“This was a happy homecoming for Andoni Iraola. Liverpool’s head coach did not have to wait long into the new season to return to his former club Bournemouth and he will have taken huge satisfaction in claiming a 1-0 victory, even if the performance was not always convincing. The crucial moment came in the 57th minute as Alexander Isak swept in from close range after Cody Gakpo’s cross deflected into his path. After that it was down to the defence to close out a third consecutive league clean sheet — the first time they have achieved that since the start of the 2024-25 campaign — to secure the points. …”
NYT/ATH
YouTube: Bournemouth v. Liverpool | PREMIER LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
Bournemouth 0 Liverpool 1: Isak seals vital win but is Jacquet player of the season so far?
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“Arsenal’s turbo-charged start to the new season has come to a shuddering halt. The Premier League champions’ perfect record across all competitions was shredded by a 3-0 defeat at an inspired Brighton & Hove Albion, who celebrated their 125th anniversary (an occasion which saw them wear a special edition shirt) in style. The hosts were simply too intense for Arsenal to handle. They were 2-0 down by half-time courtesy of long-range strikes by Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas and the game was effectively killed off by Chema Andres’ header early in the second period. Kai Havertz saw one effort saved by Bart Verbruggen in an otherwise toothless performance by Mikel Arteta’s side. …”
“WHEN Leicester City won the Premier League in 2016, it was something of a modern fairy-tale. The club was not what anyone would have classified as small, but Leicester were not accustomed to silverware and they were largely in the shadows of bigger, more-resourced rivals. The successful squad of 2016 was built on a budget, but a hard-working, committed team deservedly finished as champions. It was a triumph for honest endeavour and a core unit that included a decent goalkeeper, solid defenders, one or two outstanding midfielders and a difficult-to-handle striker in the form of his career. The hub of the squad cost no more than £ 40 million, a small percentage of the money spent by the usual title contenders. It seemed too good to be true. …”
“Five o’clock Saturday, the Riverside Stadium and Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg is fist-pumping a half-bewildered but fully enthused home crowd. A helter-skelter 4-3 win against Norwich City has been secured in added time. In the directors’ box, owner-chairman Steve Gibson blows out his cheeks while a euphoric stadium falls over itself with happiness and relief. This really mattered. 
“THERE are surprise early leaders in the Bundesliga in the form of Freiburg, who won 5-0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach, taking their tally for the season to 10 goals in three games. Freiburg’s Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanovic scored two apiece. After the game, Gladbach’s third defeat of the campaign, coach Eugen Polanski became the first Bundesliga coach to be sacked this season. Polanski was appointed a year ago and had a win rate of 29.73% in his 37 games with Gladbach. Borussia Dortmund also maintained their 100% record with a 3-0 win against Paderborn with goals from Serhou Guirassy, Maximilian Beier and Marcel Sabitzer. Bayern Munich made hard work of beating newly-promoted Elversberg, who fell to their first defeat since arriving in the top flight. Harry Kane and Lennart Karl scored Bayern’s goals. Augsburg kept pace with the leaders but were denied a 2-1 win by a last-minute goal from Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick. Frankfurt picked up their first win at Mainz with Can Uzun netting twice in a 3-1 win. …”
“Dominik Szoboszlai’s sensational strike sealed Liverpool’s progress into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup via a 3-1 home win against Tottenham, with all three goals being particularly impressive. With Spurs searching for a late equaliser, the Hungary international connected sweetly on the half-volley with Cody Gakpo’s pass looped from 25 yards out, giving goalkeeper Martin Dubravka no chance. 
“After the opening weekend of this season, the Premier League trumpeted a record of 100 per cent accuracy in key decisions made by match officials. Across those first 10 games, it listed 21 key match incidents (KMIs), ranging from penalty appeals and potential red-card challenges to goals being double-checked for possible offside. The league’s KMI panel agreed that the on-field officials had made correct decisions in 18 of the 21 cases — and that ‘following VAR intervention, 100 per cent of calls were deemed correct’. But that wasn’t quite the case. …”
“While London has a host of top-flight clubs and Liverpool have been regular contenders, the story of the 
“The Manchester derby was dominated by two controversial refereeing calls, with the goal from Erling Haaland — finally given after a long VAR check — proving decisive in City’s 1-0 away win. That came after an hour, with the striker looking offside as he slotted home a Josko Gvardiol cross, only for VAR to find him onside due to the position of United defender Patrick Dorgu’s foot as the ball came in. It was also decided that a diving Enzo Fernandez did not interfere with play as he tried to head the cross in before Haaland’s back-post finish. On Sunday evening, 
“A below-par Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw by Fulham at Anfield, a result which maintains their unbeaten start to the season but will surely be viewed as a missed opportunity. The visitors had lost their opening three Premier League games and have looked vulnerable defensively under former Liverpool right-back Alvaro Arbeloa, but Andoni Iraola’s side could not take advantage. There was a full league debut for Bradley Barcola but he had a quiet afternoon as the home side failed to follow up their Champions League victory against Atletico Madrid with another win. …”
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“ASK any fan from the north and they will tell you the real passion in the game is found in cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. It is true these locations have long been at the heart of the sport and to some extent, the capital city was an underachieving metropolis for many years. But in terms of seats sold at matches and the number of football clubs – at all levels – London is a major hub in every sense of the word. In fact, according to historian and stadium expert Simon Inglis, only Argentina’s Buenos Aires can boast a greater football presence. …”
“If things had worked out differently, 
“Welcome to week three of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — a ranking system that really does not appreciate tightly-contested matches. In case you missed 
“THE first ‘big six’ clash of the season saw two clubs with a 100% record come face-to-face. Arsenal played host to Chelsea at the Emirates but the hosts received a shock in the first minute when Morgan Rogers netted his second goal since arriving from Aston Villa. Former Chelsea man Kai Havertz scored the equaliser in the 25th minute with a shot that goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez should probably have stopped and the game was clinched by Martin Ødegaard in the 50th. Arsenal showed they are out to retain their title and Chelsea suggested they are a better equipped side than last season, but they are still some way from being contenders. Manchester City also have a 100% record after beating Coventry City with a goal from Erling Haaland. Liverpool secured their first win under new manager Andoni Iraola as they beat Ipswich Town at Portman Road (pictured). …”
Torino’s Nikola Vlasic equalises from the spot against Inter Milan in Serie A
“Welcome to week two of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — the sort of ranking system Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage refuses to take any comfort from. In case you missed 
“Newcastle’s 2-0 win away to Tottenham Hotspur confirmed more than just Matthias Jaissle’s first victory as head coach. Three weeks after replacing Eddie Howe, this performance and result showed that Jaissle’s side have a clearer and better tactical identity than Spurs under Roberto De Zerbi — who is nearly five months into his tenure. Newcastle were not box office, but they were organised and effective. Inside a minute they showed their game plan, when No 6 Nico Gonzalez hit a diagonal ball from deep to advancing right-back Amar Dedic. The narrow positioning of winger Anthony Elanga, who occupied Spurs left-back Andy Robertson, created an overload. …”
“The map shows the average attendance of the 20 clubs that comprise the 2026-27 Premier League. The main map [of England & Wales] shows the locations of 14 of the clubs; the Inset-map shows the locations of the 6 clubs that are based in Greater London. The larger the club’s average attendance from last season [2025-26], the larger their circle-and-badge are on the map. Each club’s home venue-name, and regional location, are also shown. Clubs are grouped by region (that is, by City or County). One other detail on the map is that all 3 promoted clubs are indicated by small green-lined boxes. The 3 the relegated clubs from last season are also indicated on the map, by red-lined boxes. (Promoted from the 2025-26 EFL Championship: Coventry City, Ipswich Town, Hull City. Relegated from the 2025-26 Premier League: West Ham United, Burnley, Wolverhampton Wanderers.) …”
“Outside the Tollington Arms, Steve Chandler is in full flow. On the back of his replica shirt is the number 26 and a single word, “Champions” and, on the front of his head, lips are flapping overtime. Pint in hand, Steve is telling anyone who will listen that the first word he spoke as a kid was ‘Gooner’ (a slang term for an Arsenal fan). … After a brutal summer, London is parched, but the Tollington specialises in quenching and the mood is just as it should be: loose and liquid. Over the opening weekend of the Premier League season, versions of this conversation are ubiquitous across the country — in pubs, queues at burger vans, stadiums, online, at home. We are hopeful and fearful and excited precisely because, in this moment of not knowing, you can invest in possibility. …”
“First things first, this isn’t the official Premier League table. It’s a performance one that will be updated weekly, which means you can go from top to bottom, and vice versa, in the space of seven days. There’s a clean slate at the start of each gameweek, which will be good news for some clubs — Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at this rate. Results matter, but when deciding where to rank teams from one to 20, we’ll be looking primarily at how well they played last time out, which means dissecting (or, in the case of this weekend, watching) every Premier League game. If nothing else, it will provide you with a snapshot of how each team performed in the 2026-27 Premier League, week by week. And, naturally, you’ll be in full agreement with every summary, given that it’s a totally subjective process. …”
“For an opening-game upset of the season, Hull City’s win at home against 20-time champions Manchester United was rather convincing. They were 2-0 up after 38 minutes and managed the game with control and comfort in the second half to see out a statement victory. Not a bad start for the Championship play-off winners up against last season’s third-place side, especially as they have the least ‘valuable’ squad in the Premier League, 
“There was a period in the early 1990s during Kevin Keegan’s first, electrifying spell as Newcastle United manager when he and assistant Terry McDermott would turn up at St James’ Park at 10.30 on Saturday mornings for 3pm kick-offs. The pair would inspect the pitch, assess the level of watering and chat to the groundsman. St James’ was open then at both ends, vulnerable to the wind and rain blowing down the Tyne Valley. Keegan and McDermott were European Cup winners. Looking around, Keegan said it was ‘more like a bus shelter than a football stadium.’ But, as Keegan’s impact upon Newcastle — the club and the city — rose, the dilapidated ground changed, too. As it shed its old skin, St James’ became a visible focal point on the modern skyline. It still is. …”
“Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement 13 years ago, 
“Last season was the greatest Aston Villa have enjoyed since they 
“Friday evening brings the return of the Premier League and, with it, nine more months of twists and turns, quality and controversy, and, for fans of the 20 clubs involved, more ups and downs than a FIFA president’s private jet during a World Cup. Eyes will be focused on the pitch but plenty of attention will be spared for matters off it too, and not only because there’s a summer transfer window with a week and a half left to run. Football’s richest, most-watched league will resume proceedings with its clubs subject to new financial rules, ones set to shape events in the 2026-27 season — and well beyond. Profit and sustainability rules (PSR), first introduced in 2013, are out; squad cost ratio (SCR) rules are in. So too, to less fanfare, are sustainability and systemic resilience (SSR) rules. At a vote by Premier League clubs in November 2025, the shift to an SCR regime was passed — barely. Fourteen clubs, the minimum needed to approve rule changes, voted in favour: Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Leeds United were the dissenting six. …”
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish thinks the rules impede aspirational clubs
Robin Roefs makes a save for Sunderland in a Premier League game Robin Roefs’ form for Sunderland in 2025-26 played a big part in their Premier League survival 
Referee Jarred Gillett signals for time wasting Referee Jarred Gillett signals for time wasting last season
Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland
Through on goal, beating the goalkeeper — a familiar sight for Ismaila Sarr
“At a train station pub six miles north east of Birmingham, England, Andy Lyden looks over a patent application he had almost forgotten existed for a concept that later changed football. The West Bromwich Albion supporter and his Aston Villa-supporting friend Dave Evans filed it from Evans’ kitchen table in their hometown of Sutton Coldfield in May 1998. Their system would track players, detect possible offsides and alert referees almost instantly, which they hoped would make football decisions more accurate. While football would not approve goal-line technology until 2012, conduct its first official semi-live video assistant referee (VAR) trial until 2016 or introduce semi-automated offside at a World Cup until 2022, Lyden and Evans had imagined elements of all three. Not only that, but they also warned that frame-by-frame video reviews would slow the sport down, damaging its tempo and atmosphere. …”
“The 2026–27 Premier League will be the 35th season of the 
Liverpool v Crystal Palace – Anfield, Liverpool, Britain – April 25, 2026
“The 2025-26 Premier League season is done and dusted — so what better time than right now to predict who will win it next time? Arsenal were crowned champions, overcoming Manchester City and improving on three consecutive seasons finishing as runners-up, and Mikel Arteta’s team look like they’ll enter 2026-27 with momentum and stability in their favour. City are coming to terms with the new era following the departure of the iconic Pep Guardiola, and they hope to replace him with Enzo Maresca, while Manchester United will continue under the stewardship of Michael Carrick, who succeeded Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford and oversaw their turnaround in the second half of the season. …”
Crystal Palace: love a long throw
“Andy Mitten recently re-completed ‘the 92’ — that is seeing a game at all the current football grounds in England’s top four tiers. Before the final weekend of the season, Andy, who has visited more than 600 stadiums at all levels, tells us his best and worst aspects of each of the Premier League venues. Andy, if you didn’t know, is a Manchester United supporter. … Liverpool – Anfield Like: The way Liverpool have redeveloped and expanded Anfield, bit by bit, pushing the capacity from 44,000 to 61,000. It was needed. Liverpool stalled in the 1990s as their main rivals United aggressively expanded Old Trafford, but they’ve made a smart job of it since with four distinct stands, it doesn’t look like any other stadium. The atmosphere before a big game and You’ll Never Walk Alone impresses, though it always sounds better — to me — with a ‘MANCHESTER!’ retort. Also, the Hillsborough memorial gets the space it deserves, the gates (and gable end murals on nearby housing) for former heroes, the proximity to Stanley Park. Dislike: A new Anfield Road stand means the worst view in football from the last two rows of the away end has gone. It’s much more spacious on the away concourse beneath the stand too, so I’m left not liking the lack of public transport options and that’s about it. Oh, and the fact that Liverpool play in such an impressive home. …”
“… After looking at 
“All too often a football match doesn’t live up to the hype. As Southampton’s players danced on the pitch and their fans sang about a return to Wembley and a chance to gain promotion to the Premier League, opponents Middlesbrough were crestfallen and wondering how it had ended like this 
“… This was the weekend when 
“Your manager has fallen out with the sporting director and results have gone awry, so you replace him. Easily done, it happens. But then it turns out that the new manager could not be more ill-suited to the squad, results go awry and so you replace him. A bad leader would hesitate and hope things worked out, but you are ruthless and decisive and turn to a manager who was once a youth player at the club and has some anecdotes about the old days. But it turns out some people think his methods are old‑fashioned and results go awry, so you replace him. And this time you pull a masterstroke. You get in a bloke who saved a team in not dissimilar circumstances last season, who takes 15 points from his first nine league games in charge, lifting you six clear of the relegation zone. If you beat Newcastle at home on Sunday you’ll be safe. You are a genius, your recruitment skills unmatched. …”
Bournemouth’s matchday revenue is limited by the size of their ground
“Manchester City are the only team to win the Premier League on goal difference, and this season they might need to repeat the trick. For those uninitiated in the competition’s most storied moment, Sergio Aguero’s last-minute goal for City in a 3-2 final-day victory at home against Queens Park Rangers in May 2012 meant they pipped Manchester United to the title by virtue of their superior goal difference, which was eight better than their crosstown rivals. The margins at the top could be even finer in the current campaign. …”
“Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. The Premier League title race will likely see plenty more changes at the top before and potentially during the final matchday of the season on May 24. Arsenal are top — as they regularly have been since 2022-23 — but Manchester City hold a game in hand, with goal difference another factor. A couple of spots below them, Aston Villa are fifth, eight points ahead of sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion. It is unlikely another side will break into the top five with just four games left but multiple teams have jumped in and out of those Champions League spots since August. …”
“Ever wondered what it is like to be a Premier League referee? The ref cam, attached to the match official’s right ear, showing their point of view, has given a new insight into a referee’s perspective in the top flight this season. After trials in pre-season friendlies during the United States-staged Summer Series two years ago, and a league match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace in May 2024, this campaign’s rollout has been more comprehensive. 
“Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. After looking at errors leading to shots and goals last week, we dive into long- and short-passing sequences that result in goals. As usual, the article that follows is long but detailed, so please settle down and enjoy it all — or use the index at the bottom of the page to jump to a specific club. …”
“You may have seen a Premier League stadium up close. You might have seen one on television. But seeing one from a satellite uncovers things that are not obvious from the ground or television cameras. The Athletic tasked its expert writers with analysing their club’s grounds from above to see what they could find out. From the roads, railways and supermarkets that could cause problems for redevelopment to the regeneration of areas, this is what they discovered. …”
“FANS leaving the game early if their team is losing on their own ground is a curious sight. It seems to be a growing trend within the game and the TV cameras love it, scanning the stands for signs of supporters flicking their seats up and heading, grim-faced, to the exits. Symbolic gestures like destroying their season tickets and comments like ‘I’m finished with this lot’ often accompany the exodus. We’ve seen it regularly this season, at Old Trafford (frequently), Tottenham, Stamford Bridge and others. While this has always been a feature of football, more often than not, a negative scoreline at most grounds was met with defiance and the chant, ‘We’ll support you evermore’. There was something very stoic about the football fan, who reacted to adversary by declaring their life-long affection for their club, even in bad times. …”
“It was November 2020 when Jurgen Klopp, then Liverpool’s manager, likened a football team to an orchestra. He used the analogy in praise of Roberto Firmino’s versatility for the Anfield side as a forward. ‘You need different people to play different instruments,’ he said. ‘Some of them are louder, some not so loud, but they’re all important for our rhythm.’ Half a decade later, with Klopp no longer a part of the Premier League, his idea of balance is still true. Watch Granit Xhaka, Jordan Henderson or Pascal Gross play. Every team needs a conductor, and that trio all made unexpected returns to the English top flight in the past year. …”
“This has been the Premier League season of getting it into the mixer. That has meant a big focus on inswinging corners and on long throws. The latter concept has become curiously mainstream in the last couple of years. Traditionally, there were only a couple of long-throw specialists in the Premier League, usually playing for bottom-half strugglers who played old-school football and provided an alternative to the style of play of the big clubs. But even the league’s title challengers have become fixated on long throws this season. …”
“It was bound to end like this: a long and arduous odyssey that started in 1982 on a crumbling terrace culminated on a grey, drizzly afternoon in December watching my team get hammered 3-0 in a brand spanking new stadium named in conjunction with an international commercial law firm. A glorious away win thanks to a last-minute winner would have been somehow too poetic. This was how it was meant to be, when I finally completed the 92. As with that game at Everton, most games were as an away 
“THE current season had been something of an anti-climax for Newcastle United. After winning their first trophy since 1969 in 2024-25, expectations were relatively high at the club, but they look likely to fail in their bid for a Champions League place and they might not have enough in them to qualify for any of the European competitions. The club has yet to fully capitalise on having wealthy owners but you sense that this will come in time – Newcastle’s loyal followers would argue securing silverware is a sign that the process is working. However, there is talk of manager Eddie Howe leaving in the summer and some people have some reservations about the club’s finances. …”
Michael Owen scored on his Liverpool debut on May 6, 1997
“The headline attraction for a section of fans when England meet Uruguay at Wembley on Friday will not be the players on the pitch, but the head coach in the away dugout. Because this international friendly marks the return to British shores for Marcelo Bielsa. Leeds United supporters who idolised the Argentinian during his 44 months in charge at Elland Road are taking this long-awaited opportunity to acknowledge the impact he had on their lives before his sacking in February 2022. While there will be 90,000 in attendance at England’s national stadium in north London, the pockets of Leeds fans in every corner of the place will hope to use the time to properly say goodbye to an icon of their club. …”
“THERE WAS a time when West Bromwich Albion were comfortably named among the top clubs in English football. They were, essentially, a ‘cup team’, a perfectly respectable label for any club in the days when the world didn’t revolve around the Premier League and nothing else. Albion were difficult opponents, especially on their own ground, the Hawthorns. The club also had some excellent players: Jeff Astle, Asa Hartford, Tony Brown, Cyril Regis, Laurie Cunningham, Bryan Robson and Derek Statham, to name but a few. When Albion won their last major trophy, the FA Cup in 1968, that brought their silverware haul to five FA Cups, one League Cup and one league title. The list has not been added to since Astle’s goal that beat Everton in 1968. Not only that, Albion have been in a slow decline in recent years and 2025-26 is their fifth consecutive Championship campaign and at the moment, they are hovering, precariously, above the relegation trapdoor. They recently won two games, ending a 13-game run without a victory. …”
“‘My players made the decision that they wanted to be around the ball, to respect the ball and show unity and leadership.’ Liam Rosenior’s explanation of the Chelsea huddle just before kick-off against Newcastle last weekend is destined to be one of the most memorable quotes of the season. Not only did referee Paul Tierney loom in the midst of the players’ centre-circle gathering like a sort of PGMOL meerkat, but their head coach also introduced the idea of reverence towards an important, but ultimately inanimate object: the PUMA Orbita Ultimate (Thrill Edition). …”
Fulham fans have been ridiculed for their posh matchday food
“Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. And with over 75 per cent of the Premier League campaign in the books, now feels like a good moment to assess fan sentiment about their team’s season. To that end, we’ve taken the team ratings data from Fanalysis, an app where fans can rate their team’s performances, including those of the players, manager and even referees, after every match. 
Scissors Kick 