The Sunday Telegraph - 11.08.2019

The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 11 August 2019^ ** 3

Bright opening to Potter’s reign

as Watford receive wake-up call

Zaha wins Palace fans’ backing

but 10-man Everton stand firm

By Nick Szczepanik
at Vicarage Road

Graham Potter’s first match as a Pre-
mier League head coach was all he
could have dreamed of as his new-look
Brighton side stunned Watford.
Brighton have been mentioned
among the relegation favourites in
many pre-season previews, but they
had too many ideas for Watford.
They went ahead after 28 minutes
with an own goal by Abdoulaye Dou-
coure, and two second-half substitutes,
Florin Andone and Neal Maupay – on
his Premier League debut – wrapped
up the three points.
“It’s just the start for us,” Potter said.
“I’m just happy for the players, for the
supporters. They enjoyed the after-
noon and that is really important for us.
“But we’re not perfect, we’re not get-
ting too carried away and we won’t get
too carried away when we don’t have a
good day.”
This was a very good day. Potter’s
Brighton looked far more attack-
minded than in their two previous Pre-
mier League seasons under Chris
Hughton and, after holding off some
rudimentary early pressure from Wat-

By Ian Winrow at Selhurst Park

Any fears that Wilfried Zaha might face

a backlash from Crystal Palace sup-

porters proved unfounded. The recep-

tion given to the winger when he

appeared as a second-half substitute

confirmed his popularity here is undi-

minished, despite attempting to force a

move away from the club last week.

Manager Roy Hodgson admitted

events last week, when Zaha was de-

nied a move to Everton, contributed to

his decision to put Zaha on the bench.

Zaha’s introduction in the 63rd min-

ute contributed to a Palace perfor-

mance that became more convincing

as the game progressed – and particu-

larly when Everton’s Morgan Schneid-

erlin was sent off after collecting a

second yellow card for a foul on Luka

Milivojevic in the 76th minute.

“He handled it very well but the

crowd helped, it was such a great

reception,” said Hodgson “It was nice

to have him available to give another

dimension to our play. He was excel-

lent this morning, no problem at all as

you can tell by watching the game.

That situation has been and gone and

Wilf will make certain he brings his

ford, they went in front when Dale Ste-

phens crossed from the left and an

attempted headed clearance by Jose

Holebas dropped to the feet of Pascal

Gross. The German prodded the ball

back across goal, where Doucoure,

with no time to react, turned it past Ben

Foster.

Watford improved after the break

and Brighton captain Lewis Dunk,

marshalling a new-look back three in

which Dan Burn excelled, had to block

a shot by Andre Gray after an error

from Solly March.

Potter felt that defending a single-

goal lead was not advisable and sent on

Andone and Maupay after 64 minutes.

straw to the water and helps us have a

good season, just like he has done in

the previous two seasons.”

Marco Silva insisted his focus was on

the players he had at his disposal and

not the one that got away. The Everton

manager, who did not include any of

his new signings in his starting line-up,

believed his side had done enough to

win the game in the first half when

Gylfi Sigurdsson and Seamus Coleman

both squandered good chances, but

claimed the balance of the game shifted

when Andre Gomes was forced from

the field immediately before the break.

“In the first half we were clearly the

best team on the pitch. During that pe-

riod was the key moment in the game

in my opinion, the injury to Andre

Gomes,” he said. “Until that moment

we were solid and playing well and

creating chances.” Silva introduced

Moise Kean, the striker signed from Ju-

ventus, to little effect while losing Sch-

neiderlin clearly did not help. “I don’t

doubt the second was a foul. The first

was not a foul at all,” said the manager.

Crystal Palace (4-3-3) Guaita 7; Ward 6, Kelly 6, Dann 7, Van

Aanholt 7; McArthur 6, Milivojevic 7, Meyer 8; Townsend 6,

Benteke 6 (Wickham 82), Ayew 6 (Zaha 63). Subs Hennessey

(g), Kouyate, McCarthy, Camarasa, Cahill. Booked Meyer,

Milivojevic.

Everton (4-2-3-1) Pickford 8; Coleman 6, Keane 7, Mina 6,

Digne 6; Schneiderlin 5, Andre Gomes 6 (Gbamin 46);

Richarlison 6, Sigurdsson 5 (Davies 77), Bernard 6;

Calvert-Lewin 5 (Kean 68). Subs Lossl (g), Holgate, Walcott,

Tosun. Booked Bernard, Schneiderlin. Sent off Schneiderlin.

Referee Jon Moss (Horsforth).

He was rewarded almost instantly as

Andone doubled the lead with his first

touch, half-volleying home at the near

post from Davy Propper’s low right-

wing cross. And Maupay, a £20 million

signing from Brentford last week,

made it three after 77 minutes with his

first Premier League goal, running on

to a pass from Dunk, rounding Foster

and sliding the ball into the empty net.

Potter said of Maupay: “Nice for him

to score. When we’re away from home

at these sort of places you need the goal

to kill the game off.

“I thought he took his goal well and

Florin took his goal well.

“It’s great for the subs to come on

and have an impact and be ready to

help the team. They’re professional

guys, they’re ready to come on and

help the team.”

Watford manager Javi Gracia said:

“Maybe it was a good wake-up call for

the rest of the season because we have

time to improve.

“We are disappointed today but I

prefer to wait and trust that we can do

better in the second game.

“We have time to analyse and im-

prove. They played much better than

us. And when we realised we had to

play better, it was too late.”

Watford (4-3-3) Foster 7; Femenia 7, Dawson 6, Cathcart 6,

Holebas 5; Hughes 5, Capoue 6, Doucoure 6, Deulofeu 5

(Pereyra 45); Gray 6 (Success 75), Deeney 6. Subs Gomes (g),

Janmaat, Cleverly, Sema, Kabasele.

Brighton & Hove Albion (3-4-2-1) Ryan 7; Duffy 8, Dunk 8,

Burn 9; Montoya 7, Stephens 7, Propper 7, March 5 (Bernardo

90); Gross 7, Locadia 5 (Andone 64); Murray 6 (Maupay 64).

Subs Button (g), Webster, Mooy, Trossard. Booked Dunk.

Referee Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).

By Matt Law

at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Such was the consistency and domi-

nance of Manchester City and Liver-

pool over the chasing pack last season

that dropping even two points on the

opening day would have been seen as a

serious blow to Tottenham Hotspur.

City had thrashed West Ham United

and Liverpool had swept past Norwich

City, so losing at home to newly pro-

moted Aston Villa after 72 minutes to a

John McGinn goal was not a good look

for Spurs.

That is not to take anything away

from Villa, who showed enough, par-

ticularly in the performances of

McGinn and Tyrone Mings, to suggest

they will be able to compete.

But Tottenham cannot afford to do

anything but respond to City and Liv-

erpool with victories if they are to close

the gap on last season’s top two.

They achieved a deserved three

points in the end thanks to debutant

Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Kane,

who scored his first goals at the club’s

new stadium.

Kane had been frustrated by Mings,

until he finally put Tottenham into the

lead in the 86th minute and struck

again at the death.

Ndombele had struggled at times on

his first competitive appearance since

becoming Tottenham’s £55million re-

cord signing this summer, but he made

an impact when it really mattered by

curling in the 73rd-minute equaliser.

“My plan didn’t work in the first

half,” said Tottenham manager Pochet-

tino. “The players did not look com-

fortable in their positions. I blame

myself, not the players for

that.

“But we changed for the

second half and looked

more comfortable, and,

when you assess the game,

we deserved the victory.”

Kane has not been a fast

starter in previous seasons,

but he looks good following

a rare summer off.

“He’s had a nice holiday, an

amazing wedding and when you are a

professional like him, the pre-season is

not to try to get fit but to try to im-

prove,” said Pochettino.

“Some players get it wrong and kill

themselves in the summer, but the key

to Harry is to be able to improve in the

four or five weeks before the season.”

It took just nine minutes for the visi-

tors properly to announce themselves

back in the Premier League and it was

the hero of the Championship final

play-off victory over Derby County,

McGinn, who put them ahead.

Mings played a long pass that caught

out the Tottenham defence. McGinn

nodded the ball forwards and then de-

layed, before finishing brilliantly past

Hugo Lloris.

Villa made 12 new signings over the

summer, but there were only four deb-

utants in yesterday’s starting line-up.

Record signing Wesley started up

front, but manager Dean Smith kept

faith with full-backs Ahmed Elmoham-

ady and Neil Taylor, and the midfield

three of McGinn, captain Jack Grealish

and Conor Hourihane.

Smith dismissed fears that he could

face difficulties in integrating all his

new faces, saying: “They have all

adapted well, have good personalities

but we also learnt the standard of what

we need.”

Following his goal, McGinn gave

further notice that he is more than

ready to make the step up to the top

flight by almost helping to double Vil-

la’s lead in the 21st minute.

The Scot sent a super pass through

to Trezeguet, who looked destined to

score until Toby Alderweireld got

across to block the winger’s shot.

Ndombele showed a flash of his

quality right at the end of the first half

with a high ball into the Villa area that

Kane headed over from close range.

Pochettino switched formation to a

4-3-3 for the start of the second half, al-

most resulting in a swift equaliser.

First, Villa defender Bjorn Engels

made a superb block to deny Erik

Lamela and in the 50th minute Moussa

Sissoko missed a chance. Lamela’s

cross made its way over Sissoko on the

far side of the area, but the midfielder

sent his shot out for a throw-in.

Villa’s new-look central defensive

pair, Mings and Engels, were doing a

good job of keeping Kane and co out.

Mings produced two superb blocks

to deny Kane and Engels acrobatically

hooked the ball out of the path of

Davinson Sanchez.

Jota replaced Trezeguet for Villa be-

fore Pochettino turned to Christian

Eriksen for the final 25 minutes, as

the Dane took over from Harry

Winks and prompted the fightback.

Villa’s resistance was finally bro-

ken when the ball found its way to

Ndombele, who curled his shot

past the goalkeeper and into the

net for a 73rd-minute equaliser.

Grealish had impressed against

the team he almost joined 12 months

ago, but four minutes from helping to

earn Villa what would have been an

impressive draw, he dwelled too long

on the edge of his own area and was

tackled by Lamela. He found Kane and

the striker opened his account for the

season with a shot past Tom Heaton.

Kane had got his eye in and added

his second and Tottenham’s third in

the 89th minute after good work from

Sissoko. Defenders, beware...

Tottenham Hotspur (4-1-2-1-2) Lloris 6; Walker-Peters 7,

Sanchez 6, Alderweireld 6, Rose 7; Winks 6 (Eriksen 64);

Ndombele 6 (Skipp 90), Sissoko 6; Lamela 7 (Nkoudou 88);

Kane 8, Moura 6. Subs Wanyama, Dier, Gazzaniga (g), Aurier.

Booked Lamela.

Aston Villa (4-3-3) Heaton 7; El Mohamady 6, Engels 7, Mings 8,

Taylor 6; McGinn 8, Hourihane 6 (Soares de Paulo 82), Grealish 6;

Trezeguet 7 (Jota 59), Wesley 5 (Kodjia 74), El Ghazi 6.

Subs Lansbury, Steer (g), Konsa, Targett.

Referee Chris Kavanagh (Manchester).

Dream debut:

Tanguy Ndombele

levels for Spurs

after John McGinn

(below) had opened

the scoring for

Aston Villa

Quick off mark: Brighton substitute Florin

Andone salutes a goal with his first touch

Great reception: Wilfried Zaha, denied a move to Everton, was cheered by home fans

91 mins

5-0

Sterling celebrates

the first hat-trick in

an opening Premier

League fixture since

Didier Drogba in

2010

Watford
0

Brighton and Hove Albion
Doucoure 28 og, Andone 65, Maupay 77^3

Att: 20, 245

Crystal Palace

0

Everton

0

Att: 25,151

Kane straight back

into the groove to

see off defiant Villa

Tottenham Hotspur

Ndombele 73, Kane 86, 90^3

Aston Villa

McGinn 9^1

Att: 60,407

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Referee Chris Kavanagh (Manc

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