Result was not so good four Leeds

LEEDS deserved all the praise they got for taking the game to Liverpool on their return to the Premier League at Anfield.

It’s good to see a genuinely big club back in the top flight,g, and it will be exciting for Marcelo Bielsa (right) and his players when their fans are able to rejoin the party at Elland Road.

But let’s not get too carried away – I heard some pundits say their performance last weekend was the best opening-day display by a newly-promoted side in the Premier League.

Really? Leeds conceded four goals and lost. Yes, they had a real go at the champions, but that’s the bottom line.

Was it honestly a better result than Blackpool winning 4-0 at Wigan on the opening day in 2010, or Hull beating newly-crowned champions Leicester four years ago?

EVERTON’S new-look midfield were hugely impressive at Tottenham on the opening weekend. I thought the axis of Allan, James Rodriguez (below) and Abdoulaye Doucoure controlled the game for long periods and it was early payback on the club supporting manager Carlo Ancelotti in the market. Suddenly, there’s talk about this midfield being the best since Peter Reid, Paul Bracewell and Kevin Sheedy last brought the title to Goodison Park 33 years ago.

I’ve even heard them mentioned in the same breath as Alan Ball, Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey from 50 years ago. Steady – we’re only one game into a long season. But first impressions often count a lot in football – and I liked the look of Everton.