2025/26 Premier League Roundup: Gameweek 1
- Linus O'Howell
- Aug 19
- 8 min read
Liverpool 4-2 Bournemouth
Liverpool kick-started their Premier League Title defence with an opening-day 6-goal thriller against AFC Bournemouth! After just 6 minutes, Antoine Semenyo had a good chance to score which he failed to keep down before Marcos Senesi arguably could’ve been sent off for a deliberate handball! VAR’s description of events was completely wrong; it’s utterly baffling! After 37 minutes, Liverpool had the lead as Hugo Ekitike scored the opening goal of the new season! The defending by Senesi and Tyler Adams here is absolutely abysmal! Just 4 minutes into the Second Half, and Liverpool’s lead doubled as Cody Gakpo finished well! However, 15 minutes later, and Bournemouth had a goal back through Antoine Semenyo before, in the 76th minute, Semenyo finished brilliantly to level the game back up at 2-2! And then, in the 88th minute, Federico Chiesa scored a dramatic late winner before Mohamed Salah added a 4th for the hosts in extra time! Overall, Liverpool will be happy to start their season off with a victory! The Reds currently find themselves 4th in the league, and their next game is a big one away at Newcastle! As for AFC Bournemouth, they will take positives from this game, but nothing more than that! The Cherries sit 16th in the table, and they host Wolves next time out!
Wolves 0-4 Manchester City
A few debut masterclasses saw Manchester City start their season with a bang in a 4-0 thumping over Wolverhampton Wanderers! Erling Haaland had a decent chance to score early on which he failed to keep down before Marshall Munetsi had a goal ruled out for offside! In the 34th minute, Manchester City found themselves in front as Erling Haaland opened his account for the new season! Just 3 minutes later, and Man City’s lead was doubled thanks to a terrific debut finish by Tijjani Reijnders! Emmanuel Agbadou gave the ball away far too easily, but still, Reijnders’ finish was superb! At the start of the second half, Wolves nearly got one back as Jorgen Strand Larsen’s effort struck the side-netting before, in the 61st minute, it was 3-0 as Haaland had yet another opening day goal! Strand Larsen then had another chance to score, but his effort was kept out well by debutant James Trafford, and speaking of debutants, Rayan Cherki scored on his Premier League debut to give City a 4th with 9 minutes left to play! In the end, this didn’t go very well for Wolverhampton Wanderers at all, but it’s not like things should get any worse! Wolves end Gameweek 1 bottom, and they head to Bournemouth next time out! As for Manchester City, this felt like a statement of intent from them! City already lead the league, and their first game of the season at the Etihad sees them host Tottenham!
Nottingham Forest 3-1 Brentford
A dominant first-half display resulted in Nottingham Forest handing Keith Andrews a debut defeat! After just 5 minutes, Nottingham Forest were already in front as Chris Wood bagged his opening goal of the new campaign! Neco Williams then pulled out a great block to deny Thiago Rodrigues before, just 2 minutes later, Forest found themselves 2 in front as Dan Ndoye headed home on debut! In the second minute of additional time at the end of the first half, Forest had another goal as Chris Wood scored again after a terrific through ball from Elliot Anderson! In the second half, Morgan Gibbs-White came close to scoring a spectacular goal before Brentford were awarded a penalty for a handball! Thiago Rodrigues then stepped up and scored to at least give the away fans something to cheer about! Overall, what a great start to the season for Nottingham Forest! Forest find themselves 5th in the league after opening weekend, and they head to Crystal Palace this Sunday! As for Brentford, they were simply swept aside here! The Bees sit 17th in the table, and they host Aston Villa next time out!
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
It was an opening day masterclass for Sunderland as they stormed through on their Premier League return against a shocking West Ham United! Jarrod Bowen made a really good solo run which forced Robin Roefs to make a save before Mads Hermansen made a good save to deny Habib Diarra a debut goal! Daniel Ballard then pulled out a goal-saving block to keep Malick Diouf’s effort out before, in the 61st minute, Sunderland had the lead as Eliezer Mayenda’s header crept into the corner of the net! In the 73rd minute, it was 2-0 as Daniel Ballard headed home after a great ball in from Simon Adingra before, in the 92nd minute, Wilson Isidor added a memorable third! Overall, what an unbelievable win this is for Sunderland! The Black Cats find themselves second in the league, and they head to Burnley next time out! As for West Ham United, this is really concerning! The Hammers sit 19th in the table, and they host Chelsea on this weekend’s Friday Night Football!
Tottenham 3-0 Burnley
Tottenham Hotspur got off to a good start under Thomas Frank as Burnley suffered defeat on their Premier League return! Martin Dubravka had to make a decent early save to stop Lucas Bergvall from scoring before Tottenham took the lead after just 10 minutes through Richarlison! Burnley were then asking for a penalty, which wasn’t given, before Jaidon Anthony just couldn’t get enough power on his effort to beat Guglielmo Vicario! In the 60th minute, it was 2-0 as Richarlison scored a ridiculous overhead kick before Brennan Johnson added a third for Spurs just 6 minutes later! Overall, this was a really positive start for Tottenham Hotspur! Spurs find themselves in third, and their next game is a big one away at Manchester City! As for Burnley, they’re not used to losing after last year, but this will happen a lot this season! The Clarets sit 18th in the table, and they host Sunderland next time out!
Brighton 1-1 Fulham
A late, late Fulham goal means Brighton and Hove Albion have already dropped points (it’s only been 1 game)! Kaoru Mitoma had a great chance to give Brighton the lead early on which he failed to keep down before Brighton were awarded a penalty in the second half after Sander Berge brought down Georginio Rutter! It was Matthew O’Riley who then stepped up and scored to make it 1-0 to the hosts after 55! Yankuba Minteh then had a good chance to make it 2-0 which he blasted over the bar before Lewis Dunk headed into the side-netting! And then, in the 96th minute, Fulham had their dramatic equaliser courtesy of Rodrigo Muniz! In the end, it’s only one game down, and Brighton and Hove Albion will already be disappointed! The Seagulls are 8th in the league, and they have the pleasure of being Everton’s first opponents in the Hill Dickinson Stadium! As for Fulham, this is a good point for them! The Cottagers sit 9th in the table, and they host Manchester United next time out!
Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal
1 goal was enough for Arsenal to start their season with a positive away win over Manchester United! After just 13 minutes, Arsenal had the lead as Riccardo Calafiori headed home from close range! The goalkeeping by Altay Bayindir here is so soft, he should’ve done 100 times better! Patrick Dorgu was then unlucky as his effort struck the post before Matheus Cunha made a really good solo run, only to drag his effort straight into the arms of David Raya! Raya then made a much better save to deny Cunha this time around before Raya made another good save, this time to deny Bryan Mbeumo! In the end, Manchester United will be disappointed to have lost this game, but they’ll be pleased with their performance! United sit 15th in the table, and they head to Fulham on this weekend’s Super Sunday! As for Arsenal, they got away with one here, but that’s all they need to do! The Gunners find themselves in 6th place, and they host Leeds next time out!
Leeds 1-0 Everton
A late penalty was enough for Leeds United to overcome Everton and start their Premier League return with a win! Jordan Pickford made a decent save to stop Joel Piroe from giving Leeds the lead before Daniel James had a decent opportunity which he completely blasted off target! Wilfried Gnonto then had a couple of chance to score which he too failed to keep on target before Jake O’Brien had a great chance to put Everton in front, but he failed to keep his headed effort down! In the 84th minute, Leeds were awarded a penalty for a handball against James Tarkowski, and it was Lukas Nmecha who stepped up and scored on debut to give the hosts an opening game victory! I can’t believe this was given as a penalty, already a terrible decision! Overall, Leeds United will be delighted to start their season off with a victory! The Whites find themselves 7th in the league, and they head to Arsenal next time out! As for Everton, they’ll feel very aggrieved here! The Toffees sit 14th in the table, and they make history this weekend as they host Brighton in the first game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium!
Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
Despite having an extra man for the last half an hour of the game, Newcastle United weren’t able to take advantage as Aston Villa held on to an opening-day draw! Anthony Elanga had a good opportunity to score on debut, but his effort was kept out well by Marco Bizot before Bizot made another decent save, this time to deny Anthony Gordon! In the Second Half, Boubacar Kamara headed his effort straight at Nick Pope before Ollie Watkins also struck his effort straight into the hands of the Newcastle Goalie! In the 66th minute, Aston Villa were down to 10 men as Ezri Konsa pulled down Anthony Gordon; this was clearly the right decision! However, despite that, Newcastle couldn’t take advantage! In the end, it’s a decent point for Aston Villa all things considered! Villa find themselves 10th in the league, and they head to Brentford next time out! As for Newcastle United, this was a missed opportunity for them! The Magpies sit 13th in the table, and their next game is a big one at home against Liverpool!
Chelsea 0-0 Crystal Palace
Eberechi Eze’s disallowed free-kick goal resulted in the points being shared between London Rivals Chelsea and Crystal Palace! After 13 minutes, Crystal Palace thought they had the lead as Eberechi Eze fired in a cracking free kick, but his effort was ultimately ruled out as Marc Guehi was judged to have committed a foul! The rules need to be completely rewritten after this; this was so stupid! Jean-Philippe Mateta then had a good chance to score, but he could only strike the ball straight at Robert Sanchez before Estevao had a really good opportunity which he made a bit of a mess of! Andrey Santos then had a great chance to win the game for Chelsea at the death, but he blasted the ball over! In the end, it’s not the start to the season that Chelsea would’ve been expecting! The Blues find themselves in 11th, and they head to West Ham next time out! As for Crystal Palace, they’ll be annoyed about their disallowed goal! The Eagles sit 12th in the table, and they host Fredrikstad in a UEFA Conference League qualifier this Thursday before they take on Nottingham Forest!
Premier League Table at the End of Gameweek 1
Manchester City: 3pts (+4)
Sunderland: 3pts (+3)
Tottenham: 3pts (+3)
Liverpool: 3pts (+2)
Nottingham Forest: 3pts (+2)
Arsenal: 3pts (+1)
Leeds: 3pts (+1)
Brighton: 1pt (0)
Fulham: 1pt (0)
Aston Villa: 1pt (0)
Chelsea: 1pt (0)
Crystal Palace: 1pt (0)
Newcastle: 1pt (0)
Everton: 0pts (-1)
Manchester United: 0pts (-1)
Bournemouth: 0pts (-2)
Brentford: 0pts (-2)
Burnley: 0pts (-3)
West Ham: 0pts (-3)
Wolves: 0pts (-4)
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