English Premier League roundup: Five-star Swansea see off QPR as West Brom stun Liverpool

Published on 18/08/2012 17:42

SWANSEA midfielder Michu scored a goal in each half on his Barclays Premier League debut as the Swans thumped QPR 5-0 at Loftus Road.

• Swansea put five past QPR at Loftus Road whilst ten-man Liverpool were defeated 3-0 by West Bromwich Albion

• A brace from Mladen Petric helped Fulham to a 5-0 win over Norwich at Craven Cottage and new boys Reading played out a 1-1 draw with Stoke

• Aston Villa were narrowly beaten by West Ham as dominant Arsenal failed to find a way past Sunderland

The Spaniard scored this season’s first goal in the Premier League when his shot crept past goalkeeper Robert Green in the eighth minute before he doubled his tally after the break thanks to Wayne Routledge’s inch-perfect ball from the left which he fired into the net.

Nathan Dyer fired the third, again from a Routledge assist, before he beat the offside trap to score Swansea’s fourth, with Scott Sinclair’s strike rounding off new manager Michael Laudrup’s perfect start to the season.

West Brom beat 10-man Liverpool 3-0 at the Hawthorns but it could have been more after Shane Long failed to score from the penalty spot.

The Baggies took the lead late in the first half when Zoltan Gera drilled a shot past Pepe Reina after Reds striker Luis Suarez had missed two great chances to give Liverpool the advantage.

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger was shown a red card after he brought down Long in the area after the break but the striker was unable to convert from the spot.

However, Long quickly atoned when he was tripped by Martin Skrtel to claim another penalty, with Peter Odemwingie firing into the bottom left corner, before substitute Romelu Lukaku sealed the win in the 78th minute with a close-range header.

Fulham thumped Norwich 5-0 at Craven Cottage thanks to a dominant performance and a brace by Mladen Petric.

Republic of Ireland international Damien Duff opened the scoring when he latched on to the end of John Arne Riise’s diagonal long ball from the left in the 25th minute before Petric headed the home side’s second with five minutes remaining in the first half.

The striker then added his second before Alex Kacaniklic’s goal and Steve Sidwell’s 87th-minute penalty wrapped up the win.

Stoke drew with Premier League new boys Reading 1-1 at the Madejski Stadium after they gave away a penalty and were reduced to 10 men in the dying minutes.

Michael Kightly fired Tony Pulis’ side into the lead from close range, with the ball slipping through goalkeeper Adam Federici’s fingertips, but the Royals salvaged a point when Adam Le Fondre equalised from the spot as Dean Whitehead was sent off for his second bookable offence.

Elsewhere, Kevin Nolan’s strike gave West Ham a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in their opening game at Upton Park.

Nolan scored from close range in the 40th minute from Ricardo Vaz Te’s assist to edge the Premier League new boys ahead before they had a penalty shout turned down after the break.

Arsenal dominated Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium but were unable to find the breakthrough as they drew 0-0.