It feels like the Premier League has never been away.
Straight back into the groove in this opening weekend of the season.
Less than 24 hours gone of the 2026/27 Premier League campaign and so much to love about it.
The very first match of the season was a bit of a tedious non-event as Coventry lay down for Arsenal who cruised to a 3-0 victory on Friday night. The only bright spot was an injury preventing Bruno Guimaraes taking part and no clear indication of when he might return for the Gunners.
Huge upsides though thanks to the other two promoted teams.
The Saturday early kick-off saw Manchester United absolutely woeful.
A clueless Man U side lacking any kind of zip or ambition were outplayed and well beaten by Hull City, a Hull City who had been totally written off before a ball was kicked.
Goals from Ajayi and Mendy in the first half and Hull cruising through the rest of the game, with Manchester United offering pretty much zero threat throughout the game. Michael Carrick already looking like the new Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, had a handful of half decent results as caretaker boss, Man U fans and media say he then has to get job permanently, then…
Even more hilarious, Sunderland scored through Angulo on 39 minutes to equalise an Emersonn 24th minute goal for Ipswich, only for former Mackem player Jack Clarke to score in the 90th minute to give Ipswich Town a deserved victory. Looking like it could be a long season for Sunderland as they had minimal threat against a very average promoted side.
Speaking of long seasons and potentially in trouble, Crystal Palace really poor as they lost 2-0 to a weak Everton team.
The other 3pm kick-off saw a war of attrition between Forest and Leeds with minimal chances created by the two teams. Pretty much nothing created from open play and zero surprise that when a goal did come in the 88th minute it was a free-kick from Stach that won it for Leeds.
As I finish this off, interesting to see that after 20 minutes the Tottenham revolution has got off to a great start, not a single touch in the opposition box for Sandro Tonali and his teammates whilst Lewis-Potter has given Brentford the lead.
Friday 21 August
Arsenal 3 Coventry 0
Saturday 22 August
Hull 2 Manchester United 0
Everton 2 Crystal Palace 0
Ipswich 2 Sunderland 1
Nottingham Forest 0 Leeds 1
Brentford 1 Tottenham 0 (A 5.30pm kick-off and the Bees 1-0 up after 15 minutes)
Sunday 23 August
Brighton v Villa (2pm)
Man City v Bournemouth (2pm)
Newcastle v Liverpool (5.30pm)
Monday 24 August
Fulham v Chelsea (8pm)