Here is a summary of week one of the Premier League season, from a FPL perspective.
Firstly, let’s start with the opening game of the season:
Hugo Ekitike had a brilliant debut for Liverpool against Bournemouth, scoring a goal, and he made a perfect ball for Cody Gakpo’s goal. Overall, he is a clear focal point up front, offering presence in the box and fluid positioning.
Antoine Semenyo also had an excellent performance, coming away with 2 goals. He is the first visiting player to score a brace at Anfield in the Premier League since September 2022.
The Reds will look to continue their brilliant form at Anfield this season after their first win against Bournemouth. Last season’s home record was as follows:
Wins – 14
Draws – 4
losses 1
However, Liverpool have conceded seven big chances in their last two competitive matches. Four against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield and three against Bournemouth.
Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
We saw Anthony Elanga start at RW instead of Jacob Murphy. Newcastle started the game better than Villa, dominating possession and creating multiple chances through Anthony Gordon and Elanga, but you could tell that they were missing Alexander Isak.
Ezri Konsa got a red card in the 66th minute, so he’ll be suspended for GW2, but despite Villa having 10 men, they managed to defend well and hold out for a draw. Newcastle controlled large amounts of the game, but missed a clinical finisher up front. Manager Eddie Howe praised his team’s intensity post-match and emphasised the need to resolve Isak’s uncertain future quickly.
Brighton 1-1 Fulham
After a quiet first half, Brighton took the lead in the 55th minute with Matt O’Riley scoring from the penalty spot. The Seagulls dominated the match, creating several chances that they could not quite convert.
Super sub Rodrigo Muniz came off the bench to score the equaliser in the 96th minute to share the points. I think we’ll see shared starts between Raul Jiménez and Muniz in upcoming fixtures, so both should likely be avoided until we know who is nailed on to start.
A player who I was impressed with was new signing Maxim De Cuyper; he provided calmness and composure on his debut and was praised for his physicality and long passing.
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
Opening weekend magic for Sunderland!
Firstly, let’s talk about Dan Ballard, who came away with a 17-point haul. He managed:
1 Goal
Clean sheet
3 Bonus points
13 defensive contributions
El Hadji Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka had a combined ownership of 31% going into this fixture, but only came away with 1 point each. Diouf did have a great chance, but Robin Roefs made a good save to stop the ball nestling into the bottom left corner. If you’re looking for a budget enabler, then I think a Sunderland asset is a great option due to their good fixtures until GW8, and they’ve done some great business, so I expect them to do well. The Black Cats have spent a net total of £100m on 11 new arrivals.
Tottenham 3-0 Burnley
Manager Thomas Frank kicked off his campaign with a statement victory, Spurs pressed aggressively, and two goals came from effective crossing. Kudus provided both assists and was immediately impactful from the wing; Richarlison was fully fit and delivered two brilliant finishes. Frank praised him as excellent. Scott Parker’s Burnley pressed well early and almost had an equal shot count, but Spurs’ defence was solid and managed to maintain a clean sheet.
A notable moment in this fixture was Burnley’s goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka, conceding a corner due to the new eight-second rule. If you own Dúbravka or a defensive asset, then I would say it’s good to start them in GW2 against Sunderland because they were defensively brilliant last season (conceding just 16 times in 46 Championship games).
Wolves 0-4 Man City
Man City got their campaign up and running with an impressive 4-0 away win against Wolves. Erling Haaland scored his 10th goal against Wolves, which makes Wolves his favourite club to play against. A player who really impressed was new signing Tijjani Reijnders, who scored and made an assist for Haaland’s goal. Reijnders became the second-ever Man City player to score and assist on their Premier League debut, Sergio Agüero being the first player to do so in August 2011 against Swansea City.
Despite Wolves having a goal disallowed for offside and showing some early promise, they were largely outclassed and unable to capitalise on their few chances. Pep Guardiola emphasised after the game that one dominant performance doesn’t mean “City are back.” He flagged concerns over squad size, absent key players, and a need for consistency.
Chelsea 0-0 Crystal Palace
Chelsea struggled to break down Palace on Sunday as the points were shared in a 0-0 draw. Palace had the main talking point of the second half, with Eberechi Eze, who is linked with a move away to Spurs, having a free-kick disallowed due to Marc Guehi being less than one metre away from the Chelsea wall. Marc Cucurella showed a good amount of attacking threat with his third-minute header getting cleared off the line by Pape Sarr.
Jean-Philippe Mateta was denied by Robert Sanchez shortly after, though the visitors were forced to play the second half on the counter as Chelsea dominated the ball. While there were few clear-cut chances to shout about for either side, both Chelsea and Palace may feel they should have done better, given they had 31 shots between them.
Nottingham Forest 3-1 Brentford
It was a disappointing start for Keith Andrews on the opening weekend. Brentford arrived without key players like Yoane Wissa and top-scorer Bryan Mbeumo. Their performance under new manager Andrews fell short of expectations against a well-prepared Forest side. It only took Chris Wood five minutes to score the opener, and Dan Ndoye doubled their lead with an impressive header into the top left corner from a brilliant cross from Morgan Gibbs-White. Wood scored the third during first-half stoppage time after finishing a one-on-one opportunity after Eliott Anderson’s perfect pass.
Overall, it was a really impressive performance from Forest, and after the game, Nuno Espírito Santo said, “I think we started really well. Expectations were high, but the performance was really good and we are really pleased. A lot of things impressed me”.
Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal
The important moment in this match came in the 13th minute from a Declan Rice free-kick. Arsenal’s William Saliba challenged United’s keeper Altay Bayindir and he misjudged the ball, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to head it in from close range. Despite the error from Bayindir, Man Utd dominated possession (62%) and registered 22 shots. Debutants Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo looked lively up front, each testing Arsenal’s David Raya. Patrick Dorgu nearly scored, smashing a shot off the post. Despite creating numerous chances, United couldn’t find a way past Raya.
Viktor Gyökeres struggled on his debut, offering minimal impact early on. However, their defence was great under pressure, and Raya made crucial saves to maintain the lead.