EPL match-week 1: Hull City shock Man Utd as Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City win

The 2026/27 Premier League season began with a dramatic opening match-week that produced surprise results, emphatic victories and late goals across England’s top flight.

Arsenal made the strongest possible start to their title defence, defeating newly promoted Coventry City 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard were on target as Mikel Arteta’s side immediately showed why they remain among the leading contenders. The victory also marked Arteta’s 150th Premier League win as a manager.

The biggest shock of the opening round came at the MKM Stadium, where newly promoted Hull City stunned Manchester United 2-0. Goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy gave Hull a memorable victory in their return to the Premier League and ended a long wait for a league win over United. The result was a major setback for Michael Carrick’s side after the optimism surrounding their preparations for the new campaign. 

Hull were not the only promoted side to make headlines. Ipswich Town also enjoyed a winning return to the Premier League, defeating Sunderland 2-1 after Jack Clarke scored a dramatic 90th-minute winner.

Brentford produced another statement result by beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-0. Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode scored as Brentford took full advantage of their opportunities and handed Spurs a disappointing start despite their significant summer spending.

Brighton & Hove Albion recorded the biggest victory of the weekend, dismantling Aston Villa 4-0. Jack Hinshelwood scored twice in the first half, while Brighton took advantage of Villa’s difficulties to secure a commanding win. The result immediately placed Brighton among the early teams to watch.

Manchester City also had to work hard for their opening victory. Bournemouth took the lead through Marcus Tavernier, but City fought back with goals from Marc Guéhi and Joško Gvardiol to secure a 2-1 win. The late turnaround ensured City avoided an early setback in the new campaign.

Liverpool were involved in another of the weekend’s most entertaining matches as they drew 2-2 away to Newcastle United. Newcastle twice threatened to claim all three points, but Liverpool eventually secured a share of the spoils through a late penalty converted by Dominik Szoboszlai.

Everton also began their campaign positively, defeating Crystal Palace 2-0, while Leeds United secured a narrow 1-0 victory away at Nottingham Forest. Ipswich’s win over Sunderland meant two of the three promoted clubs opened the season with victories, an unusually strong start for newly promoted sides.

The final match of the opening round produced another London derby thriller. Chelsea defeated Fulham 3-2 at Craven Cottage in Xabi Alonso’s first competitive match as Chelsea manager.

João Pedro gave Chelsea the perfect start by scoring after just 31 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest opening-day goal in Premier League history. Morgan Rogers then scored on his Chelsea debut before Cole Palmer added another after the break. Fulham fought back through Josh King and Gonzalo García, but Chelsea held on for the victory.

Overall, Match-week 1 provided an early reminder of the unpredictability of the Premier League. Arsenal began their title defence with authority, Manchester City and Chelsea overcame difficult moments to secure victories, while Liverpool were forced to settle for a draw.

For Manchester United and Tottenham, however, the opening weekend raised early questions after heavy defeats. Meanwhile, Hull, Ipswich, Brighton and Brentford emerged as some of the biggest winners of the first round.

With 38 match-weeks still ahead, it is far too early to draw firm conclusions about the title race or relegation battle. But the opening weekend has already delivered enough surprises to suggest that the 2026/27 Premier League season could be another unpredictable campaign.