Donyell Malen, Roma and Fiorentina
24 August 2026

Donyell Malen opened the Serie A season with a hat-trick as Roma beat Fiorentina 4-0 at the Olimpico. The Dutch forward scored once in the first half and twice after the break, sending Roma to the top of the table.

Malen broke the deadlock in the 27th minute and added two more within a second-half quarter-hour before Niccolo Pisilli scored Roma’s fourth. The performance followed Malen’s permanent €25 million move from Aston Villa after a productive loan spell.

Brighton and Aston Villa
Sunday

Brighton thrashed Aston Villa 4-0 at the Amex Stadium after Villa produced a disastrous first half featuring an own goal, repeated defensive errors and a red card. New signing Joao Gomes was dismissed on his Premier League debut before the interval.

Villa entered the match amid major squad turnover and uncertainty around Ollie Watkins, then repeatedly gifted Brighton chances while attempting to play out. Gomes compounded the collapse with a reckless dismissal, leaving Unai Emery’s reshaped side facing an alarming opening-weekend defeat.

Manchester City and Bournemouth
Sunday

Manchester City scored twice in the final minutes to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League match in charge. Marc Guehi equalised in the 84th minute before Josko Gvardiol completed the comeback in stoppage time.

Bournemouth had led through Marcus Tavernier and were close to handing City consecutive defeats after the Community Shield. Maresca unusually deployed centre-back Guehi in holding midfield, and the gamble paid off when he headed City’s equaliser before Gvardiol struck the winner.

Newcastle United and Liverpool
Sunday

Liverpool rescued a 2-2 draw at Newcastle through Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute penalty after twice falling behind. Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock scored for Newcastle, while Cody Gakpo had earlier equalised for Andoni Iraola’s side on the opening Premier League weekend.

Newcastle were moments from victory when Lewis Hall fouled Liverpool debutant Victor Munoz inside the box. VAR upheld Stuart Attwell’s penalty decision and Szoboszlai converted, denying Matthias Jaissle a winning Premier League managerial debut and giving Liverpool a dramatic late point.

Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes and Ferran Torres
Sunday

Paris Saint-Germain recovered from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Rennes in their Ligue 1 opener, with new signing Ferran Torres scoring twice in the second half. Rennes had led through Sebastian Szymanski and Esteban Lepaul.

Torres transformed the match after PSG struggled to break down Rennes and looked headed for another defeat following their French Super Cup loss. The €50m arrival from Barcelona struck twice in quick succession to secure Luis Enrique’s side an opening-round point.

Barcelona and Elche
Sunday

Barcelona opened their La Liga title defence with a 5-0 victory away to Elche. Raphinha scored twice, Karim Adeyemi netted on his league debut, and Anthony Gordon produced two assists after coming on for his first competitive Barcelona appearance.

Hansi Flick started without new midfielder Rodri but Barcelona still overwhelmed Elche and began their pursuit of a third consecutive league title emphatically. Fermin Lopez added two goals, while Gordon immediately showed his value after replacing a starter in the second half.

Real Madrid, Espanyol and Carlos Espi
Saturday

Real Madrid opened Jose Mourinho’s second spell with a 2-1 win at Espanyol after substitute Carlos Espi scored in the 90th minute. Jude Bellingham struck inside nine minutes before Alex Calatrava equalised for the hosts before half-time.

Madrid pushed for a winner throughout the second half and finally broke through after Kylian Mbappe lost possession inside the area, allowing Espi to finish the loose ball. The 21-year-old scored only ten minutes after entering as a substitute.

Hull City and Manchester United
Saturday

Hull City marked their Premier League return with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United, their first top-flight league win against United since 1974. First-half goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy gave Sergej Jakirovic’s newly promoted side a famous opening-day result.

Hull targeted United’s vulnerability at set pieces and outworked Michael Carrick’s team, who created little despite Marcus Rashford’s half-time introduction. The defeat also became United’s first opening-day Premier League loss against a newly promoted opponent.

Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday

Brentford beat Tottenham 3-0 in their Premier League opener as Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode scored at the Gtech Community Stadium. Spurs collapsed despite giving competitive debuts to several expensive summer signings under Roberto De Zerbi.

Brentford dominated the physical duels and repeatedly exposed Tottenham’s defence, while Igor Thiago even missed a penalty. De Zerbi admitted his team failed to fight properly, leaving Spurs with a damaging first test after another major summer rebuild.

Johor Darul Ta’zim and Kuching City
Friday

Johor Darul Ta’zim have set a world record for the longest unbeaten run in men’s domestic league football after beating Kuching City 3-0. The Malaysian champions reached 109 consecutive league matches without defeat, surpassing ASEC Mimosas’ 32-year-old record.

JDT had equalled the previous mark of 108 games in last season’s finale and had to wait until the new campaign to break it. The achievement accompanies a record 12 consecutive Malaysian league titles under the club’s dominant modern era.