Premier League opening weekend: Stats & stories you might have missed

The 2024/25 Premier League season has begun and is shaping up to be exciting.

Manchester United and Liverpool kicked things off with wins over Fulham and Ipswich, while Arsenal also had a strong victory over Wolves.

Three other games occurred at 3 p.m. before the late match between West Ham and Aston Villa in East London.

With much focus placed on Portland Road and the Emirates Stadium, it’s understandable if events elsewhere go unnoticed. But don’t fret; Squawka is here to summarise those other fixtures.

Everton 0-3 Brighton

It’s tough being an Everton fan right now. They had the first shot on target in the fourth minute thanks to Jack Harrison, but couldn’t manage another shot on target for the rest of the game. Brighton won 3-0, marking Everton’s biggest defeat in an opening game of a Premier League season since 2009-10, when they lost 6-1 at home to Arsenal under David Moyes.

In addition, they have lost their first Premier League game in the last three seasons, despite being undefeated on Matchday 1 in each of the previous ten seasons. The situation was not helped when Ashley Young, at 39 years and 39 days old, became the oldest player to be sent off in a Premier League match.

Meanwhile, his former United teammate Danny Welbeck has now scored in 16 different Premier League campaigns, placing him in the company of only six players who have scored in more seasons (Ryan Giggs 21, Paul Scholes 19, Frank Lampard 18, John Terry 17, Jermain Defoe 17, James Milner 17).

Furthermore, by assisting Simon Adingra, the former England international has now been involved in more Premier League goals against Everton than against any other opponent (10 – five goals and five assists). It was also a noteworthy occasion for another ex-Three Lion, James Milner, who has appeared in 23 different Premier League seasons, more than any other player in the competition’s history.

Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler couldn’t have asked for a better start. Born in February 1993, he became the first manager to take charge of a Premier League game who was born after the league’s inception.

Newcastle 1-0 Southampton

Eddie Howe will undoubtedly praise his team’s resilience after ten-man Newcastle took the lead against Southampton and held on to win.

This is impressive considering that recently promoted Southampton had 19 attempts on goal, their highest in a Premier League game without scoring since May 2022 against Brentford (also 19), while Newcastle only managed three shots, their lowest in a Premier League victory since defeating Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth (1-0) with just two attempts in November 2015.

Fabian Schär’s red card in the 28th minute put Newcastle on the back foot. This was the fifth time a Newcastle player had been sent off on Matchday One of a Premier League season. Only Arsenal (six) have received more opening-round sending-offs, and it was the earliest dismissal for Newcastle in a Premier League campaign.

Even with a man down, Alexander Isak proved to be essential. The striker set up Joelinton’s winning goal, meaning he has been directly involved in 16 goals (13 goals and three assists) in the Premier League in 2024. Only Cole Palmer (21) and Kai Havertz (17) have been involved in more this year. Additionally, Isak’s assist in the final game of the 2023/24 season means he has created goals in consecutive Premier League games for the first time – as many as he provided for his Newcastle teammates in his previous 51 games combined (2).

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth

Some have Nottingham Forest pegged for another season of struggle and potentially as a relegation candidate. Snatching points from the jaws of victory at home will not do for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side. Things were shaping up nicely when Kiwi centre-forward Chris Wood scored on Matchday 1 of a Premier League season for three different sides (Leicester City and Burnley also); only Teddy Sheringham (5) and Les Ferdinand (4) have done so more often in the competition’s history.

But that lead, earned in the 23rd minute, was relinquished with four minutes remaining when Antoine Semenyo netted his fourth goal in his last eight Premier League away games after just one goal in his first 16 such games. It means Forest are without a win in their opening league game in any of their last seven seasons (two draws and five losses), with this being the first time they’ve avoided defeat since a 1-1 draw with Bristol City in the Championship in 2018-19.

Even more concerning is that since the start of last season, only Brentford (30) has dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League than Forest (28), with 15 coming at home, the joint-most in the competition in that spell.

As for Bournemouth, who lost their leading goalscorer Dominic Solanke this summer, Liverpool (12) are on a longer ongoing unbeaten run in their opening game of a Premier League season, with the Cherries unbeaten in their last five such games (two wins and three draws).