Премьер лигийн нээлтийн тойм: Шинэ багууд болон томоохон клубуудын эхлэл

The Premier League is back with champions Arsenal in full flow on Friday night, two of the three promoted teams beginning with a win on Saturday and Tottenham Hotspur suffering a humbling defeat by Brentford after a summer of heavy transfer spending.

Anton Stach scored a spectacular late winner for Leeds United at Nottingham Forest and Everton beat Crystal Palace in front of UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Every Premier League Sunday, writers from The Athletic will give their views on the weekend talking points so far and join the discussion in the comments.

Here they discuss the strength of the new teams, the players who have stood out so far, the bad starts for Spurs and Manchester United, how the summer is going at Liverpool and Manchester City and what to look out for today.

Let us know your views and what else you noticed on the opening weekend.

Opening weekend results so far…
Friday
Arsenal 3 Coventry City 0
Saturday
Hull City 2 Manchester United 0
Everton 2 Crystal Palace 0
Ipswich Town 2 Sunderland 1
Nottingham Forest 0 Leeds United 1
Brentford 3 Spurs 0

Which of the promoted teams look capable of staying up on first viewing?

Liam Tharme: This could be another season in which all three promoted sides survive. Hull’s 5-4-1 shape was well-coached, they held a good defensive line and repeatedly caused Manchester United problems with long balls and set pieces, the elements which worked especially well for Leeds last season.

Ipswich Town have been bold in their investment, a little like Sunderland last season, and there should be no writing Coventry City off despite Frank Lampard’s side being outclassed away at champions Arsenal — they have the tactical elements to stay up, being flexible in shape, a set-piece threat and with a spread of goalscorers last year.

Jordan Campbell: Hull stole the headlines but Ipswich look like a team designed with the modern Premier League in mind.

They didn’t have the players required to cope with the jump in level when Kieran McKenna took them up in 2024. It was an unexpected back-to-back promotion but, this time, they appear to have absorbed the lessons they and other promoted teams have learned in recent years.

Last season, Burnley believed that their second promotion in three years would fare better because they built around a stable defensive base in the Championship. Perhaps the harsh truth is that to have any chance of survival it requires wholesale change and a level of athleticism that can’t be developed over one summer. Keeping the same group together is no longer an option.

That’s the conclusion Sunderland ruthlessly came to last summer. They signed 18 players and committed close to £200m in total fees. It earned them a seventh-place finish. Ipswich appear to have found inspiration in that strategy. They started just four of their Championship regulars, compared to Coventry who fielded eight, and have added top-level athleticism across all parts of the pitch.

Gregg Evans: It’s early days but there are positive signs for Hull and Ipswich. Every promoted club aims to make an early impact or create a fortress at home (see Sunderland last season) so it’s one step in the right direction for both teams. Whether players like Semi Ajayi and Paddy McNair have the staying power deep into December to keep clean sheets — which ultimately will be key because Hull don’t look like a team full of goals — remains to be seen.

They do appear to be well-drilled and organised, though, which should help, even if it’s far too early to make such definitive statements.

As for Ipswich, what may serve them well is an array of attacking options from the bench. To be able to turn to a player like Jack Clarke, who grabbed the winning goal, could be the difference. I like their variety of forward options. And sorry, Coventry, it looks like you’ve got a lot to do, even if you were up against the champions.

Eduardo Tansley: Wins for Hull and Ipswich have flipped the script. Having been there to watch Ipswich beat Sunderland, many of their new signings impressed, including Julio Enciso, who was the most exciting player on the pitch. In all of 2024-25, they achieved one home win in the Premier League, but have already matched that in their first game of this season.

Despite Hull’s win, they still have the biggest challenge ahead of them. They finished sixth in the Championship last season and haven’t invested as much as Ipswich or Coventry. But if they can be hard to beat at home and strong in a low block, they are capable of other impressive results.

Coventry will surely offer more than they did against defending champions Arsenal, but most likely to stay up will be Ipswich thanks to their learnings from two seasons ago and good recruitment.

Which new player caught your eye in the opening games?

Tharme: Hull’s Nobel Mendy. He headed the second goal and was a colossus at the back, recording 12 clearances — more than anyone else — before being subbed on 64 minutes with an injury. Already the reported €25m (£21m; $29m) that Hull paid Rayo Vallecano for the Senegal international this summer looks worth every penny. Many surviving promoted teams stay up because they have an aerially dominant centre-back: Ethan Pinnock at Brentford and Shane Duffy for Brighton & Hove Albion many years ago, Joe Rodon with Leeds United last year.

Campbell: Christos Tzolis. He may not have the profile that has Arsenal’s challengers quaking in their boots but he does look like he has improved them — and there are not many slots in the team where that is possible.

The Greek winger, bought from Club Brugge for £34m, reminds me of the sort of signing Liverpool would have made in the peak years under Michael Edwards and Ian Graham, who helped unearth world-class potential when it was at a cost level the tier below.

Christos Tzolis looks like he could improve an Arsenal side who look very good (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

He has the small space intricacy and combination play that led to Arsenal’s attack being too formulaic at times last season. He is bringing out the best in Riccardo Calafiori too.

Everton’s new central midfielder Hayden Hackney also deserves a mention. He’s the sort of playmaker Everton needed for David Moyes to evolve his side as he did during his first spell. It was no surprise Middlesbrough’s promotion push dipped when he got injured and he made an assured start to life in the Premier League.

Evans: Mamadou Sangare. The evidence was there for all to see last season as he starred for Lens. The data showed that he attempted more true tackles (a metric that’s a combination of tackles won, tackles lost and fouls committed while attempting a tackle), while also ranking high on recoveries.

But the standout feature in his game was the forward running. The type of direct, purposeful play that helped create Brentford’s opener, and if his Premier League debut is anything to go by, he’s going to be fun to watch.

Mamadou Sangare savours his Premier League debut (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Not only did he attack and create, he popped up all over the pitch with vital contributions. Brentford were brave when they made him their record signing at around £39m but like so often in the transfer market, they appear to have found another gem.

Tansley:Enciso could deliver on his potential this season for Ipswich, based on his performance in the opening week. He punished a sloppy pass from Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien, skipping round Dan Ballard to set up Ipswich’s opener. Then he almost scored an audacious backwards volley in the second half. Still only 22, the Paraguayan received a standing ovation from the home fans when he came off with cramp. If they can keep him fit, he should be a key creator after arriving from Strasbourg this summer in a package worth over €30million.

Who will be most concerned, De Zerbi at Spurs or Carrick at Man United?

Tharme: De Zerbi. Struggling when they have to break down defensive opposition is a recurring United problem. Even as they finished third last season they dropped points away at West Ham United, Bournemouth and Sunderland, while Leeds beat them at Old Trafford. I trust that there’s enough structure and top-end quality to make Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 work.

Let’s not forget that Spurs have finished 17th in consecutive seasons and have thrown a lot of money at press-resistant players to try and make De Zerbi’s style work. Defensively, he has never been a top coach, and in eight games as Spurs coach his side has conceded 10 goals and kept two clean sheets — not hugely optimistic numbers.

Roberto De Zerbi saw his side comfortably beaten by Brentford (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

What Spurs deserve credit for is buying the two best line breakers in the league last season, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, and bringing in Champions League midfield quality in Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. But it needs to click quickly.

Campbell: Carrick. Spurs’ defeat was emphatic but the core idea will take time to build for De Zerbi and there were several examples of his quick third-man passing working well. He is also still to add the key signings to the front line so a bad start was not a huge surprise.

For Carrick, he has had eight months in charge and done very well, but this was a summer to consolidate the improvements he had made and fix the issues still outstanding.

Yet, after the opening game, there appeared to be more questions than answers. Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo, two solid performers in the second half of last season, were dropped for Noussair Mazraoui and Andrey Santos, while Patrick Dorgu played on the left wing. The centre-back area still looks a bit of a lottery and there was a lack of a focal point without Benjamin Sesko, who was not fit to start.

Michael Carrick turned Manchester United around last season, but has much to ponder (George Wood/Getty Images)

Carlos Baleba will add more dynamism and creativity but the biggest concern was how insipid and one-paced the new midfield combination of Santos and Youri Tielemans looked. It felt like this was finally the year for continuity at Manchester United but there was a concerning flatness to their play.

Evans: Sorry to sit on the fence but both of them… There was little to like about a stale, out-of-sorts Manchester United facing a side with not a single fearsome attacker. Carrick has had the summer to work on some of the issues that needed fine tuning last season but they looked worse.

At least Tottenham have an excuse. Before De Zerbi arrived, they were embarrassing and he already knew that a little time was needed this season. But if the big spending was a statement of intent, this was another humiliating blow.

And before today’s games…

Whose summer rebuild is going better, Manchester City or Liverpool?

Tharme: Looking at the squads, I’d say City. Pep Guardiola left the team in a better place for Enzo Maresca than the Liverpool team that Andoni Iraola inherited from Arne Slot. The record-breaking transfer of Elliot Anderson ought to go some way to filling the Rodri hole, and previous window signings of Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo have given them some flexibility up-front.

Now, City were dispatched by Arsenal in the Community Shield, though I have more confidence in them because the core of this Liverpool team has slowly fallen away. Alexander Isak needs to first get fully fit and then start to show the goalscoring prowess that he showed at Newcastle United, but behind that a thin midfield is cause for concern, as is a new centre-back partner for Virgil van Dijk.

Elliot Anderson has the job of replacing Rodri (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Campbell: Given neither rebuilds have really got going yet, right now it can only be judged on who has the more complete team at their disposal. It has to be City, even though the loss of Rodri feels even more seismic than Mohamed Salah’s departure from Liverpool.

They, at least, have secured a long-term midfield option in Anderson. The amount of revenue they will have to reinvest in the squad is staggering and if they can sign the highly-promising Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille and add another top winger then they will not be miles away.

Liverpool, on the other hand, still have some glaring gaps in their squad. Jeremy Jacquet looks accomplished at centre back but Iraola has already said they are thin on the ground. That is never a good place to be on the opening weekend.

Liverpool are still seeking Salah’s replacement (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

Evans: It’s always a concern when the bigger story is about departures rather than new arrivals. City have lost their midfield rock, Rodri, and are hoping Anderson replaces him. Tough gig. Liverpool, meanwhile, have known since March that Salah would be leaving, yet with just eight days of the transfer window remaining, have still not secured his successor.

Granted, the defence issues appear to be fixed with Jacquet and Ronald Araujo, and there’s hope that Trey Nyoni can fill some of the void left by Curtis Jones. But it’s all a bit uninspiring so far and only a Barcola breakthrough will change the sentiment on the stands at Anfield. So for that reason, City — despite their summer of change — are currently in better shape.

What’s next?

Manchester City will be aiming to put a disappointing display in the Community Shield behind them when they host Bournemouth in one of Sunday’s early games. It will be Maresca’s first league game in charge, while Bournemouth also have a new head coach in Marco Rose.

In the other early Sunday game, Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton host Aston Villa, who have lost Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne this summer. They have, though, reached an agreement in principle to sign Germany international Leon Goretzka.

The late game on Sunday sees Liverpool travel to Newcastle, another match in which two fresh head coaches face off. Former Bournemouth head coach Iraola has taken charge of Liverpool, while Eddie Howe made a surprising exit at Newcastle in the middle of pre-season. He has been replaced by Matthias Jaissle.

On Monday night, there’s a west London derby as Fulham host Chelsea. Chelsea’s new head coach Xabi Alonso will have one of the summer’s biggest signings, Rogers, who moved for £117m, at his disposal. Fulham have brought in Alvaro Arbeloa as their new head coach, and he has raided former team Real Madrid for Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios, while they have also signed Shea Charles from Southampton.

Premier League fixtures
Sunday

Manchester City vs Bournemouth (2pm GMT/9am ET)
Brighton vs Aston Villa (2pm GMT/9am ET)
Newcastle United vs Liverpool (4.30pm GMT/11.30am ET)

Monday
Fulham vs Chelsea (8pm GMT/3pm ET)

Make your match predictions here