Chelsea falls, Man U draws
Premier League opens with 8 goals, 2 surprise outcomes
Posted: Saturday August 15, 1998 03:08 PM
| |
Dennis Wise (right) of Chelsea holds off Paul Telfer of Coventry, but Chelsea could not pull out the win Ben Radford/Allsport |
LONDON (AP) -- Chelsea, one of the favorites to win the Premier
League and a club that spent 12 million pounds ($19.7 million)
in off-season transfers, was beaten Saturday by Coventry 2-1 as
England's Premier League got underway with about 160 foreigners
filling the 20 clubs.
Coventry, a low-budget team, got goals in the first 15 minutes
from Darren Huckerby and Dion Dublin and then held on as Gustavo
Poyet scored in the 37th for the League Cup and European Cup
Winners Cup champions.
Another powerhouse Manchester Uited barely escaped with a draw
as David Beckham -- much maligned when he was sent off in a critical
World Cup loss to Argentina -- scored in the final minutes on a free
kick to salvage a 2-2 draw at home against Leicester.
At the other end of the standings, low-spending Wimbledon --
picked as one of the clubs most likely to be relegated -- defeated
Tottenham 3-1 to get off to a good start.
Newly promoted Charlton also had a good beginning and managed a
0-0 draw at Newcastle despite playing with only 10 men for 70
minutes.
On an opening day that saw only 12 goals in eight Premier League
matches, Ian Wright -- a transfer from Arsenal -- got a crucial one
as West Ham won 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday.
In other Premier League matches Saturday: Blackburn 0, Derby 0;
Everton 0, Aston Villa 0; Middlesbrough 0, Leeds 0.
Arsenal, the defending league and F.A. Cup champion, opens
Monday at home against Nottingham Forest. In Sunday's lone Premier
League game, Liverpool plays Southampton.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
