Newcastle United got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start yesterday for the first time in eight seasons after sweeping aside West Ham at the London Stadium.
There were stand out performances from debutants Callum Wilson and Jeff Hendrick, who combined for the opening goal and both finished on the scoresheet.
That saw the Magpies earn plaudits and take all three points back to Tyneside but it was not all smooth sailing for Steve Bruce's side.
One big concern will surround Allan Saint-Maximin, although not with the Frenchman's performance specifically but rather the opposition's approach to dealing with him.
From the off, it was abundantly clear that David Moyes' side could not deal with the devastating pace of Newcastle's number 10 and their way around this was to try to kick him off the park.
Saint-Maximin was fouled seven times during the match in East London - by far the highest amount of any individual player on the opening day - with his closest competitors in that stat being Southampton's Danny Ings and Fulham's Ivan Cavaleiro with four, WhoScored data shows.
Overall, West Ham committed a total of 13 fouls during the match - with over half being on Saint-Maximin and Ryan Fredericks being booked for his third foul on the Frenchman.
In 26 Premier League appearances last term, Saint-Maximin was fouled an average of 1.8 times a match, sitting 14th in the rankings for most fouled players on average - quite a way behind Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish on 4.6 times per game.
While it is still obviously very early days this season, it would be fair to assume that the rest of the Premier League knows that Saint-Maximin is a threat following his maiden campaign last term.
He may, therefore, have to brace himself for some very aggressive play throughout the season and, if it goes unpunished, will have to keep his head in these difficult situations.
