but the team looked a mess as they limply chased the game.

3 Liverpool and Manchester City carry on from last season

There is a temptation when you see odds of 1-7 about Liverpool at home to Norwich and Manchester City at 1-4 to win away to West Ham to want to take on the Premier League's big two.

Instinctively, there is a gut feeling that the Premier League is more competitive and that these are tricky contests. A newly-promoted club with nothing to lose and a big-spending Hammers side hoping to at least finish as best of the rest this season.

However, Liverpool and City are two of the very best sides in Europe - maybe even the best - collecting 195 points between them last season and they carried that form into the opening round of fixtures.

Liverpool lacked the control of their dominant displays in 2018-19 but still beat Norwich 4-1 to make it ten straight league victories and are now unbeaten in their last 41 top-flight matches at Anfield.

City were all class in walloping West Ham 5-0 and have won 15 Premier League matches in a row. The champions are 4-11 to beat Tottenham next week which only shows their dominance given Spurs are fancied by many to get closest to England's elite pair.

4 Christian Eriksen crucial to Tottenham hopes

Talking of Tottenham brings us nicely on to their come-from-behind 3-1 success over Aston Villa on which all three Spurs goals were scored in the final 17 minutes. It was no coincidence that Tottenham started motoring only once Christian Eriksen was introduced.

Contract rebel Eriksen may yet leave Spurs before the European transfer window closes and his departure would be a major blow even if Giovani Lo Celso is able to add creativity once he is fit enough to make his debut following his capture from Real Betis.

Until Eriksen's arrival Spurs had managed one shot on target and eight key passes; in the final 26 minutes alone those numbers went to six and 14 respectively.

5 Middlesbrough are a different side under Woodgate

It's only one point for Middlesbrough from their opening two games after a 3-3 draw with Luton and 1-0 defeat to Brentford but Jonathan Woodgate has quickly stamped his authority on the Teessiders.

They had eight shots on target at Luton and could have been out of sight early on against Brentford as they had two goals disallowed while Britt Assombalonga hit the post before Ollie Watkins struck.

Boro dominated possession against a Bees side who had 76 per cent of the ball in week one. Last season only Leeds averaged more possession on the road in the Sky Bet Championship, so there are positive signs for Woodgate despite the results.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport