Man Utd win season opener, Chelsea held by Swansea

Manchester United kicked off the new Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham after an own-goal by Kyle Walker while defending champions Chelsea had Thibaut Courtois sent off in a 2-2 draw with Swansea.

At Old Trafford, Walker prodded the ball into his own net in the 22nd minute as the Spurs defender tried to deny United captain Wayne Rooney an easy scoring opportunity.

It was one of very few chances in a scrappy game, with Spurs’ hopes of an equaliser coming mainly in the closing minutes with two shots from attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen.

United started with four new signings, with Sergio Romero in goal after coach Louis van Gaal decided that Real Madrid target David de Gea was not in the right frame of mind to play.

Fullback Matteo Darmain, along with midfielders Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay all made convincing debuts and Romero improved after some early signs of nerves.

Spurs were repeatedly caught out by the offside rule as they tried to get behind United’s back four, but still looked the most likely team to score before gifting United its opener.

The visitors only had themselves to blame after a sloppy pass by Nabil Bentaleb gave the ball away in midfield.

Ashley Young sped down the right flank before crossing for the unmarked Rooney, who had keeper Michel Vorm to beat.

As the United striker hesitated, Walker arrived just in time to spear the ball away from Rooney’s feet, past a despairing Vorm and into the corner of the Spurs net.

The final whistle came as a relief for United fans, whose club has spent more than $350 million since 2014 in building a squad that could once again challenge for top honours.

Elsewhere, in a hectic spell midway through the first half, Oscar put Chelsea ahead in the 23rd minute, Andre Ayew leveled in the 29th and Chelsea’s lead was restored after an own-goal by Swansea defender Federico Fernandez.

Everything changed within 10 minutes of the restart, when Courtois was dismissed for felling Bafetimbi Gomis as the France striker burst into the area on the break.

Reserve keeper Asmir Begovic came on for Oscar but could not prevent Gomis slotting home the spotkick.

Results:

Bournemouth 0-1 Aston Villa

Chelsea 2-2 Swansea

Everton 2-2 Watford

Leicester City 4-2 Sunderland

Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham

Norwich City 1-3 Crystal Palace