The Premier League returned with a bang on Friday the 15th of August as Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-2 in a chaotic match. However, it wasn’t just the English top fight that returned, with several other huge leagues starting this weekend.
La Liga began, as did Ligue 1 in France, whilst in Germany we saw the German Super Cup take place on Saturday the 16th of August, and there were also Coppa Italia games at the weekend too. We have a little while longer to wait for the Bundesliga and Serie A, while the Dutch top flight got underway on the 8th, as did Liga Portugal.
Over the course of a long season there will always be plenty of upsets and from time to time we even see unfancied teams lifting trophies and really upsetting the odds. However, for the most part, it was very much business as usual in the opening round of games in England, Spain and France, as well as in the German Super Cup.
More Silverware for Kane
Starting in Germany, and England skipper Harry Kane added more silverware to his personal collection. After a long, long wait, he finally won a major trophy in his career last term when Bayern won the Bundesliga, having been denied by Bayer Leverkusen in 2023/24. He wasted no time adding to that, as his team beat Stuttgart in the German Super Cup.
Whether that counts as a major trophy is debatable, but we suspect Kane will be happy to take any trophy after waiting so long for a first. The former Spurs man set his side on the way after just 18 minutes in the clash, which took place at Stuttgart’s MHPArena. A full house watched on as the England hitman continued his fine form with the German champions and slotted home after a poor clearance from the Stuttgart defence.
Another former Premier League star, Luis Diaz, made it 2-0, scoring on his debut after his move from Liverpool. That put the game to bed after 77 minutes and while Stuttgart got a late goal, after 93 minutes, it was no more than a consolation. Bayern weren’t great but they were solid value for their win and it is very hard to see anyone stopping them from defending their title this term.
Wins for Three Main Title Contenders in England
In England we saw a full Premier League return, albeit that games were spread over four days, between Friday and Monday. Liverpool were the odds-on favourites to retain their title but optimistic neutrals – and not-so-neutrals – were predicting there could possibly be a four-way title race. As well as the Reds, Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea were all thought to be in with a shout, with the Stamford Bridge outfit viewed as the least likely to challenge.
Liverpool got the season underway, hosting Bournemouth on Friday night. It was an exciting, chaotic and controversial game but the home side showed their title credentials. New signing Hugo Ekitike scored after 37 minutes and Liverpool were two up with just 26 minutes remaining. The visitors roared back to make it 2-2 but Arne Slot’s men showed their mettle and ran out 4-2 winners.
The following day Man City trounced Wolves 4-0 in the Black Country to serve notice that they mean business this term. City were excellent, and the appointment of Jurgen Klopp’s former assistant, Pep Lijnders, alongside namesake Guardiola, looks a brilliant move. As does the signing of Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.
The other main title contender, Arsenal, were far from convincing but they had the toughest game, beginning their season on Sunday at Old Trafford. They have finished second in each of the last three campaigns but wins like this will give them hope they can go one better. They were not at their best but ground out the result.
Chelsea could only manage a 0-0 draw at home in their opener. They faced Palace on Sunday and that is not a game they can afford to drop points in if they are to challenge the other three.
PSG Pinch Points
Ligue 1 is among the more predictable leagues in Europe at the moment, with Champions League winners PSG the dominant force. They have claimed the French title 11 times since 2012/13 and it will be a major surprise if they do not take glory this term as well.
They began the defence of their title away at Nantes on Sunday evening and won 1-0 thanks to a goal from their skipper, Portuguese midfielder Vitinha. He got the only goal of the game after 67 minutes. Nantes finished last season down in 13th, 48 points adrift of PSG.
The champions played well, despite only scoring once, and dominated the game. They had 71% possession, whilst the hosts failed to muster a single shot on target and managed just five, largely speculative ones, that failed to test the keeper.
Wins for Big Two in Spain
La Liga saw its opening round of fixtures spread out across a full five days, with matches on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Realistically the title is, again, expected to be a battle between Barca and Real Madrid. It was the Catalan giants who triumphed last year and their incredibly young squad is only set to get better.
They played on Saturday and won 3-0 at Mallorca. Raphinha opened the scoring and Lamine Yamal got the final goal in stoppage time. That indicated it is likely to be business as usual for Barca and also shows what a task Marcus Rashford faces to establish himself. On loan from Man United, he came on for the last 21 minutes and didn’t make much impact.
Real Madrid, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti with Xabi Alonso, and brought Trent Alexander-Arnold to the capital, had to wait until Tuesday to start their campaign. They were at home against Osasuna and had to wait until the 51st minute to break the deadlock.
Kylian Mbappé scored from the spot as Real won 1-0, though it was a dominant performance as they registered 71% possession and had 18 shots to Osasuna’s two. As in England and France, it seems we are set for the Spanish big guns to battle it out for glory once again. That said, there is a long way to go, and these races are only just getting started, so maybe we will see a surprise contender emerge. But we won’t be holding our breath!