After being forced to sit out Tottenham Hotspur's opening Premier League fixture due to an off-field misdemeanour, Yves Bissouma played his way back into Ange Postecoglou's good books -- emphatically -- with the opening goal in Spurs' 4-0 thumping of Everton.
Elsewhere in the top flight, Nigerian duo Alex Iwobi and Noni Madueke excelled for West London pair Fulham and Chelsea respectively, while wonderkid Samuel Mbangula extended his excellent -- and unexpected start -- to the new campaign with two assists in Juventus' 3-0 victory at Hellas Verona.
The season, undoubtedly, didn't begin as planned for Bissouma, who was suspended internally by Tottenham after footage emerged of the Mali international inhaling a substance that was understood to be nitrous oxide.
Postecoglou was none too happy, furious that the 27-year-old had created unwanted headlines as the new season loomed, and accusing the ex-Brighton man of having a "severe lack of judgement".
The Australian coach insisted that the only way for the central midfielder to restore his confidence would be through improved "behaviour", and having been cut from the squad for the opening draw with Leicester City, it appeared the road to redemption would be a long one.
However, fortunes can change in a moment in football, and the head injury suffered by Rodrigo Bentancur -- Bissouma's replacement -- in gameweek one opened the door for the latter to return against Everton on Saturday.
In light of his recent lapse of judgement, and Postecoglou's expectations, it was a golden opportunity for the Malian to prove he was ready to leave the naughty step. Fourteen minutes in, and Bissouma banished the laughing gas episode with his first goal for Spurs since arriving in 2022, meeting Dejan Kulusevski's pass before sending a powerful right-footed effort beyond Jordan Pickford from 20 yards out.
The early goal settled Spurs, who will surely regret not putting away Leicester last weekend, and they delivered an early-season statement of intent by ultimately romping to a 4-0 victory.
Beyond the goal, the performance was a reminder of why -- when the wind was behind Postecoglou's Spurs -- Bissouma was so important to their overall play last term. He took 86 touches during the contest -- only Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro saw more of the ball -- and made a series of key defensive contributions as Everton's few forays forward were promptly neutralised.
"You know what it's like when you punish your child and they do everything right for the next two days?" Postecoglou said of Bissouma's display. "Biss was good and we know Biss is a good footballer.
"It's about him being the best version of himself. Discipline is a big thing for him and he was disciplined. It was a good performance."
Behind Kulusevski and James Maddison, and with his 23-24 midfield partner Pape Matar Sarr only on the bench, Bissouma was required to play a more conservative role, with none of the surging runs through the heart of the park that characterised his showings last term.
"There's no doubting his ability to do something special," Postecoglou urged, "but he needs to make sure he does everything right on and off the field to give him the platform to show who he can be as a footballer.
"We certainly believe in him. It's up to him to keep going on."
Everton's all-African midfield of Idrissa Gana Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam desperately need to establish a coherent relationship to ensure the Toffees can improve both defensively and offensively, while Sean Dyche will surely be keen for new signing Iliman Ndiaye to get up to speed as quickly as possible.
Perhaps the most impressive performer in the Premier League this weekend was Madueke, who netted a magnificent 14-minute hat-trick as Chelsea turned on the style to dispatch Wolves 6-2 at Molineux, despite having made firm enemies of the home fans before kickoff.
Something of a fringe player for Chelsea last term -- admittedly with injury problems preventing him from truly establishing himself At Stamford Bridge -- there have been rumours of Madueke already being surplus to requirements at West London.
Amid speculation that there may be interest from Newcastle United, Madueke had appeared to be being lined up -- in some quarters of the media -- as another victim of Chelsea's recruitment 'strategy' and bloated squad.
Would the Blues still be willing -- if they ever were -- to offload him after Sunday's showing?
The youngster was simply sensational, dovetailing superbly with Cole Palmer for a second-half hat-trick that silenced Wolves and ultimately secured Enzo Maresca's first points as Chelsea boss.
Nicolas Jackson, whose place in the starting XI may yet be threatened by the arrival of Victor Osimhen from Napoli, opened the scoring after reacting quickest in the box, before then playing in Palmer to give Chelsea the lead late in the second half.
After the break, with Wolves having again levelled through Jorgen Larsen, it was time for the Madueke masterclass to begin.
Like Bissouma, the 22-year-old had been involved in some controversy ahead of his subsequent hour of redemption, having shared a critical post about the city of Wolverhampton -- "everything about this place is s***" -- ahead of the fixture.
Jose Sa had already had to deny Madueke before the Anglo-Nigerian forward opened his account, each of his three goals coming within a quarter of an hour, and each being the result of his cool finishing and Palmer's vision.
Together, the pair may have the potential to banish the pessimistic pre-season premonitions about the Blues' campaign.
"He's cold and I'm fire, so it mixes well," Madueke said of his burgeoning understanding with the England international, before apologising for his ill-conceived social post. "It was just a human mistake, an accident," he concluded. "It wasn't meant to be out on my socials like that.
"I'm sure Wolverhampton is a nice town and I'm sorry."
Also in the Prem, Madueke's potential international colleague Iwobi was the match-winner for Fulham as they defeated Leicester 2-1 in front of their own fans.
The Foxes equalised through Wout Faes after Emile Smith Rowe had opened the scoring, but Iwobi secured maximum points two minutes from time when he met Antonee Robinson's lifted ball to fire beyond Mads Hermansen.
It was the 28-year-old's first goal of the season as he aims to beat last season's tally of five, and as with Madueke and Palmer, a flourishing understanding with England hopeful Smith Rowe -- another ex-Arsenal star -- has got Cottagers fans excited about the campaign ahead.
"I've seen his qualities over the years," Iwobi said of club-record signing Smith Rowe. "He's such an attacking threat, very intelligent on and off the ball, and he's the sort of player we need, especially as we're trying to be a bit more dynamic."
Mohamed Salah, Thomas Partey and Amad Diallo were all among the goals in the Prem, while Simon Adingra followed up on his goal against Everton in Brighton's opener by registering a 94th-minute assist to set up Joao Pedro to defeat Manchester United 2-1.
Adingra, an African champion with Ivory Coast earlier this year, had only been introduced as a 90-minute substitute before playing in the Brazilian with a lovely lofted ball at the death. Finally to Juventus, where Mbangula marked his home debut with another bright showing as Hellas Verona were dispatched 3-0 to extend new head coach Thiago Motta's strong start to life in Turin.
Last week, wonderkid Mbangula was the Old Lady's star performer as he scored and registered an assist as Como were dispatched 3-0 at the Allianz Stadium.
Juve were always going to be a 'new-look' outfit this season, with Motta appearing determined to ring the changes, but there's already a positive new feel about this side due -- in no small part -- to the vigour and energy brought to the side by the 20-year-old.
Vibrant on the left-hand side, the Belgo-Ivorian set up the impressive Nicolo Savona in the 39th minute with a fine left-footed cross after finding space out wide as Juve registered their second goal of the game.
Eight minutes after the pause, with Verona struggling to contain him, he forced a foul from the clumsy, lunging Jackson Tchatchoua in the box to secure a penalty which was duly converted by Dusan Vlahovic.
Suddenly, with Mbangula as a key threat out wide, Juve are looking both youthful and purposeful as they take an early grip on top spot in Serie A.