Scolari celebrates Chelsea's performance

Of the big four: Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, only Chelsea managed to sparkle 闪光.

They put in the most outstanding performance of the weekend, winning 4–0 at home to Portsmouth.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's reign 执政，领导 as Chelsea boss started in style with an impressive win against Portsmouth.

Scolari hopes to bring a more attractive brand of football to Stamford Bridge - and his new team certainly delivered 实现 in their first Premier League game.

However, the match should be seen in the light of 被视为鉴于… a poor performance from Harry Redknapp's side, who looked a shadow of the team （表现）不如以前 that had an outstanding season last year.

Luiz Felipe Scolari was modest in his appraisal 表扬，赞扬 of his team's work:

"Portsmouth didn't think we would play like we did and we were more aggressive than last season. I think they were surprised by our team.

"I only give the players the freedom to play and allow them to express their style."

Harry Redknapp was disappointed with the result but admitted his team were outclassed 远远超过 by Chelsea.

"They are on another level, we are kidding ourselves if we think they're not"

'To kid' yourself in this context means to pretend something is true when it is not.

He praised his opponent, new Chelsea boss Scolari, who gave him a hug 拥抱 before the match began.

"He's a good man, lovely character and personality. He will be terrific for the game in this country."

At Old Trafford, Manchester United made an unconvincing start to the defence of their Premier League title as they were held 被阻挠 by an inspired 雄心壮志的，充满激情的 Newcastle.

Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan was thrilled with the performance of his side and their fans after holding Manchester United to 把曼联拖入 a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

Magpies boss Kevin Keegan will be delighted with their committed performance 执着的表现, while Sir Alex Ferguson will surely now increase his efforts to buy a striker.

His side's preparations were hit by 受影响 the absence of striker Carlos Tevez, who flew home to Argentina following a family bereavement 亲人丧失.

But Newcastle, who were destroyed 6-0 by Man U last season, were in no mood to lie down 不认输 this time and they created a host 许多，众多 of chances themselves.

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan said:

"That was a good, good performance from us and we thoroughly deserved a point.

"There were lots of good things for us to build on but we mustn't get carried away as there are a lot of tough games to come."

Over at the Emirates Stadium in north London, a big win should have been on the cards for Arsenal against a newly promoted 新晋级的 West Brom but they only managed a 1-0 scoreline.

Arsenal fans could be forgiven for wondering if they had not seen it all before; their team dominating large parts of a fixture but lacking a cutting edge （缺乏）锐气 when it came to finishing the job.

It had all started to plan 通常说 'according to plan', 意思是照计划 for the home team as they handed their opponents West Brom a sharp lesson in the standards required to compete in the Premier League.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger commented:

"We always looked in control and I always thought the second goal would come.

"But West Brom defended very well and we lacked a bit of sharpness around the box 禁区. Credit to West Brom."

In the Sunderland v Liverpool match, Liverpool managed a 0–1 win but also failed to shine, with the exception of Spanish striker Fernando Torres. He earned 3 points for them with a spectacular late goal.

Sunderland did not deserve to lose the game and Liverpool will need to raise their game 踢得更好（赢得比赛） to move up the table.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez recognised his striker’s importance, saying:

"We had chances. Torres is a key player and he can change games. For the team, it's really important to have these sorts of players."

It is of course too early to be predicting who will win this season, but all eyes will definitely be on Chelsea.