Ex-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was critical of his former player, Frank Lampard, taking issue with the first team selected by the current Blues boss in today’s 4-0 rout at the hands of Manchester United.

The Special One, now working as a pundit for Sky Sports, said that Lampard should have gone with a more experienced side at the start of the season opener. And the Chelsea managerial debutant has hit back at his former boss by rejecting that idea, and saying that the more established and seasoned players simply weren’t fit and/or available.

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The first big six game of the Premier League season and the only one on the opening weekend was a total laugher. Only one team was big today, United, who trounced the visiting Blues 4-0. It was a match that lacked energy at first, but once United got going they would never look back.

Let’s run through some of the news, notes, nuggets and tidbits from this one, starting with the stellar performances turned in the new guys for Manchester United. Winger Daniel James scored in his United debut, and we have video of that goal and subsequent celebration in the first collection of news and notes from this match over at this link.

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The first big six game of the Premier League season and the only one on the opening weekend was a total laugher. Only one team was big today, United, who trounced the visiting Blues 4-0. It was a match that lacked energy at first, but once United got going they would never look back.

Let’s run through some of the news, notes, nuggets and tidbits from this one, starting with Frank Lampard’s shock decision to leave Christian Pulisic on the bench at the beginning. (For part two of news and notes go here)

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We’re just hours away from kickoff now- Manchester United hosting Chelsea in what is the blockbuster fixture of the Premier League opening’s weekend. United and Chelsea enter this season with very similar prospects/outlook for the league title.

The odds makers see Manchester City as the favorites, followed by Liverpool. Then there’s a slight drop-off to Totttenham Hotspur, with another, substantial drop down to the next three sides, the aforementioned Chelsea and United, as well as Arsenal. Those three teams have pretty much the same odds of winning the title, according to most sports books.

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Sunday brings the headliner fixture of Premier League opening weekend, the only all big six clash you’ll get see in week one, Chelsea FC at Manchester United. The match also brings the Chelsea debut of Christian Pulisic, which will be a major event in and of itself (more on that here). It’s also a match-up of two clubs led by young, relatively inexperienced managers who are legends among supporters due to their playing days with their respective teams.

The optimistic belief of both clubs here is that Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer know the culture, from experiencing it, and thus have the bonafides to rebuild the club their historical mold.

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Tomorrow brings the headliner fixture of Premier League opening weekend, the only battle between two of the big six, Chelsea FC at Manchester United. The match also brings the Chelsea debut of Christian Pulisic, which will be a major event in and of itself (more on that here).

With summer transfer window deadline day having just passed on Thursday, it’s a match-up between two clubs that received a fair amount of criticism for how they went about their business this preseason. In many a “transfer window grades” column out there, you’ll see plenty of harsh analysis for both clubs.

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