A great start to the new Premier League season, as champions Leicester City were beaten by Hull City, Manchester City barely won as Pep Guardiola made his debut, Jose Mourinho had a much better start to his Manchester United tenure with Zlatan Ibrahimovic making his mark quickly, while Liverpool survived a thriller in London against Arsenal, Philippe Coutinho leading them with a brace, including the best goal of the weekend.
Hull City 2 Leicester City 1 (Highlights): A rough, but not unsurprising start for the defending champions, losing to newly promoted Hull. Leicester missed some close chances early and paid dearly later on. Hull took the lead just before half time through Abel Hernandez, but Leicester equalized right after the half, as Riyad Mahrez converted a dubious penalty decision. Hull had the last laugh when Robert Snodgrass scored the winner in the 57th minute.
Burnley 0 Swansea City 1 (Highlights): Another newcomer, Burnley, didn’t have such an enjoyable return to the Premier League, conceding an 82nd minute goal from Leroy Fer. It was the first defeat for Burnley since Boxing Day, 24 league matches ago.
Crystal Palace 0 West Brom 1 (Highlights): A surprising result considering Palace’s dominance and the very low expectations from West Brom this season. Salomon Rondon scored in the 74th minute to deliver the surprising 3 points.
Everton 1 Tottenham 1 (Highlights): A fun encounter that was mostly dominated by Spurs, but Everton’s defense held surprisingly well until Erik Lamela scored in the 59th minute to equalize. Everton led early on, Ross Barkley opening the scoring in the 5th minute.
Middlesbrough 1 Stoke City 1 (Highlights): Xherdan Shaqiri scored one of the best goals in Euro 2016, and he kicked off his Premier League campaign with a free kick that salvaged a point from Stoke’s visit to Middlesbrough, leading for 56 minutes after Alvaro Negredo put them on top in the 11th minute.
Southampton 1 Watford 1 (Highlights): Watford scored early through Etienne Capoue, and managed to hold on for the draw despite losing Ben Watson to a red card in the 76th minute. Nathan Redmond equalized for Southampton, getting used to a new manager, in the 58th minute.
Manchester City 2 Sunderland 1 (Highlights): Not the smoothest of starts for Pep Guardiola and his players, but 3 points nonetheless. Sergio Aguero opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and it was an own goal by Paddy McNair in the 87th minute that won them the match, struggling to respond after Jermain Defoe equalized in the 71st minute.
Bournemouth 1 Manchester United 3 (Highlights): A great start for Jose Mourinho at his new club, with ‘nemesis’ Juan Mata scoring the opening goal, Wayne Rooney adding one and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, obviously, scoring his first Premier League goal in style. Adam Smith scored when the game was already lost, in a very bad start to the season for Bournemouth.
Arsenal 3 Liverpool 4 (Highlights): Arsenal are used to starting the season with a loss, and this was a wild one. A Theo Walcott goal (missing a penalty earlier) put Arsenal in front, but Philippe Coutinho equalized with a gorgeous free kick. Adam Lallana scored to put Liverpool ahead, followed by another strike by Coutinho and then Sadio Mane. Instead of a humiliation, Arsenal fought back, scoring through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Callum Chambers, but their late pressure didn’t salvage a point.
Premier League Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Liverpool | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Hull City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Manchester City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | Swansea City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 7 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | Southampton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Stoke City | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 | Watford | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | Arsenal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 0 | |
| 16 | Leicester City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | |
| 17 | Sunderland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | |
| 18 | Burnley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 19 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | |
| 20 | AFC Bournemouth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 |