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Is it correct to use "as much as" at the start of the sentence?
For example:
As much as I like cricket, I like football.
Is it correct?
I didn't find any reference which suggest to use it that way, but only as a conjunction as in this sentence:
I like football as much as I like cricket
No, it is incorrect.
"As much as" in the beginning of a sentence is used to qualify what you do like/dislike about the statement that comes after, i.e. the first part will be A and the second part will qualify/quantify something in conflict with A
As much as I like cricket, I dislike the waiting between innings
As much as I am afraid of spiders, I love nature
Your second sentence is a correct comparison denoting you like both equally well
I like football as much as I like cricket
UPDATE
The As may be optional, more so in British English
than US
Just to add a remark to mplungjan's post.
The restrictive conjunction "as much as + clause" at the beginning of a sentence is often shortened to " Much as" - Much as I like my little sister she can sometimes be a pest.
I think this is used in British English whereas in American novels you can find "as much as". But I have not verified this.
