Wingers steal the show on opening Premier League weekend
By Chris Mendes
Chelsea and Arsenal failed to win at home, Claudio Ranieri's Leicester side scored three goals inside 25 minutes – why is the Premier League always so predictable?
Perhaps something slightly less surprising this weekend, in Europe's most ferociously paced league, was that three wide players produced the most memorable performances.
Jefferson Montero
Montero tormented the best full back in England last season, Branislav Ivanovic, making Chelsea's normally-reliable Serbian look pedestrian with his movement and trickery. He provided the cross for Ayew's first half goal before making way for Wayne Routledge on 71 minutes, much to Ivanovic's relief. The big question is whether Swansea's Ecuadorian winger can maintain this level of performance after an underwhelming debut campaign.
Dimitri Payet
Nobody carved out more chances in Europe's top five leagues last term, and we now understand why. Payet's perfectly floated free-kick created Cheikhou Kouyaté's opener, and he troubled Arsenal's defenders all afternoon with his strength, pace and sublime close-control. Arsene Wenger must have been stunned by how easily Payet poked the ball beyond Laurent Koscilney in the second half, before outpacing and outmuscling Arsenal's best defender and leaving him sprawled out on the pitch.
Riyad Mahrez
Another winger who cut his teeth in France, the 24 year-old celebrated penning a new four-year Foxes deal with two goals in Saturday's 4-2 win over Sunderland. After Jamie Vardy's opener, Mahrez nodded Marc Albrington's cross past the towering frame of Costel Pantilimon to double Leicester's advantage inside 20 minutes. Five minutes later, the Algerian's quick feet deceived Lee Cattermole, before he planted the resulting spot kick into the bottom corner. Another devilish body shift in the penalty box, this time in the second half, almost bagged Mahrez a deserved hat-trick, but his curling effort shaved the outside of Pantilimon's post.