The opening weekend of the 2025/26 Premier League season delivered mixed performances from the league’s latest arrivals.
At Anfield, Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike scored on debut in their 4-2 win over Bournemouth, while Florian Wirtz impressed with creativity in midfield. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez also added energy down the flanks, showing early promise.
Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders announced himself with a goal and an assist in the 4-0 victory over Wolves, played at the Etihad Stadium, where Rayan Cherki came off the bench to cap the former champions’ dominant display with a fine strike.
Nottingham Forest’s Dan Ndoye enjoyed a dream debut at the City Ground, heading in the opener in a 3-1 win over Brentford. Chelsea’s João Pedro showed flashes of link-up play in their clash with West Ham at Stamford Bridge but failed to find the net, while youngster Estevão looked lively but raw in a brief cameo.
At Old Trafford, Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha added urgency but could not prevent a 1-0 loss to Arsenal. Viktor Gyökeres endured a frustrating first outing, struggling to influence play, while Benjamin Sesko, introduced late, showed glimpses but little end product.
The weekend underlined contrasting fortunes for the new arrivals, with some hitting the ground running and others still searching for their footing in England’s top flight.
