Opening weekend: Hull, Brighton, Brentford, and a league that did not ease in
Ten matches, 21-24 August. Arsenal start with a 3-0. Chelsea win 3-2 at Fulham. Spurs lose 3-0 at Brentford.
Why this weekend matters
Opening weekends are supposed to be rust. This one was a statement board. If you only watched the World Cup and came back late, here is the league you missed.
The results we can print
21 August: Arsenal 3-0 Coventry. Havertz, Saka, Odegaard. Champions, home, clean.
22 August: Hull 2-0 Manchester United. Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace (Dewsbury-Hall, Thierno Barry). Ipswich 2-1 Sunderland, Jack Clarke 90’. Nottingham Forest 0-1 Leeds, Anton Stach 88’ free-kick. Brentford 3-0 Tottenham.
23 August: Brighton 4-0 Aston Villa. Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth. Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool, Szoboszlai 99’ penalty.
24 August: Fulham 2-3 Chelsea. Xabi Alonso’s first league game. Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer.
What it changes
Brighton sat top. Hull had a scar to sell. Spurs, who spent the summer trying not to repeat last year, opened with a 3-0 loss that theScore called their worst under Roberto De Zerbi. Chelsea won ugly-beautiful. The table after one week already had a personality.
Sources
Every score and ranking on this page is locked to a named source. If it is not here, it is not on the page.