Football writer Alex Keble highlights the hot topics and tactical lessons from Matchweek 1, including:
- Man Utd’s more direct approach undermined by old flaw
- Sunderland suddenly in strong position to stay up
- Liverpool’s new defensive frailties are problem to be solved
- Evolving Forest look refreshed, updated, and ready to challenge for Europe again
- Slow and sideways Chelsea still carry flaws of Maresca’s tactical system
- Emery’s conservative team selection highlights Villa’s need for attacking players
- Reijnders hints at direction of Guardiola rebuild as Man City find rhythm
- Frank’s changes already present in easy opening-day win for Spurs
- Brighton among the losers in summer of striker transfers
- Goals may be hard to come by for Everton this season
Man Utd’s more direct approach undermined by old flaw
Altay Bayindir has a history of struggling to defend in-swinging corners and Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 at the Emirates in December last year with two goals from corners. It was with grim inevitability, then, that this should be Man Utd's downfall.
Familiar flaws exposed in familiar ways; you could read Man Utd’s opening-weekend defeat as a case of more of the same. But that one moment in the 13th minute should not detract from marked improvements in almost every department.
Man Utd pressed very effectively, going man-for-man all over the pitch and successfully stopping Arsenal from gaining any control of the match.
It is to Man Utd’s credit that the Gunners completed only 75 per cent of their passes, their lowest figure in a Premier League game since a 2-2 draw with Manchester City in September 2024, and that Arsenal had just four 10+ open-play passing sequences, down from an average of 14.5 last season.
This aggressive disruption was caused partly by Man Utd’s direct approach on the ball, which stretched the game and continually ruffled Arsenal’s feathers. Bruno Fernandes led the cause with urgent forward passes towards the runs of Bryan Mbeumo and co, as Man Utd stretched the pitch with their approach before rushing up behind to win the second balls.
However, we must caveat the analysis by saying Arsenal were as poor as Man Utd were good. Martin Zubimendi struggled on his debut, and if Mikel Arteta’s midfield hadn’t been so stilted they would have found enormous holes in the middle.
The foundational issue with deploying a two-man midfield, and then stretching the pitch with longer passes to create an end-to-end match, is that big patches of grass will appear through the centre.
As the graphic showing Man Utd's average positions below illustrates, if you pull the shape lengthways with direct football, and if there are only two players (RCM and LCM below) in the middle to begin with, there will be a distinct lack of compression between the lines:
Goalkeeping mistakes might continue, but sewing the midfield shut will define Man Utd’s campaign.
Sunderland suddenly in strong position to stay up
The Sunderland supporters could hardly have asked for a more perfect day.
An incredible atmosphere inside the Stadium of Light seemed to super-charge the hosts, whose three goals – each from debutants – sparked pandemonium in the stands and, as is so often the case in the sunny days of August, triggered a wave of giddy optimism.
Supporters have every right to feel that way. What their team did on Saturday is vanishingly rare.
In the last 10 Premier League seasons, newly promoted clubs have only managed to win five out of their 30 opening matches between them. Three of those five winning teams (Brentford, AFC Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town) stayed up.
Huddersfield are the example worth scrutinising. In 2017/18, they began with seven points from three games, a lightning-quick start that pretty much kept them up. David Wagner’s side were able to collect just 30 points from the remaining 35 matches but still finished above the relegation zone, in 16th place.
Sunderland have Burnley away and Brentford at home in their next two fixtures. Those are distinctly winnable matches. A fortnight from now, they could be over a quarter of the way to safety.
Liverpool’s new defensive frailties are a problem to be solved
"That’s who we were and who we are - and that’s why you see such a nice game when you see Liverpool." Arne Slot’s optimistic analysis of Liverpool’s chaotic performance on Friday evening sounded more like Ange Postecoglou than himself.
And Liverpool really were playing "Ange-ball". Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz dazzled on their Premier League debuts but, following the same pattern as Liverpool’s Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace, there is now legitimate concern that Slot has lost the balance of his side.
Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai were, once again, too far ahead of play, while Milos Kerkez was regularly beaten by Antoine Semenyo, and Jeremie Frimpong was often too advanced.
All put together, this left Liverpool with too many bodies forward and too much attacking focus in the team, allowing Bournemouth to counter-attack to devastating effect.
Even after Slot substituted both full-backs, the problems continued; lightness in midfield and weakness down the flanks.
As you can see in this image of Bournemouth’s first goal, Wirtz and Szoboszlai are ahead of play, leaving Alexis Mac Allister with too much to do:
Then, for the second goal, all three midfielders, including defensive midfielder Wataru Endo, were ahead of the ball as the opponent broke forward:
Slot has a serious problem to solve.
Evolving Forest look refreshed, updated, and ready to challenge for Europe
Any concerns that Nottingham Forest might regress this season were emphatically rejected at the City Ground, where Nuno Espirito Santo’s side won their opening game of a league season for the first time in eight years.
Forest played some lovely possession football, too, in the latest sign that the head coach is evolving their style of play.
They held 55 per cent of the ball, which might not sound like a lot but equals their highest share in any Premier League match of 2024/25. It was also only the second time since they returned to the top flight that Forest have won a match with more than 50 per cent possession, following a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace last October with just 51 per cent.
With James McAtee arriving from Man City to bring even more elegance and control, and fellow new signing Omari Hutchinson being a natural replacement for Anthony Elanga, there is every reason to assume Forest will hold their ground in the Premier League.
Slow and sideways Chelsea still carry flaws of Maresca’s tactical system
After so much excitement following Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup victory, all the old concerns with Enzo Maresca’s slow, precise, chess-like tactical system came to the fore again on Sunday.
At its worst, Maresca’s football at both Leicester City and Chelsea has looked like a caricature of how his mentor Pep Guardiola used to play: "juego de posicion" - or "positional play", defined by a highly-structured shape – taken to an extreme.
Chelsea seemed to endlessly pass sideways against a formidably compact and well-drilled Palace midblock, the complex 3-3-3-1 formation coming to nought as Oliver Glasner’s side crowded Cole Palmer and blocked the route to goal.
In possession, Maresca’s team lined up with three at the back and Marc Cucurella inverting alongside Moises Caicedo, plus an unfamiliar twist: Enzo Fernandez in a deep right-midfield position.
It meant Palmer was the only player between the lines for Chelsea, allowing Palace to easily snuff out the danger; it meant a predictable system defined by slow and sideways passing from the hosts, as their "passing network" neatly illustrates:
Maresca needs another No 10 next to Palmer for such a rigid system to work. We are only one game into the Premier League season, but it already looks as though Chelsea will again lack the incision or the experience to mount a title challenge.
Emery’s conservative team selection highlights Villa’s need for attacking players
The headline story here is Alexander Isak’s absence and its obvious effect on Newcastle, who have now failed to win any of their last six Premier League matches without him, scoring just three goals in those games from an xG of 9.4.
But with that situation likely to be resolved by the end of the window, the tactical conundrum of greater long-term concern is Aston Villa’s lack of creativity. They did not take a single shot in the first half and managed three in total, fewer than in any of their 2024/25 Premier League games.
In the 4-1 victory against Newcastle in April, Unai Emery used three narrow No 10s to overwhelm Sandro Tonali. The difference on Saturday was that Emery only put two players here, Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans, in a more conservative setup from the hosts.
And with John McGinn also failing to fully invert off the right Rogers was left to plough a lonely furrow as he sought to find Ollie Watkins, ultimately ensuring Newcastle shut down breaks and controlled possession long before Ezri Konsa’s red card.
Here was clear evidence Villa need to replace Marco Asensio.
Reijnders hints at the direction of Guardiola rebuild as City find rhythm
With half an hour gone at Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ compact defending had Man City looking a bit lost. Bernardo Silva couldn’t find space between the lines and everything was happening in front of the Wolves midfield.
Then Tijjani Reijnders ghosted through the team, chipped a lovely through ball into Rico Lewis, and just like that, Man City broke the deadlock.
Reijnders went on to score the second goal and assist the third in a superb debut. But beyond his goal contributions, it was Reijnders’ style of football that stood out.
He likes to break lines in the dribble, playing in a more direct and forward-thinking way than a typical Pep Guardiola midfielder like Mateo Kovacic.
Here we see the beginnings of Guardiola’s evolved approach for 2025/26. Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri are likely to have a similar impact as Reijnders, whose urgency in possession clearly helped get the best out of Erling Haaland, a player who excels in the transition.
Frank’s changes already present in easy opening-day win for Spurs
Burnley fought well in north London and were not as bad as the 3-0 scoreline suggests, undone only by some brilliant work between Mohammed Kudus and Richarlison for the first two Tottenham Hotspur goals.
The relationship between Kudus and Richarlison was first among the many small differences between the Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank approach.
Seeing a winger play with freedom out wide, and seeing a No 9 reach their potential, are signs of Frank’s influence; his more direct style of football suits wide players, while from Ollie Watkins to Ivan Toney, Frank has a strong track record with strikers.
Elsewhere, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray started together in central midfield for only the second time in the Premier League, hinting at Frank’s preference for technicians in the middle of the park.
It was also notable how often Spurs goalkeeper Vicario tried to launch quick counter-attacks, and of course it’s worth mentioning this was the team's first clean sheet in 13 Premier League matches.
A sturdier defence, and a preference for fast breaks, were key features of Frank’s Brentford.
Brighton are one of the losers in the summer of strikers
In a transfer window defined by big-money moves for No 9s, it’s easy to forget this creates just as many losers as winners. Judging by Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Fulham, Brighton are among the losers – for now.
They have 18-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas to come into the team, although the £30 million striker is likely to need a lot of time to adapt to English football.
Until then, Fabien Hurzeler might struggle without Joao Pedro, who was involved in more Premier League goals (16) than any other Brighton player last season.
Brighton were the better side against Fulham but just couldn’t put the game to bed, attempting a meagre 10 shots, many of which were from distance.
Goals may be hard to come by for Everton this season
"[For] the attacking players, we are desperate to get more quality," said Everton manager David Moyes after Monday night's narrow defeat at Leeds United. "But let's be fair, it's something I think I've been saying for a while, that I'm having to try to find ways of getting that better."
Everton have a habit of starting slowly - last season they earned their first point in Matchweek 5 - and a summer transfer window that has featured France Under-21 international Thierno Barry as the only attacking addition has heightened Moyes's need to further boost his options up front.
Under the lights at a raucous Elland Road, Everton struggled to mount an effective attacking threat through the match. Indeed, according to stats website FotMob, the Toffees created an Expected Goals (xG) of zero in the first half, while their first shot of the new campaign came from Idrissa Gueye after 54 minutes.
Last season, Everton scored 42 goals in total, with only the three relegated sides - Leicester City (33), Ipswich Town (36) and Southampton (26) - netting fewer.
For Leeds, it could not have been a better start to the 2025/26 campaign, marking their Premier League return with a win and clean sheet.
