The opening goal of every Premier League season since 1992
By Mitch Wilks
Premier League opening day has become one of the best weekends in the football calendar, if not the best.
Raucous crowds recharged after a summer off, new signings galore and just about everyone rounding off a day of football with - you guessed it - more football in Match of the Day. And with there being few better feelings than the roar through a crowd as a goal gets bundled in, the first one of the season is pretty special.
90min has gathered every opening goal of the season since the Premier League's inaugural campaign.
30. Brian Deane (1992/93)
Officially the first person to ever score a Premier League goal, it took Deane just five minutes to find the back of the net against Manchester United on opening day.
Playing for Sheffield United at the time, he left for Leeds at the end of that season and eventually retired in 2006 after two more spells with the Blades.
29. Peter Beagrie (1993/94)
Regarded as one of England's best wingers in the final few years of the old First Division, Beagrie bundled in the opening goal of 1993/94 for Everton.
The Toffees won 2-0 away from home on opening day, but ended up finishing just a point above the relegated Saints in 17th that season. Fine margins.
28. Kevin Campbell (1994/95)
When not running a record label with Mark Morrison signed up, Campbell was scoring the first goal of the season as an Arsenal academy product in 1994.
Having come through the youth team, the English striker put one past Manchester City after just two minutes in an eventual 3-0 win at Highbury. His best spell came at Everton after signing in 1999, following a spell in Turkey.
27. Alan Shearer, Efan Ekoku & Danny Williamson (1995/96)
No, this wasn't some weird, three-way, WWE-esque tag team goal. That probably would've been less weird, though, admittedly.
In the 1995/96 season, the opening goal honour was bizarrely shared between Shearer, Ekoku and Williamson who all bagged in their respective games at the five minute mark. Proper glitch in the matrix.
26. Stig Inge Bjornebye (1996/97)
A no nonsense full back, Bjornebye bagged his first goal for Liverpool and the first goal of the 1996/97 season in a wild 3-3 draw against Middlesbrough.
A free-kick saw the Norwegian in over the top after just three minutes and set the tone for a fine personal campaign that saw him make the Team of the Year as a key player in the Reds' strongest title charge in years.
25. Faustino Asprilla (1997/98)
Signing from arguably Parma's greatest side in February 1996, 'Tino' Asprilla was a hit after completing his move to Newcastle in the middle of a snowstorm.
He came to life first at the beginning of the 1997/98 campaign, opening the scoring after just two minutes against Sheffield Wednesday in an iconic season that also saw him score a hat-trick against Barcelona.
24. Emile Heskey (1998/99)
A remarkable, mazing run by Muzzy Izzet was finished off in poacher's fashion by Heskey to silence Old Trafford after just seven minutes on the opening day in 1998.
An early lead was doubled after 76 minutes, but United fought back in trademark fashion to nab a late 2-2 draw against Leicester in a fine fixture.
23. Carl Cort (1999/00)
Four years at Wimbledon was about as good as it got for Cort, who set the season going in 1999 against Watford after just ten minutes.
We say that, but Cort went onto play for Marbella and the Tampa Bay Rowdies later on in his career. Infinitely more fun sounding than some silly Premier League goal stat.
22. Mark Venus (2000/01)
Not only were Ipswich in the Premier League in the 21st century, they were the team opening the scoring for the season in 2000.
Venus' opener after nine minutes wasn't enough for a win, however, as Tottenham rallied and won 3-1 on the day. Still, the result was forgotten as Ipswich finished fifth that season.
21. Kevin Nolan (2001/02)
Breaking through at a Bolton side where only the sky seemed to be the limit in the 2000s, a young Nolan got the Premier League off and running after 15 minutes in 2001.
Promoted to the Premier League ahead of the campaign, Nolan's strike set them off to a flying 5-0 trouncing of Leicester on the opening day.
20. Michael Ricketts (2002/03)
The tricky Wanderers opened the scoring before anyone else a season later too, going for back-to-back opening day goals.
A goal after four minutes from Ricketts didn't get them off to as good a start, though, as they were the ones being thrashed this time round, losing 4-1 to Fulham.
19. David Dunn (2003/04)
It was a dream start for Dunn in 2003, bagging on his official debut for Birmingham after a red hot pre-season.
It did take 36 minutes, though, which is rather boring. More end to end stuff, please, Premier League.
18. Djibril Cisse (2004/05)
Getting his move to the Premier League after years of solid work with Auxerre, Cisse wasted no time in getting off the mark in 2004 against Tottenham.
A debut strike and the opening goal of the season showed promising signs for a now Michael Owen-less Liverpool. Cisse's season came to a shocking halt in October, however, when he suffered a seriously nasty leg break.
17. Ruud van Nistelrooy (2005/06)
United got off to a flyer in 2005/06 in search of a first Premier League title since 2003, with Van Nistelrooy bagging the opener in a 2-0 win over Everton.
It wasn't enough, though, as Chelsea retained the title and Van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid come the end of the season.
16. Rob Hulse (2006/07)
Good form had earned Hulse a chance in the Premier League with promoted newboys Sheffield United, and he was a natural from the off.
The striker bagged on his debut against Liverpool, wriggling away and heading home from a free-kick in a 1-1 draw. Hulse had a fine personal campaign, finishing as the Blades' top scorer.
15. Michael Chopra (2007/08)
Having broken through and played his early years at Newcastle, Chopra needed a big impact to get Sunderland fans on his side following his move to the Stadium of Light in 2007.
How did he do it? By coming off the bench and bagging the first goal of the season in the 90th minute against Spurs, giving Sunderland an opening day win having just been promoted to the Premier League.
14. Samir Nasri (2008/09)
Back to business with some much quicker goals, Nasri got the Barclays off the mark after just four minutes in 2008.
Arsenal were suddenly obsessed with their new French number eight, who proved to be an instant hit in England with endless creativity and flair in front of goal.
13. Stephen Hunt (2009/10)
Another season, another debut goal. It was a dream start for Hunt at Hull following his summer move, bagging just 28 minutes into his debut at Chelsea.
Unfortunately, Hunt was remembered by Chelsea fans for being the one who collided with Petr Cech in 2006 which resulted in a skull fracture. The Blues won in injury time.
12. Nikola Kalinic (2010/11)
Thriving under Sam Allardyce, Kalinic got Blackburn firing at the beginning of the 2010/11 campaign after just 14 minutes, donning the number nine on his back ahead of his second season with the club.
Since falling out with Steve Kean and leaving Blackburn, Kalinic has gone on and played for Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Fiorentina. Not bad.
11. Luis Suarez (2011/12)
Having signed for Liverpool in January 2011 and hit the ground running with what remained of the 2010/11 campaign, Suarez wasted no time in 2011/12.
The Uruguayan had his first goal of the campaign after 12 minutes, but could've finished with a brace had he scored an earlier penalty. The miss allowed Sunderland to grab a point through Seb Larsson.
10. Michu (2012/13)
Seeing Michu and 2012/13 in the same sentence is enough to send chills down your spine.
Signing for Swansea for just £2m, the Spaniard bagged the first goal of the season in stunning fashion, sweeping a pass first time into the top corner against QPR. The first of an iconic 22 goal season.
9. Daniel Sturridge (2013/14)
The first kick-off of the day, Liverpool wasted no time getting to business under Brendan Rodgers with a 1-0 win over Stoke.
Picking up the ball several yards outside the box, a prime Sturridge rifled it low and into the corner to get the first of 25 goals across all competitions. A fully fit Sturridge was a menace.
8. Ki Sung-yeung (2014/15)
Fresh off the back of a loan with Sunderland, Ki got off to a flying start in 2014/15, bagging the season's first goal as Swansea caused an upset at Old Trafford.
Ki stalked the ball down from the edge of the box before hitting it first time to beat David de Gea from distance as Swansea wound up 2-1 winners.
7. Kyle Walker (OG) (2015/16)
A classic to get the 2015/16 season underway, the only thing separating United and Spurs was an own goal.
With Wayne Rooney about to finish off a cross, Walker was running in from behind and momentum took his foot through the ball and past Hugo Lloris. Had to make a challenge.
6. Adama Diomande (2016/17)
Perhaps the greatest Premier League opening goal of them all, Diomande announced Hull's return to the top flight in obscene fashion.
On the stroke of half-time, the Norwegian hurled himself into the air and bagged with an overhead kick to give Hull the lead over champions Leicester, before winning the game 2-1.
5. Alexandre Lacazette (2017/18)
Joining Arsenal for a £53m fee that summer, it took just two minutes for Lacazette to look like he was worth every penny, bagging an almost immediate debut goal.
Heading beyond Kasper Schmeichel, the Frenchman finished up with a respectable 17 goals in all competitions that season.
4. Paul Pogba (2018/19)
Leicester were on the receiving end of the first goal of the season three times on the bounce. Surely at that point it's more than just a fluke.
Inflicting the damage the third time around was Pogba, fresh off the back of becoming a world champion. Using that terrifying yet endlessly composed run up, Pogba bagged from the spot as United won 2-1.
3. Grant Hanley (OG) (2019/20)
In perhaps the strangest season of football ever, an own goal kicking off the campaign should've served as a warning sign.
Hanley was the unfortunate scorer for Norwich after just seven minutes as Liverpool ran riot in order to set their title charge alight the correct way with a 4-1 win.
2. Alexandre Lacazette (2020/21)
The only player to get into the list twice, Lacazette repeated exploits from his debut season as Arsenal humbled newly promoted Fulham.
He was off the mark after just eight minutes, bundling in from close range following poor defending as the Gunners won 3-0.
1. Sergi Canos (2021/22)
The start that Brentford fans had been dreaming about ever since promotion was confirmed, their first game back in the top flight was incredible.
Arsenal fell behind in now typical Arsenal fashion, rocked by the raucous home crowd and allowing Canos space to rifle one inside Bernd Leno's near post. A 2-0 win for Thomas Frank's electric side.