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Bolton (2) V/s Liverpool (3) held at the Reebok Stadium.

Bolton started off the match looking good and leading the score sheet twice with goals from Kevin Davies (33’) and Tamir Cohen (46’). Liverpool took time to warm-up but looked free flowing in the second-half.

The first goal of the match came from a Bolton corner which was smartly delivered by Taylor right into the penalty area and was converted by the Wanderers’ skipper. Tamir Cohen marked his successful return to the starting line-up with a goal against Aston Villa and the Israeli didn’t disappoint in this match either. Cohen gave Reina no chance with a powerful left-footed shot.

The first Kops equalizer was scored by Glen Johnson just before the first half came to an end, while the second was scored by Fernando Torres (50’). The 2^nd Reds equalizer came right after Davis was sent-off after receiving a second yellow card for a challenge on Lucas. Fabrice Muamba tried his best to man-mark Steven Gerrard, but a thrilling comeback by Liverpool was once again scripted by the inspirational captain. His powerful strike in the 82^nd minute was enough to see Liverpool home. Dirk Kuyt showed another impressive performance, he assisted the 2^nd goal by bringing down the ball right into Torres’ path and looked sharp throughout the match till he was substituted for Dossena in the 88^th minute.

Team Line-ups:

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Samuel, Knight, Cahill, Ricketts, Davis, Muamba, Taylor, Cohen (Steinsson 77), Kevin Davies, Elmander (Basham 58) (Subs not used: Al Habsi, O’Brien, Riga, Chung-Yong, Robinson)

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Gerrard, Torres, Riera (Benayoun 63), Kyrgiakos, Kuyt, Mascherano (Voronin 73), Lucas, Insua, Carragher (Subs not used: Plessis, Kelly, Skrtel, Dossena, Gulacsi)

Roundup of other matches:

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Birmingham City

Stoke City 1-0 Sunderland

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Hull City

Blackburn Rovers 0-0 West Ham United

Chelsea 3-0 Burnley

Manchester United 2 – 1 Arsenal

The Manchester United V/s Birmingham match saw Wayne Rooney score for Man U in the first half; the score-line remained undisturbed for the remainder of the match.

However, it remains to be seen if absence of Ronaldo has any effect on the club’s performance in tight matches. Nani and Antonio Valencia did a good job providing a number of passes upfront. In other news, Rio Ferdinand is likely to be out for at least two weeks with a thigh injury. “I would imagine Rio will be out for two weeks,” said Ferguson. Ferdinand will undergo a scan and also casts a shadow of doubt for England’s World Cup qualifier against Croatia on September 9th at Wembley

Liverpool on the other hand performed poorly but managed a goal out of the match. The Reds cried foul when a penalty wasn’t awarded for a shoulder challenge by Assou-Ekotto on substitute Voronin, late in the second half. Minutes later, Yossi Benayoun’s cross struck Assou-Ekotto on the arm but the referee felt it was ball to hand and waved away any further appeals. Liverpool had already been awarded a penalty earlier in the match which was successfully converted by Steven Gerrard, this helped cancel out the Tottenham lead. Rafael Benitez was quoted saying “The decisions were very poor. Everyone could see the first one was a penalty. The second one was handball but we knew it would not be a penalty.”

The highly anticipated English Premiership season 2009/10 has begun at last.

Results of the matches that flagged off the season:

Chelsea 2-1 Hull City held at Stamford Bridge
Aston Villa 0-2 Wigan Athletic held at Villa Park
Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Manchester City held at Ewood Park
Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Sunderland held at Reebok Stadium
Portsmouth 0-1 Fulham held at Fratton Park
Stoke City 2-0 Burnley held at Britannia Stadium
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 West Ham United held at Molineux
Everton 1-6 Arsenal held at Goodison Park

A stunning performance by Arsenal secured them a massive 6-1 win over Everton at Goodison Park, a complete contrast to Chelsea’s incredibly lucky 90^th minute victory over Hull City, thanks to Didier Drogba. Another team to watch this season would be Manchester City –with its extravagant transfer spending (around £100m).

Cesc Fabregas was the pick of the day scoring two goals (47’, 69’) and assisting another two. The lone Everton goal was scored by Saha (90’). In other matches, Wigan Atheletic’s manager Roberto Martinez had a dream debut with a 2 – 0 win over Aston Villa. Blackburn lost to Manchester City despite having a number of scoring chances. City’s Shaun Wright-Phillips assisted both goals, Adebayor 3’ and Ireland 90’ which saw them through the opening day with an interesting season ahead. Both Sunderland and Fulham won by a goal a piece whereas Stoke City and West-Ham United scored two.

Last year’s champions Manchester United will host Birmingham City today while the league’s runners up- Liverpool will face Tottenham Hotspur, in their first away game this season.