Another Premier League season has begun, with new-look sides, new-look tactical approaches and plenty of optimism (and pessimism!) among the fans.
We could have picked out many observations across all teams - but here are five that caught our eye in particular at the weekend.
Arne Slot's Liverpool have brought in attacking reinforcements but the balance of their side looks off. Against Bournemouth, they were bright going forward but looked susceptible to conceding on the break.
Last season, Liverpool only conceded two goals from fast breaks all season. In the first game of this season, they equalled that number.
So what has changed for Liverpool?
The personnel informs how tactics are executed and Slot pointed towards sloppy passing in midfield as a reason Liverpool were so exposed. These misplaced passes gave the opposition time and space against a disorganised defensive shape while attacking the centre of the pitch.
This is more dangerous than losing the ball in the wide areas as attackers are closer to goal, in better shooting positions.
Although Slot focuses mainly on the sloppy passing and dispossessions in midfield, it is objectively true that Liverpool committed many bodies to their attack. At times, there were seven or eight players in and around Bournemouth's box, leaving Liverpool with very few players back to defend.
For Antoine Semenyo's second goal, both Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson were attacking in the opposition's box so were unable to get back to defend the counter-attack when the ball was lost.
Yes, decision-making and passing quality needs to be better but Slot may need to tweak the positions of the full-backs or central midfielders when Liverpool are attacking for additional protection against dangerous counter-attacking sides.
Rodri's season-ending injury last September clearly derailed their Premier League campaign but rather than simply awaiting his return, Pep Guardiola has found a solution without him and the former champions have been getting back on track since the start of the year.
Below is Man City's 'non-penalty expected goal difference per game' (that's a mouthful) since the start of last season, which tells us how much a team dominates their games by creating lots of good chances and limiting their opponents to few, bad ones.
It's the X-ray stat, the one that shows how good teams are before hot finishing streaks and the rub of the green come into play.
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have taken an alternative approach to their recent summer transfer business. For a team who have dominated the ball, playing slowly and methodically for the last few seasons, they have now looked to introduce directness and counter-attacking threat.
Against Manchester United, Arsenal played more directly and it was to their detriment on the day. We saw numerous quick attacks consisting of players carrying the ball quickly upfield over large distances before trying to play through balls for the attackers. In seasons gone by, they would've likely opted to hold the ball, passing it backwards before restarting their attack.
Martin Odegaard was primarily the player leading the majority of counter-attacks. Viktor Gyokeres' best attacking zones are in the inside right channel. As the Swede darted in behind, Odegaard's weight of pass was off and chances broke down. This made the game end-to-end, suiting United's quick attackers.
Odegaard being left footed here was slightly problematic too. Angle-wise, using a right-footed player would allow the pass to go towards the goal rather than curling away from it, making it easier for someone like Gyokeres to shoot early. Imagine Kevin de Bruyne's through balls (from right central midfield) to Erling Haaland if you're struggling to understand what I mean.
Although this style of play was ineffective in the opening game, there are positives. If Arsenal can get the final pass correct, they'll find themselves in clear goalscoring opportunities more often. How Arsenal balance their slower possession style with this newer, transitional quality will be an important thread to their season.