We are back! The first weekend of the 2025-26 European club soccer season has delivered a bounty of talking points and drama for us to unpack -- though only the English Premier League, LaLiga and Ligue 1 have officially kicked off, with Italy's Serie A and the German Bundesliga joining the fun this coming week.
We got a big clash in England that saw Arsenal escape Manchester United with a 1-0 win and three points to begin their campaign -- and more woe for Ruben Amorim.
We got a dominant start for Barcelona against nine-man Mallorca (though Hansi Flick still found something to be upset about), as well as Bayern Munich claiming the Supercup over Stuttgart in the traditional curtain-raiser to the German season. Liverpool began their title defense with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth that made it clear their defending is a work in progress, Tijjani Reijnders put on a show for new club Manchester City, and Chelsea looked a little tired (and no wonder, given their Club World Cup exertions) in a scoreless draw with Crystal Palace.
- The best tifos of the Premier League weekend
- Reaction: Arsenal beat Man United in clash of depth, errors
- Liverpool overcome emotional night to beat Bournemouth
Here are Gab Marcotti's musings and reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.
Plenty to cheer for Manchester United despite Arsenal's win
OK, so the numbers say that Manchester United have lost eight of their past 13 league games at home, which is obviously horrendous. But not all defeats are created equal, and United supporters who wondered with trepidation what their team might look like with the new signings and -- more importantly -- with a full preseason under Ruben Amorim got their answer on Sunday.
It wasn't same ol' same ol' at all. They looked sharp and aggressive, Bryan Mbeumo and Mathias Cunha showed they are quick learners, and on balance, United had the better chances (David Raya came up big for Arsenal on more than one occasion) despite the 1-0 defeat.
As for Ricky Calafiori's goal, on another day it would never have stood, but it was given due to a combination of factors -- namely Altay Bayindir not being particularly good, VAR not intervening (I get the "high bar" concept, but in a crowded penalty box there are some things a ref simply won't see clearly) and English football electing to do its own thing when it comes to keepers in the six-yard box.
(No, it doesn't mean you can't challenge the keeper, but there's a middle ground between not being allowed to touch him at all and deputising your big centerback to body him whenever a corner comes in. The mere fact that we've reached the point that teams defending set pieces have to deploy an additional defender simply to screen the attacker who might interfere with the keeper is, when you think about it, absurd. What's next: Putting an attacker to screen the defender, who is supposed to screen the attacker who challenges the keeper? At that point, why not put a defender to screen the attacker, who screens the defender, who screens the attacker that challenges the keeper? You see where I'm going with this: it doesn't add anything to the game, other than having people barge into each other in the hopes a keeper spills the ball. Is this why we love the game?)
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate whether Altay Bayindir was fouled by William Saliba during Arsenal's 1-0 win over Manchester United.
There's still a long way to go, of course. I don't particularly like the Mbeumo and Cunha deals at those prices, but they were very effective (as was -- ahem -- Mason Mount) in disrupting the Arsenal build-up as well as turning the screws on the opposing back four. Bruno Fernandes in midfield means deploying your biggest attacking threat far from goal, which is sub-optimal. (Then again, if you stick him further forward, who's going to pass from midfield?)
Bayindir is obviously not a solution between the posts, but then if André Onana plays like last season, he's not either. Casemiro looks up for it, Patrick Dorgu had his moments and the back three looked fine. In fact, if you take out Calafiori's finish, Arsenal were limited to an xG of 0.4 over the 90 minutes.
The latter stat, of course, is also down to the Gunners' performance, which was far from impressive. In the battle of new centerforwards who could easily have ended up on the opposite team, Viktor Gyökeres was outpaced by Benjamin Sesko, who came on for the last 26 minutes. Despite playing more than twice as many minutes than Sesko (60 to 26), Gyokeres managed fewer touches in the opposition box (3 to 4) and not a single shot on goal (to Sesko's two). He obviously needs time to bed in and to be fair to him, other than a few Martin Odegaard moments, Arsenal weren't great at getting him the ball.
MartÃn Zubimendi didn't look fully match-fit either, which didn't help, but more generally, Arsenal looked like a side putting substance over style after taking the lead. It's fine, of course, until you remind yourself of the number of points they lost from winning positions last season, in part because rather than pushing forward and imposing themselves they looked to manage the game.
It's obviously week one, so you don't want to be hasty with your takes. What seems clear though is that given Gyokeres' skill set, you'd expect Mikel Arteta to tweak his team's approach: more crosses, more playing in transition, getting teammates closer to him.
Hansi Flick's criticism of his own players after 3-0 win feels over the top: there's no point in running up the score
Barcelona began their LaLiga campaign with a 3-0 away win against Mallorca on Saturday, but boss Hansi Flick wasn't happy with the way they played. "I didn't like the game," he said. "The points are important, but I didn't like the way we played at 50-percent intensity with two extra men and the two-goal advantage."
Ian Darke and Steve McManaman praise Lamine Yamal following his late goal during Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Mallorca in their first LaLiga game of the season.
Now, I'm all for coaches demanding 110 percent and all that jazz, and I get that Flick knows his players and what motivates them best, but this felt weird. Barca scored early with Lamine Yamal's surgical pass finding Raphinha, and then went 2-0 up with Ferran Torres in the 23rd minute. (They got more than a bit lucky with that second goal, which came with play continuing despite Mallorca's Antonio RaÃllo getting struck in the head by a Yamal shot and collapsing to the ground ... so much for head injury protocols.) By the 39th minute, Mallorca had two players sent off and it was, evidently, game over.
Now, 11 vs. 9 -- especially when you're already two goals up -- isn't football. It's a whole other thing. And demanding that your players execute and run into the ground in those conditions -- when it's August in Mallorca -- is a little silly. You're not going to drop points, and you're not really going to learn anything because you won't probably play 11 vs. 9 again this season. Why not take your foot off the gas a little, conserve energy and avoid injury?
And, maybe, while you're at it, celebrate some of the good things we saw at 11 vs. 11? Like Yamal already in top form. Or Torres showing (again) he can do the job as stand-in for the absent Robert Lewandowski. Or Ronald Araújo -- who is tapped for more minutes than many would like after Iñigo MartÃnez's departure -- looking competent against Vedat Muriqi.
Bayern Munich win German Supercup, but there's plenty of work to do
They celebrated with gusto, which is what teams managed by Vincent Kompany tend to do when they win. But the fact is this 2-1 win could have easily gone either way, with Deniz Undav and Nick Woltemade coming very close for Stuttgart. When your 39-year-old keeper has to come up huge more than once -- well, that's suboptimal. Especially when said keeper (Manuel Neuer, in case you've been living under a rock) has started fewer than half of Bayern's league games over the past three seasons for one reason or another.
There's an issue at right back, whether it's Sacha Boey or Konrad Laimer who should start, and of course, Josip Stanisic is a center back masquerading as a left back down the other flank. (Alphonso Davies will be back from injury, yes, but that won't be until December at the earliest), but the real issues are in the front four, where there's a Jamal Musiala-sized hole to be filled. Michael Olise can do a job there, but the pieces around that part of the pitch have to work, and there's little reason to think Serge Gnabry has much of anything left. I guess that's why Bayern have been so aggressive in their pursuit of Woltemade, though Stuttgart appear to have shut the door on that effort.
How will Bayern fix it? Well, if Woltemade (or another signing such as Christopher Nkunku) doesn't materialize, you're either looking at one of the youngsters (such as Tom Bischof or Lennart Karl) or, once Aleksandar Pavlovic is fit, you adjust your team into a formation that's something closer to a 4-3-3. After all, it's not written in stone that you have to go 4-2-3-1 even when Musiala isn't there.
There were bright spots. Jonathan Tah has fit in seamlessly at the back and Dayot Upamecano showed why he's a good match against someone like Woltemade. Harry Kane scored, Luis DÃaz looks sharp and motivated (and also scored, commemorating it with his former teammate Diogo Jota's PlayStation celebration) and the oft-criticised Leon Goretzka linked well with Joshua Kimmich in midfield. But there's no escaping that with Thomas Mueller, Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sané gone and only Diaz coming in so far, they're down several bodies in the final third.
Quick hits
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate if Tijjani Reijnders will be the signing of the season after scoring on his Manchester City debut.
10. Tijjani Reijnders shines in Man City's demolition of Wolves: Tijjani Reijnders was one of the best players in Serie A last season with Milan, so maybe we shouldn't be surprised that he would notch a goal and an assist -- and, really, the way he set up Oscar Bobb for Erling Haaland's opener ought to be worth one more assist -- in Saturday's 4-0 win. Conventional wisdom in Italy (and among some of the analytics guys) was that however gifted and productive, Reijnders was a "tweener" -- not quite a midfield playmaker, not quite a guy who can play in the hole. I'm glad Pep Guardiola saw right through this. Reijnders adds dynamism to a City side that already look more sprightly than it did last season. (Pep's decision to start Bobb and Jérémy Doku wide also suggests he's looking for directness.) Haaland getting off the mark straight out of the gate is also a good sign. Now just wait until Rodri comes back, which is expected after the September international break.
9. Nico Williams on fire to start the season for Athletic Club: He had the world at his feet after the Euros, but Bilbao watchers will tell you last season wasn't Nico Williams' finest. Maybe it was the crazy transfer valuations and the links away from the club; maybe it was just the fact that he was a 22-year-old who, in many ways, is still unpolished. That said, he delivered a statement performance in Athletic's 3-2 win over Sevilla. He won and converted a (generous, to say the least) penalty, delivered two assists and was a constant menace while on the pitch. It seems clear that Bilbao are making him the centerpiece of their attack (at least while Oihan Sancet is out) and he is seizing the opportunity. It's early, but this could be the year he consolidates his status.
8. Despite 0-0 draw, Newcastle are well ahead of Villa in clash of wannabe party-crashers: The Premier League's traditional "Big Six" have such a built-in advantage in terms of revenue and clout that it takes a superhuman effort or a superhuman screw-up (or both) for some other team to break into the mix. Both Aston Villa and Newcastle United managed it last season, and both have had a rough transfer summer (the former with a "dead" transfer window, the latter with the Alexander Isak saga). Performance-wise, Newcastle looked streets ahead when they met at Villa Park on Saturday. Villa couldn't manage a single shot at home in the first half. Morgan Rogers was off the pace, Youri Tielemans served up a reminder of why he's an 8 (or a 6) and not a 10, and Ezri Konsa foolishly got himself sent off. Unai Emery's side simply doesn't look right. Contrast this with Newcastle, who responded in the best possible way to Isak's absence. They deployed Anthony Gordon up front, they ran their hearts out, they could and should have scored a couple of goals.
7. Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leão on the mark for Milan as Max Allegri era begins: This is important because one of the keys you want when you bring in a new coach (especially one as highly paid as Allegri) is that your big players respond to him. Well, Pulisic and Leão are two of Milan's biggest and the early signs are positive. They teamed up up front in a 3-5-2 formation, and both scored (Pulisic also hit the crossbar) in the 2-0 Coppa Italia win over Bari at a sold-out San Siro on Sunday night. There are a ton of question marks over this Milan side -- their choice of Allegri, the arrival of Igli Tare as sporting director and plenty more known unknowns -- but what seems evident is that these two have to be at the center of the project and get along with the new boss. Leão (who came off with a muscular injury, although it seems to be just a precaution) had an exceptional preseason and you wonder if, with this scheme in place, the club really needs to go out and get another top-shelf forward when it already has Santi Gimenez.
Shaka Hislop explains why he's predicted Liverpool to be crowned Premier League champions again.
6. Bournemouth game confirms Arne Slot will have a big call to make at Liverpool: Last season, Liverpool's lone newcomer (Federico Chiesa) played a grand total of 108 league minutes. This season, Arne Slot has new fullbacks (Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong) and new attackers (Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike) in his starting XI. And because the new starters have different skill sets to the ones (Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Núñez, Luis Diaz) they replaced, the style and approach is being tweaked too. Some of it makes sense and is inevitable. Frimpong is a north-to-south recycled winger, not the creative recycled midfielder that Alexander-Arnold was. Kerkez doesn't have the defensive wiles of Andrew Robertson (at least not yet: he's only 21). But sticking Wirtz at No. 10 in a 4-2-3-1 seems more like a high-risk/high-reward roll of the dice. It's not where he played most of his career, and certainly not with fullbacks like these. Crucially, it leaves Liverpool with two midfielders to patrol the middle of the field and provide cover for the marauding wide defenders, which is a huge ask. We saw it against Palace in the Community Shield and, again, Friday night in the 4-2 win. Slot might be able to make it work -- and it might all be fine once Ryan Gravenberch returns -- but it's going to take time to build the sort of chemistry and there are no guarantees. The question is how long he devotes to this "project" if the performances aren't immediately forthcoming.
5. We get confirmation that Thomas Frank's Tottenham will be shape-shifting this season: Against mighty Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup last midweek, Frank played only two attacking players, gave up possession and parked the bus. At home to overmatched Burnley, Frank replaced a center back with a forward, switched from a 5-3-2 formation to 4-3-3 and had 67% of the ball in a 3-0 win. We saw Frank do this at Brentford last season -- conservative against the big clubs, marauding against his peers -- and this would suggest we'll see it this season. While some managers at big clubs do make tweaks based on the opposition, you don't see such radical changes often from heavyweights (or, after last season's 17th-place finish, would-be heavyweights). Partly because they value chemistry, partly -- you suspect -- because they see adjusting to the other teams a sign of weakness. Frank, who started his career at 21 coaching an Under-8s team, has no such hang-ups. In that sense, he's a model of humility relative to some of his peers.
Shaka Hislop and Mark Donaldson discuss Mohammed Kudus' performance in Tottenhams 3-0 win over Burnley, in which he contributed with 2 assists.
4. Paris Saint-Germain's B-Team get three points with a deflected goal as their "preseason" continues: Yeah, that's what Luis Enrique calls it, and you can see why. The Club World Cup means they've only been in training for 10 days or so, which is why he's rotating his team as if we were in the middle of training camp and this was some friendly. Hence the nine changes from the Super Cup side for the visit to Rennes. Lucky him that he has that luxury -- unlike Chelsea, Real Madrid and other teams that went deep into the Club World Cup. On the pitch, the second string took their time to break down Rennes. It only happened after Luis Enrique was forced to send on the cavalry (Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé) and thanks to a deflected Vitinha shot for a 1-0 final score, but that has more to do with Rennes shutting up shop than the B-team playing poorly.
3. Antoine Semenyo is racially abused and immediate action is taken, which is how it's supposed to work: It's obviously not something to celebrate or accept in any way, but since these things do happen, the next best thing is that they be dealt with immediately. And that's what occurred when Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo was racially abused by someone in the stands half an hour into their game at Anfield on Friday. He alerted referee Anthony Taylor, who applied the protocol. The game was stopped, an anti-racism message came over the loudspeakers, and the abuser was apprehended (police arrested him on "suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence"). Semenyo himself said: "Last night at Anfield will stay with me forever not because of one person's words, but because how the entire football family stood together." He's right. Let's leave the discourse about societal problems to one side for a minute (that's not football's job) and focus instead on what we can do -- and what we should demand -- in our stadiums: clear rules against racist abuse that get applied swiftly and effectively. That's what happened at Anfield, and that sends a message.
2. Diego Simeone's substitutions backfire as Atletico let lead slip at Espanyol: Simeone has put results and substance over style and performance for much of his career, so he can't use a dominant first half from Atletico to put a positive spin on this one. They were 1-0 up and cruising with five newcomers on the pitch, and they threw it all away in a wretched second half tolose 3-2. Maybe it's reductive to put it down to his substitutions, but taking off Conor Gallagher and Johnny Cardoso for Koke and Pablo Barrios backfired badly, though the real damage came in the last 20 minutes, after he sent on Antoine Griezmann and Jack Raspadori. Espanyol, who were nearly relegated last season, hit them twice and condemned them to their opening defeat. Too much upheaval when you're trying to see out a game -- something you rightly pride yourself on -- can be a very dangerous thing.
Steve Nicol gives his thoughts on where Chelsea still need to improve following their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
1. After a flat Chelsea are held in opener by Crystal Palace, should we blame the Club World Cup? Or maybe we should praise Crystal Palace, who showed against Liverpool in the Community Shield what they can do when they have their big stars in place? (However, it might not be the case for much longer, given rumors surrounding Eberechi Eze and Marc Guéhi.) It's probably a bit of both. It can't be a coincidence that Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain and now Chelsea -- all of whom went deep in the Club World Cup -- all looked off the mark in their early outings. Preseason training has been compressed, and you pay a price for that. In Chelsea's case, you also pay a price for the fact that you have brand-new wingers and center forwards and you run into a well-drilled team that could have won this game if Eze's free kick hadn't been (correctly) disallowed. A bit like last season, it's going to take manager Enzo Maresca a while to give Chelsea their identity. Unlike last season, he has a deeper squad with fewer holes in it.