Liverpool begins title campaign with easy win over Norwich

Liverpool opened its bid to end a 30-year English title drought by beating Norwich 4-1 on Friday, with four goals in the first half against the Premier League newcomers.

Grant Hanley's own goal was followed by Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Divock Origi netting for Liverpool, which was beaten to the trophy in May by Manchester City by one point but won the Champions League.

Promoted as League Championship winners, Norwich had an uncomfortable return to the Premier League after a three-year absence.

Liverpool was gifted an opener seven minutes into season when Hanley deflected Origi's cross into his own net. Salah steered in the second goal in the 19th minute after Roberto Firmino slid the ball behind the Norwich defense. Salah turned provider in the 28th, swinging in a corner that Van Dijk headed past goalkeeper Tim Krul.

Liverpool was forced to change its goalkeeper. Adrian replaced Alisson, who came off with a calf injury in his first game since a month's break following Brazil's victorious Copa América final. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the injury will rule Alisson out of the UEFA Super Cup match against Europa League winner Chelsea on Wednesday in Istanbul.

Krul conceded again before halftime when Origi slipped his marker to meet Trent AlexanderArnold's cross.

On the video-assistant referee system's Premier League debut, there was a delay to the start of the second half when a problem with the audio feed to assistant referee Simon Bennett led to his headset being replaced.

VAR's only task on the night was to run unobtrusive checks after each goal, with no stoppage to play and no need for referee Michael Oliver to consult his monitor.

Norwich stemmed the flow of goals in the second half and scored one of its own. Emi Buendia slid the ball through the Liverpool defense and Teemu Pukki controlled before shooting past Adrian in the 64th.

"We were a bit naive in the first half but that will happen with a young team. I'm proud of the way they reacted," Krul said. "I feel we walk off the pitch thinking if we believe in what we are doing we will get some results this season."

Arsenal targets top 4 after summer of discontent

Rewind a year and Arsenal was heading into the new season with renewed vigor and optimism. But ahead of the upcoming campaign there is an all too familiar sinking feeling surrounding the club.

In 2018, Unai Emery had been appointed as head coach as the curtain came down on Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign.

There had also been improved business in the transfer market and a shake-up of backroom staff had supporters dreaming of a return to the Premier League's top four. A four-month unbeaten run did little to quell the expectations but, ultimately, Emery's new-look outfit came up short once more.

Stuttering over the line in the league cost it a place in the Champions League positions as they finished a point behind rival Tottenham, while a second shot at qualification ended around 4,000 kilometers (around 2,500 miles) away as it lost the Europa League final 4-1 to Chelsea in Baku.

After a restless offseason, Arsenal spent 72 million pounds ($87.5 million) on Lille winger Nicolas Pepe in a record transfer fee for the London club.

Supporters had started to grow restless at the lack of transfer activity in the offseason, with only 18-year-old striker Gabriel Martinelli added until Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos came in on a season-long loan deal.

Promising defender William Saliba was also signed from St. Etienne but he has returned to the Ligue 1 outfit on loan until next summer.

The current crop of players would have also been unsettled when then captain Laurent Koscielny refused to travel on a preseason tour of the United States after a request to have his contract terminated a year early was rejected by the Gunners. Koscielny's move to French team Bordeaux was announced by both clubs on Tuesday.

Add to that a groundswell of discontent from supporters — which saw fans' groups unite to issue a statement to owner Stan Kroenke calling for "better leadership" and criticizing the "soulless" atmosphere at home games — and a perceived lack of transfer activity, and it was a turbulent offseason for the club. Seeing Edu, a former Arsenal midfielder and member of Wenger's unbeaten "Invincibles," come on board as technical director will appease some fans.

But Emery now has the difficult task of getting results on the field.

With Manchester City and Liverpool again most people's favorites to fight it out for the title and Spurs investing and seemingly ready to build on its Champions League final appearance, sneaking back into the top four may be the best the Spaniard can hope for.

Improving the defensive unit is the key, given the club's player of the season Alexandre Lacazette and Premier League golden boot winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are again likely to provide plenty of ammunition at the other end of the pitch.

Losing Aaron Ramsey on a free transfer to Juventus was another difficult pill for supporters to swallow over the summer, even if they had been aware of his impending departure for some time.

Emery will now need to get more of a consistent tune out of Mesut Ozil in the hope of filling a massive hole in his team.

All in all, it promises to be an interesting nine months at the Emirates Stadium in Arsenal's quest to return to Europe's elite — and the question of whether this current squad belongs there or not will certainly be answered during that time.

Lampard set to steer new era at Chelsea

Chelsea has a new manager but the curious case of Jorginho and the team's midfield metamorphosis might still come to define Frank Lampard's first season in charge.

Italy midfielder Jorginho was Maurizio Sarri's man, hailed as the chief exponent of the "Sarriball" possession play on his 57-millionpound ($69-million) arrival from Napoli in the summer of 2018.

Sarri's man in the middle attracted all the criticism from fans any time Chelsea labored under the former Napoli boss' heavily proscriptive system.

The 27-year-old was rarely able to cut loose and step out of his deep-lying role, and Sarri constantly railed against claims he was wasting N'Golo Kante by deploying France's wrecking-ball World Cup-winner further upfield.

Lampard appears determined not to follow suit.

"I have more space to create and I'm more free, so I can do many things with my creativity," said Jorginho, of a fresh task under new