Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By RYAN TOLMICH

With the game tied at one in front of an increasingly frustrated crowd at the Emirates, Aaron Ramsey conjured some stoppage-time magic.

The Arsenal midfielder finished from close range in the waning moments Saturday, leading the way in a 2-1 Arsenal victory over Crystal Palace. Ramsey’s winner was preceded by a Laurent Koscielny header in first-half stoppage time, which canceled out Crystal Palace’s 35th-minute opener from Brede Hangeland.

Unlike the Gunners, Manchester United failed to register a victory in their opening game, dropping new manager Louis van Gaal’s debut against Swansea by a 2-1 scoreline. Despite a spectacular bicycle finish from Wayne Rooney, Man United conceded goals to midfielders Ki Sung-Yeung and Gylfi Sigurdsson, whose 72nd minute finish proved to be the gamewinner.

In Saturday’s other action in England and around Europe:

Arsenal rivals Tottenham Hotspur kept pace with their London neighbors, benefitting form a late finish of their own from new signing Eric Dier to pick up a 1-0 victory over West Ham. Meanwhile, fellow top four hopefuls Everton settled for a draw with newly-promoted Leicester City, with an 86th goal from Foxes substitute Chris Wood forcing the Toffees to settle for a point.

Here are the results from the opening Saturday of English Premier League action:

Manchester United 1, Swansea 2

Leicester City 2, Everton 2

Queens Park Rangers 0, Hull City 1

Stoke City 0, Aston Villa 1

West Bromwich Albion 2, Sunderland 2

West Ham 0, Tottenham 1

Arsenal 2, Crystal Palace 1

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LIGUE 1

Paris Saint-Germain rolled to a 2-0 victory over Bastia, but the result took a back seat to other events.

Bastia forward Brandao head-butted PSG midfielder Thiago Motta, breaking his nose in a tunnel altercation caught on video.

 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic suffered a rib injury early in the match, and could be set to miss extended time for PSG.

Lucas Moura and Edinson Cavani scored the goals for PSG.

Meanwhile, Rennes thumped Evian 6-2, while Toulouse picked up a 2-1 victory over Olympique Lyon.

Here are scores from Ligue 1’s Saturday action:

Paris St. Germain 2, Bastia 0

Lens 0, Guingamp 1

Lorient 0, Nice 0

Metz 1, Nantes 1

Rennes 6, Evian TG 2

Toulouse 2, Lyon 1

EREDIVISIE

PSV Eindhoven cruised to a 6-1 drubbing of NAC Breda, with Dutch World Cup star Memphis Depay scoring two goals for the Dutch power house.

PEC Zwolle overcame a red card to post a 2-1 victory on the road against Dordrecht, while ADO Den Haag earned a 2-2 at FC Twente. Vitesse and Cambuur played to a 2-2 tie.

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What did you think of Saturday’s action? See Manchester United struggling this year? Buying Arsenal as a serious title contender?

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