2025/26 Premier League Roundup: Gameweek 2
- Linus O'Howell
- Aug 26
- 8 min read
West Ham 1-5 Chelsea
A 5-star Chelsea performance blew West Ham United out the water on Friday Night Football! After just 6 minutes, it was West Ham who found themselves in front thanks to a super goal by Lucas Paqueta! This ball moved so much, insane! Less than 10 minutes later, though, and Chelsea were back on level terms as Joao Pedro netted his first Premier League goal for the club! In the 17th minute, West Ham thought they’d retaken the lead through Niclas Fullkrug, but his goal was ruled out for offside before Pedro Neto fired Chelsea in front just 6 minutes later! In the 34th minute, it was 3-1 as Enzo Fernandez tapped home from close range before Moises Caicedo made it 4-1 in the 54th minute! The Goalkeeping by Mads Hermansen was so poor here! And then, just 4 minutes, Trevor Chalobah added a fifth after more terrible defending! In the end, this was appalling from a West Ham United perspective! The Hammers now find themselves bottom of the league, and they play at Wolves tonight in the Carabao Cup before they go to Nottingham Forest on Sunday! As for Chelsea, this was much better from them! The Blues rise to 4th in the table, and they host Fulham next time out!
Arsenal 5-0 Leeds
Arsenal made it 2 wins from 2 with a 5-0 thumping of Championship Champions Leeds United! David Raya was forced to make a decent save to keep Pascal Struijk’s effort out before Arsenal had the lead after 34 minutes through Jurrien Timber! Right on halftime, Arsenal’s lead doubled as Bukayo Saka smashed the ball home after Leeds gave away the ball far too easily! 3 minutes into the second half, and it was 3-0 as Viktor Gyokeres scored his first Gunners goal before Timber scored again (in the 56th minute)! And then, after Max Dowman was brought down inside the penalty area, Gyokeres stepped up and scored to make it a perfect 5 for the hosts! Overall, this was exactly what Arsenal would’ve been aiming for! The Gunners are now top of the league, and they head to Liverpool next time out in what is already a huge fixture! As for Leeds United, they got blown away here! The Whites drop to 12th in the table, and they’re at Sheffield Wednesday tonight before they host Newcastle on Saturday!
Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool
A 100th-minute winner was enough for Liverpool to make Newcastle United fans even angrier! Anthony Gordon had a decent chance to score which he could only find the roof of the net with before Liverpool took the lead in the 35th minute as Ryan Gravenberch scored with the help of a slight deflection off Fabian Schar! Right before halftime, things got worse for Newcastle as Anthony Gordon was shown a straight Red Card for an absolutely ridiculous challenge! Just 20 seconds into the second half, and Liverpool had a second as Hugo Ekitike scored for the third weekend running! However, in the 57th minute, Newcastle had one back as Bruno Guimaraes headed home before William Osula somehow equalised in the 88th minute! But then, in the 10th minute of additional time at the end of the game, Liverpool had a winner as 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha snatched it at the death! In the end, this will be a gutting one for Newcastle United to take! The Magpies drop to 15th in the table, and they head to Leeds next time out! As for Liverpool, they got away with one, again! The Reds rise to third in the league, and their next game is a huge affair at home to Arsenal!
Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham
An inspired Tottenham Hotspur managed to once again stun Manchester City at the Etihad! Omar Marmoush came close to giving Manchester City the lead early on; his effort running just past the post, before Marmoush was then denied by Guglielmo Vicario! In the 35th minute, Tottenham found themselves ahead as Brennan Johnson finished off a well-worked counter-attack! Right before halftime, Tottenham added a second as Joao Palhinha scored after a shocking bit of play from Manchester City! What on earth was James Trafford doing?! Erling Haaland then had a good chance to get Man City back into the game, but he couldn’t keep his headed effort down before Micky van de Ven pulled out a great block to deny Phil Foden! In the end, this was a shambolic performance from Manchester City; they were absolutely useless! City drop to 6th in the table, and they head to Brighton next time out! As for Tottenham Hotspur, what a statement this is from them! Spurs now find themselves second in the league, and they welcome Bournemouth this Saturday!
Everton 2-0 Brighton
Everton got off to a perfect start at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with an opening-game victory over Brighton and Hove Albion! Kaoru Mitoma was unlucky early on as his terrific volleyed effort clipped the crossbar before Danny Welbeck somehow missed a sitter from close range! In the 23rd minute, Everton had their first goal as Iliman Ndiaye made history after a great ball across from Jack Grealish! Jan Paul van Hecke was then unlucky as his effort came crashing off the post before Matthew O’Riley missed a golden opportunity; his effort being saved by Jordan Pickford! In the 52nd minute, it was 2-0 to Everton as James Garner fired one home from long range! Brighton were then awarded a penalty after the ball struck the arm of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, but it didn’t matter anyway as Danny Welbeck saw his spot kick saved by Jordan Pickford! Overall, what a great day for everyone involved with Everton Football Club! The Toffees rise to 8th in the league, and they host Mansfield tomorrow, followed by an away trip to Wolves! As for Brighton and Hove Albion, how many chances did they miss here?! The Seagulls drop inside the Relegation Zone (in 18th), and they play Oxford and Manchester City this upcoming week!
Burnley 2-0 Sunderland
Eliezer Mayenda had a golden opportunity to give Sunderland the lead early on, but his strike was too poor before Chemsdine Talbi just barely missed the target with his effort! Lyle Foster then thought he’d given Burnley the lead inside 18 minutes, but his goal was ruled out for a foul before Jaidon Anthony failed to get his headed effort on target! Just 2 minutes into the second half, though, and Burnley did have the lead as Josh Cullen finished really well! And then, in the 88th minute, Jaidon Anthony fired the ball home to seal all 3 points for the hosts! Overall, this was a much-needed result for Burnley, congratulations to them! The Clarets rise to 11th in the table, and they will host Derby tonight before they travel to Manchester United! As for Sunderland, they weren’t able to follow up last week’s win! The Black Cats drop to 7th in the league, and they have home games with Huddersfield and Brentford this week!
Fulham 1-1 Manchester United
Matheus Cunha should’ve netted his first Manchester United goal early on, but his first effort struck the post whilst his second chance was saved by Bernd Leno! Manchester United were then awarded a penalty after Mason Mount was pulled down by Calvin Bassey, but Bruno Fernandes shockingly smashed his spot kick miles over the bar! What a terrible penalty! In the 58th minute, United finally had the lead thanks to a Rodrigo Muniz own goal, but 15 minutes later, the scores were level again as Emile Smith Rowe equalised for Fulham! Harry Maguire then had a chance to win it for Man U at the end, but his headed effort whistled just wide of the post! In the end, this is an alright point for Fulham! The Cottagers are now 13th in the league, and they host Bristol City tomorrow before they travel to play Chelsea! As for Manchester United, they should’ve won this game! United find themselves 16th in the table, and they face Grimsby and Burnley in the next few days!
Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Jean-Philippe Mateta forced a decent save out of Matz Sels before Crystal Palace had the lead in the 37th minute through Ismaila Sarr! Marc Guehi then struck the post right on halftime before Callum Hudson-Odoi fired Nottingham Forest back on level terms in the 57th minute! The through ball by Dan Ndoye is absolutely top draw! Igor Jesus then came so close to winning it for Forest at the death, but his effort could only strike the post before Omari Hutchinson missed a great chance himself! In the end, it’s 2 draws from 2 for Crystal Palace! Palace sit 14th in the table, and they face Fredrikstad in their second UEFA Conference League qualifier this Thursday before they take on Aston Villa! As for Nottingham Forest, they could’ve won it right at the end! Forest are now 5th in the league, and they host West Ham next time out!
Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa
Mikkel Damsgaard did really well to give himself an opportunity at goal, but his effort was wayward before Brentford had the lead inside 12 minutes as Dango Ouattara scored on debut! Aston Villa were far too open here! Caoimhin Kelleher was then forced to make a save to stop John McGinn from equalising before Brentford had a second goal ruled out for a foul on Emi Martinez! Early in the Second Half, Aston Villa had a good chance to equalise through Morgan Rogers, but he took too long to get his shot off before Emiliano Buendia failed to keep his overhead kick attempt on target! Overall, this is an important first win for Keith Andrews’ Brentford! The Bees rise to 10th in the league, and they will face Bournemouth tonight (in the Carabao Cup) before they make the long trip down to Sunderland! As for Aston Villa, they haven’t been good enough so far! Villa are now 17th in the table, and they host Crystal Palace next time out!
Bournemouth 1-0 Wolves
Marshall Munetsi had a great chance to give Wolves the lead inside 2 minutes, but he messed up his final attempt before Bournemouth had the lead just 2 minutes later through Marcus Tavernier! Whilst Wolves were unlucky with the deflection off Emmanuel Agbadou, they still gave the ball away far too easily! Antoine Semenyo then managed to somehow smash the crossbar from just a couple of yards out before Jorgen Strand Larsen had a great chance to equalise, but he guided his effort too close to Djordje Petrovic! Just 4 minutes into the second half, and things were already looking worse for Wolves as Toti Gomes was shown a straight Red Card for taking out Evanilson (who was in on goal)! Semenyo then had another great chance to score, but he again messed it up before Jose Sa made a good save to deny Tyler Adams! Overall, AFC Bournemouth are off and running now! The Cherries rise to 9th in the league, and they face Brentford and Tottenham this upcoming week! As for Wolverhampton Wanderers, they didn’t really do anything here! Wolves rise to 19th in the table (absolutely incredible), and they host West Ham in an important Carabao Cup tie tonight, followed by a visit from Everton on the weekend!
Premier League Table at the End of Gameweek 2
Arsenal: 6pts (+6)
Tottenham: 6pts (+5)
Liverpool: 6pts (+3)
Chelsea: 4pts (+4)
Nottingham Forest: 4pts (+2)
Manchester City: 3pts (+2)
Sunderland: 3pts (+1)
Everton: 3pts (+1)
Bournemouth: 3pts (-1)
Brentford: 3pts (-1)
Burnley: 3pts (-1)
Leeds: 3pts (-4)
Fulham: 2pts (0)
Crystal Palace: 2pts (0)
Newcastle: 1pt (-1)
Manchester United: 1pt (-1)
Aston Villa: 1pt (-1)
Brighton: 1pt (-2)
Wolves: 0pts (-5)
West Ham: 0pts (-7)
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