10 THINGS WE LEARNED in the Premier League this weekend
Tottenham are here to entertain, Man United are given an early wake-up call, and Mikel Arteta must find balance in midfield… 10 THINGS WE LEARNED from the Premier League’s open weekend
- It was an entertaining opening weekend of the 2023-24 Premier League season
- Man City began their title defence with a win and there was plenty of VAR drama
- WATCH: ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ – Episode 1 – Mail Sport’s brand new football show
The Premier League returned with a bang at the weekend as the 2023-24 campaign finally got underway.
We were treated to 28 goals across 10 enthralling games, plenty of entertaining moments and of course, there was also VAR drama.
Manchester City kicked off their title defence in comfortable fashion with a 3-0 win against newly-promoted Burnley, while Newcastle and Brighton picked up thumping victories.
Arsenal, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Manchester United also secured three points to start the season, while we witnessed two entertaining draws on Sunday between Brentford and Tottenham, and Chelsea and Liverpool.
Here, Mail Sport dissects the key talking points from a gripping opening weekend of action in the Premier League.
The Premier League returned with a bang as the 2023-24 campaign finally got underway
Newcastle secured a thumping 5-1 victory over Aston Villa to begin the season in fine fashion
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New-look Spurs are here to entertain
It has been a bruising year for Tottenham fans with this season set to be their first since 2009-10 in which they will not have some form of European football to watch, following a dismal and chaotic campaign last term that saw them go through three managers.
There’s been off-field drama over the summer, while the club’s greatest-ever player Harry Kane also departed to Bayern Munich for £100m.
This all meant Sunday’s trip to Brentford felt like a daunting task, but Ange Postecoglou’s new-look side provided plenty of reasons for optimism.
The Bees have a brilliant home record, losing just twice at the Gtech Community Stadium in 2022-23 and Tottenham’s 2-2 draw was therefore a positive way to begin the campaign.
But it was the manner of the performance that most caught the eye, with Spurs displaying an entertaining and progressive style of play that has been missing in recent years during the abrasive days of Antonio Conte, Nuno Espirito Santo and Jose Mourinho.
New signing James Maddison – who joined from Leicester for £40m – was integral, and there were similarly encouraging performances from the likes of Destiny Ugodie and Yves Bissouma.
Spurs averaged just 50 per cent possession and 13.95 shots-per-game last season, but they had 70 per cent of the ball on Sunday and took 18 shots on Brentford’s goal in a sign of things to come.
Tottenham put in an impressive and entertaining performance against Brentford on Sunday
Arsenal need to find midfield balance
It was job done for Arsenal as they got their season off to the perfect start with a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest.
However, Mikel Arteta’s decision to play Thomas Partey as an inverted right-back didn’t quite pay off as, despite a promising first-half display that saw them go two goals ahead, the Gunners faded as the game went on.
Their build-up play was often too slow as Arteta tried to fit in several midfield options with new signings Declan Rice and Kai Havertz also lining up in the starting XI.
Forest grew into the match and Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White were guilty of missing good chances as Partey was also exposed defensively by the searing pace of second half substitutes Anthony Elanga and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Arsenal deserved the win, but a bit of tweaking from Arteta to get his stars in the positions that suit them best may be needed going forward.
Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 on Saturday but failed to find the right balance in midfield
Early wake-up call for Man United
The summer has rightfully seen much talk about how Man United are ready to go to the next level after a near £200m outlay on Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund, strengthening the spine of Erik ten Hag’s side.
This led to much excitement ahead of their season opener against supposed ‘crisis club’ Wolves on Monday.
But, despite the 1-0 victory, it was a lucky escape for United. They were well below par, with Gary O’Neil’s side putting in a superb display that saw them miss a whole host of gilt-edged chances.
Man United beat Wolves 1-0 at Old Trafford but it was an unconvincing United performance
They were also lucky Andre Onana didn’t concede a late penalty for wiping out Sasa Kalajdzic
Before Raphael Varane’s winner 14 minutes from time, United had hardly created any opportunities and they were lucky that Onana didn’t concede a late penalty for clattering into Sasa Kalajdzic.
But the Cameroonian stopper did impress on his debut, making a string of fine saves as Wolves had 23 shots to United’s 15 and Ten Hag will hope for improvements over the coming weeks as his team settle into the season ahead.
Don’t rule Newcastle out!
Much of the pre-season Premier League predictions focused around a revitalised and renewed Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United and their potential to push Arsenal and Manchester City for the top two places.
But those who are planning to overlook last season’s fourth-place team, Newcastle, should do so at their peril.
Eddie Howe’s side provided everyone with a reminder of what a danger they pose with a scintillating 5-1 thrashing of Aston Villa at a boisterous St James’ Park on Saturday night.
Last season they had the joint-best defensive record in the top flight and their squad has been boosted with the additions of Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento.
Barnes and Tonali both scored on debut and the Magpies were simply superb as their intensity overwhelmed a Villa side who have been hotly-tipped to keep on improving under Unai Emery.
Newcastle began their season in scintillating fashion with a superb 5-1 thrashing of Aston Villa
Man City are here to do it all over again
After their third successive year losing in the Community Shield, the same old questions emerged regarding whether Man City will be able to keep up their incredible record that has seen them win five of the last six Premier League titles.
There is also the added intrigue of whether the motivation is still there among Pep Guardiola’s squad following a historic Treble-winning campaign in 2022-23.
It took just four minutes in Friday’s Premier League opener at Burnley to quell those doubts as Erling Haaland smashed them into the lead.
While they weren’t at their best at Turf Moor and had to withstand spells of pressure, it was a reminder of the quality they possess and how – despite key departures of the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez – their stocks have been suitably replenished with the arrivals of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic.
It was a perfect start to the campaign and as we know with City, they are a relentless side in their pursuit of success and will only get better as the season progresses.
Man City comfortably held off the challenge of newly-promoted Burnley with a 3-0 victory
No Toney, no problem
It is a big blow for Brentford to be missing Ivan Toney until mid-January after he was banned for breaching FA betting rules, with the striker having scored 32 goals across their two seasons in the Premier League.
However, in Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, they have two more-than-able deputies and both forwards showed their undoubted talent in their 2-2 draw against Tottenham on Sunday.
Not only did the pair regularly get in behind Spurs’ high line and cause them all sorts of problems, but they also scored.
They have a remarkable record in Toney’s absence with Mbeumo scoring six times and Wissa five in the last six games the Bees have played without their talisman.
Wissa has shown his clinical touch ever since joining Thomas Frank’s side in 2021, with the DR Congo forward netting his 15 league goals at a rate of one every 196 minutes – a statistic that almost matches Toney’s 32 every 183 minutes.
Yoane Wissa (left) and Bryan Mbeumo (right) showed Brentford can cope without Ivan Toney
Everton need to find goals
It was the same old story on the opening day for Everton as despite an impressive performance against Fulham, they were thwarted by a combination of Bernd Leno’s excellence and extremely wasteful finishing, while they also had a goal dubiously ruled out.
The Toffees have been hampered by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s poor injury record in recent years as after netting 29 goals in 69 games across 2019-20 and 2020-21, the striker has been limited to just 34 appearances since then.
He was absent again at the weekend and was badly missed, with Sean Dyche’s side losing 1-0 despite racking up an xG of 2.53 to Fulham’s 1.41.
Neal Maupay – who has scored one Premier League goal since joining the club last summer – missed multiple one-on-one opportunities, while Nathan Patterson somehow hit the crossbar from just yards out.
Everton have made some decent attacking signings this summer in Arnaut Danjuma, Jack Harrison and young striker Youssef Chermiti, but they desperately need to find a way to hit the back of the net if they are to avoid another season of struggle.
Sean Dyche’s Everton side lost their opener 1-0 to Fulham despite racking up an xG of 2.53
Plenty to build on for Mauricio Pochettino
Despite spending more than £600m on 18 players last season, Chelsea finished in the bottom half of the table for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign and a huge task was awaiting Mauricio Pochettino upon his arrival on July 1.
The Argentine will therefore be pleased with his side’s performance in their 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Sunday, in more than one way.
Not only did they play some good football with impressive contributions from the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Ben Chilwell and new signing Nicolas Jackson, but they showed resilience to grow into the game after being faced with an early onslaught from the Reds.
At 1-0 down, Mohamed Salah had a goal chalked off, before Axel Disasi equalised and then Ben Chilwell similarly had an effort ruled out for offside.
Blues supporters left Stamford Bridge feeling optimistic at their new-look side and they would have been impressed with all their new boys, along with the returning Levi Colwill in defence, who looked every inch an England defender.
Mauricio Pochettino will take plenty of positives from his first game in charge of Chelsea
Liverpool’s need for a defensive midfielder is urgent
If Sunday’s opener with Chelsea is to provide a snapshot of the way Liverpool will play this season, we are in for a treat.
For the first 35 minutes, Jurgen Klopp’s side were electric as their extremely attacking line-up went forward at breathtaking speed and intensity, while Salah’s pass for Luis Diaz’s opener was eye-catching.
If Salah hadn’t been an inch offside minutes later after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defence-splitting ball, they could have been eyeing up an early season thrashing.
However, to their credit, Chelsea fought back into the game and were more than a match for the Reds who faded as the game went on, while their lack of defensive protection was also exposed.
Alexis Mac Allister featured at the base of midfield, behind Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, but with Alexander-Arnold’s hybrid role tucking inside, it meant the Blues could regularly get forward and expose their opponents.
Missing out on both Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo is a huge blow, and signing a defensive midfielder is imperative if Liverpool are to challenge Man City this year, while it will also ensure they get the best out of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai by allowing them to play further forward.
Alexis Mac Allister played well on debut, but Liverpool have to bring in a defensive midfielder
Newly-promoted teams could be in for a tough year
It was a chastening introduction to the top flight for Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton with the three promoted teams all losing by a combined score of 1-8.
The Clarets did show signs of their qualities in defeat to Man City, and having invested heavily in 10 new signings, they are likely to have the best chance of survival.
Unfortunately for the Blades, Paul Heckingbottom’s side continue to be hampered by financial and off-field problems engulfing the club, which only highlights what an achievement it was to get promoted last season.
Luton had a tough introduction to the Premier League as they were thrashed 4-1 by Brighton
Their limitations in the market have meant they lost both Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye – two of their best players – although no trip to Bramall Lane will be easy this season.
Meanwhile, Luton would admit they weren’t at their best against Brighton with some dreadful defensive errors, but they were thoroughly outclassed by Roberto De Zerbi’s side at the Amex Stadium.
Rob Edwards has backed up-and-coming players, with six of his seven signings having played in the Championship or below last season, and Ross Barkley will provide much needed Premier League experience and quality when fully fit.
Paul Heckingbottom faces a tough task at Sheffield United after losing two of his best players
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