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Premier League holders Chelsea suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat by Burnley at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the new campaign, and Blues fans were not pleased with the performance of midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Antonio Conte would have wanted his team to get their title defence off to a positive start against the Clarets even though the likes of Eden Hazard, Pedro and new boy Tiemoue Bakayoko were missing from the starting line-up through injury.

Fabregas started alongside N’Golo Kante in the middle of the park following Nemanja Matic’s summer exit to Manchester United, but Gary Cahill’s 14th-minute red card saw the hosts spiral out of control and they trailed 3-0 at the break.

Substitute Alvaro Morata gave them hope of an unlikely comeback in the second-half but then Fabregas picked up a second yellow for a challenge on Jack Cork having earlier been booked for sarcastically clapping the referee, which all but ended their hopes of securing a point even though David Luiz did score a second late on.

Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on the showing of the Spaniard via social media, and they slammed his performance with some even describing him as “the worst player on the pitch”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Romelu Lukaku capped his Premier League debut for Manchester United with a brace in Sunday afternoon’s 4-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford.

The summer signing from Everton has now scored three goals in two competitive appearances for the Red Devils after netting in the UEFA Super Cup against Champions League holders Real Madrid in Macedonia last week.

The brace took Lukaku to 120 Premier League goals since moving to England from Anderlecht in 2011, and the Belgian will be looking to continue his fine start to the season when Man United travel to Wales to face Swansea City on Saturday afternoon.

Man United’s official Twitter account posted a video of Lukaku’s first Man United goal on Wednesday, and as expected, the response section brought a host of praise for the forward.

Many have doubted whether the 24-year-old has the credentials to make his mark against the so-called bigger teams in the league, and indeed in Europe, but Man United supporters are certain that their new number nine will prove to be an overwhelming success.

As reported by The Sunday Times, Cristiano Ronaldo could have been a Manchester United player this summer with Real Madrid open to starting negotiations for the forward.

What’s the story?

Ronaldo was, of course, a legend at Old Trafford and has only enhanced his reputation since leaving the club for Madrid, becoming unarguably one of the best players on the planet.

The Times reckon he could have made a sensational switch back to Manchester this summer with the player making it clear he would return to the club where he made his name as a footballer.

However, the deal was scuppered because Kylian Mbappe’s father did not want his son to move to Madrid and be burdened with the expectation of replacing the Portuguese legend, meaning the Spanish giants would not sanction his exit, say the paper.

While perhaps rather bizarre circumstances, the story demonstrates how fragile potential deals can be sometimes even at the top level.

What could he have achieved at Man United?

Manchester United look like a team on the up under Jose Mourinho and adding a returning Cristiano Ronaldo to the mix could have taken them to the next level. Could you imagine the fairytale story of Ronaldo coming back to Manchester and bringing them back to the trophy winning glory days? There’s a romance there that is undeniable.

His goalscoring prowess is second to none. He’s netted a ridiculous 407 goals in 396 Madrid appearances.

Adding that to the United team is unthinkable and Red Devils supporters must be cursing the potential deal falling through in the manner it did.

Kieran Trippier has faced criticism from a number of Tottenham Hotspur fans this season.

The full-back impressed towards the end of the 2016-17 campaign when he was challenging Kyle Walker for a first-team spot.

Now that Walker has departed for Manchester City, Trippier has been given the nod by manager Mauricio Pochettino.

However, seven games into the season and the England international is struggling to get all of the fans onside.

The 27-year-old now faces even more competition following the summer arrival of Serge Aurier from Paris Saint-Germain.

Trippier has played a full 90 minutes in four of Spurs’ five Premier League matches so far this season, and in that time has created one assist.

Some fans have expressed their frustration with the full-back over the last few weeks, but ahead of Saturday’s clash against West Ham United, some supporters have opted to back him.

The former Burnley player took to Twitter to post a picture of himself training for this Saturday’s showdown at the London Stadium.

Manchester United continued their impressive start to the season when they beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday, but Red Devils fans weren’t impressed with Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s performance.

The attacking midfielder has scored two goals and provided a further six assists in 10 appearances in all competitions for Jose Mourinho’s men this season, but he struggled to make an impact against the bottom-of-the-table Eagles after picking up a goal and assist against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League during the week.

The 28-year-old started all three of United’s matches in the space of seven days though, and he was replaced by Jesse Lingard in the 66th minute against Roy Hodgson’s side.

Man United supporters were quick to have their say on his showing via social media, and while some said that he has “been so poor lately”, others feel that he “needs to be benched”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

According to reports in The Mirror, West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic is reportedly ready to sell forgotten defender Reece Oxford during the January transfer window.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that Bilic chose to take a public swipe at the 18-year-old defender by saying that he shouldn’t believe he is on a par with someone like Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe, after both players were nominated for the Golden Boy award.

Oxford is currently on a season-long loan deal with Borussia Monchengladbach having failed to build on the first team breakthrough he made with the Irons at the start of the 2015/16 campaign, but his manager’s latest comments may have thrown his long-term future at the London Stadium into doubt.

The Mirror adds that the teenager is still highly-regarded by the east London outfit, and Bilic’s remarks are unlikely to go down well considering the likes of Manchester United were sniffing around the centre-back before he signed a new five-year deal.

How has Oxford done during his loan spell?

While Monchengladbach took him on a temporary basis to aid his development, as they had done with Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen previously, the 18-year-old is yet to play a single minute of Bundesliga football this season after being an unused substitute in all of their seven fixtures so far.

What happens next?

While Bilic’s comments probably were a little ill-advised, the Croatian boss is perhaps right in a way because Oxford has failed to make the progress that would have been expected of him following such an impressive debut against Arsenal on the opening day of the 2015/16 Premier League campaign.

The 18-year-old only made five appearances for Championship side Reading in the second half of last season after joining them on loan during the January transfer window, and his failure to make an impression in England’s second tier certainly suggests that either he isn’t good enough right now, or he has the wrong mentality.

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Prior to this evening, Fernando Llorente had made just one start for Tottenham Hotspur, and that was in a Carabao Cup match.

Tonight, the Spaniard finds himself in the starting XI for Spurs’ huge Champions League group match against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has made a surprise call by including Llorente in the lineup alongside Harry Kane up front.

The forward has made three Premier League appearances and two in Europe so far this season, but in none of those outings was he included in the first XI.

Meanwhile, Danny Rose, who has been out of action for the past nine months with a knee injury, has made it onto the substitutes bench, but there is no place for Moussa Dembele.

The main talking point from the fans, though, is Llorente’s inclusion, with many surprised that Pochettino has opted to start the striker in a game of this magnitude.

The 32-year-old does have experience playing against Madrid having had spells at Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla.

Leeds United’s priorities are clear this season, and that is to fight for promotion to the Premier League.

On Tuesday night, Thomas Christiansen’s side switched focus to the Carabao Cup, which nowadays is regarded as having a lesser importance than other competitions.

The Whites had overcome Port Vale, Newport County and took Burnley to penalties in order to get to the fourth round of the tournament, but they were unable to take out managerless Leicester City.

Leeds were underdogs at the King Power Stadium given that they were facing top flight opposition, but they had already proven that they were up to the task by ousting Sean Dyche’s side in the previous round.

Christiansen’s side went ahead in the 26th minute thanks to a goal from Pablo Hernandez, but the hosts responded as Kelechi Iheanacho, Islam Slimani and Riyad Mahrez got on the scoresheet.

With Friday’s Championship clash against Sheffield United on the horizon, it seems that the fans are more interested in league matters.

Danny Rose has pretty much been silent since his explosive interview with The Sun during the summer.

The Tottenham Hotspur left-back criticised the club’s wage structure and questioned their ambition.

Since then, the 27-year-old has been working on his return to fitness having spent a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, which was suffered in January.

Rose made his return last month in Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League.

The England international played 90 minutes at the weekend, helping the team to a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

Rose has entered the limelight once again by holding interviews with the British press, telling BBC Sport that he sought help from a psychologist during his time on the treatment table.

According to ESPN, the left-back also praised manager Mauricio Pochettino, insisting that there are no problems in his relationship with the Argentine.

After Rose’s quotes were published, Tottenham fans took to Twitter to deliver their thoughts.

According to The Sun, West Ham United boss David Moyes will be handed £30m to spend on new players in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Moyes’ tenure at West Ham began with a 2-0 defeat at Watford on Sunday afternoon, and the performance was another indication that new players are needed to boost the Hammers.

It was always going to be a difficult job for Moyes, but it is doubtful that he would have taken the role without assurances of money to acquire fresh blood when the January transfer window opens for business.

According to The Sun, Moyes has been promised £30m to spend on new players, and the Scot could launch a move for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, who was strongly linked with the London Stadium during the summer.

Moyes is also said to be looking at Hajduk Split midfielder Hamza Barry as he looks to boost his options in the middle of the park.

What areas need strengthening?

Without sounding dramatic, there could be a case made that West Ham need four or five players in January to stand a chance of enjoying a good run in the second half of the season.

Diafra Sakho is seemingly set on leaving at the start of 2018, and with Andy Carroll struggling for performances, the Hammers are certainly light in the final third of the field.

Faith is expected to be placed in 20-year-old Toni Martinez, but Sakho’s exit would place big pressure on Javier Hernandez to continue finding the back of the net.

According to The Sun, Moyes believes that midfield is the main area in need of a boost, but Jose Fonte’s injury has also left the club light at centre-back.

Whilst £30m is a decent budget in January, it might not stretch too far when considering what West Ham need in order to be competitive in 2018.

There are certainly a number of top players that would be interested in moving to the London Stadium, but Moyes must first concentrate on getting his first three points on the board.