Five key takeaways from Saturday's matches

Football writer Alex Keble reflects on Saturday's fixtures and highlights five key takeaways.

It took a while for the first Saturday of the 2025/26 Premier League season to get going - but it was worth the wait.

Sunderland’s emphatic 3-0 victory was a fairytale way to return to the top flight and Manchester City laid down a marker with a 4-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 win against Burnley contained an early contender for goal of the season.

Here’s how the first full day of action played out.

In bucking the trend, Sunderland’s victory could be monumental

Sunderland’s 3-0 victory over West Ham United will be remembered, by all those present, as an iconic moment at the Stadium of Light.

In some ways it was just as big, just as tearful a release, as the playoff final win in May at Wembley against Sheffield Untied. The scenes after each goal - the rush of noise from the 49,000 fans - was magnificent; was the Premier League at its very best.

It’s been eight long years since Sunderland’s last Premier League match and that absence included four painful seasons in League One. For most fans, being back where they feel they belong is enough.

To win their opener, and to win so comfortably, was almost unthinkable.

In each of the last two seasons the three promoted clubs, who all ended up going straight back down, picked up a total of one point from their six matches on the opening weekend of the season.

Looking back at the last 10 seasons in the Premier League, only five times (out of 30 attempts) have a promoted club won their opening game. Three of those five – Brentford, AFC Bournemouth, and Huddersfield Town – went on to avoid relegation.

Sunderland bucked the trend, shattering any pessimism after two years of promoted clubs struggling. If they didn’t already, the Wearside fans will truly believe their team can stay up.

Kudus-Richarlison combination gives Frank era its first focal point

According to many, swapping Ange Postecoglou for Thomas Frank was trading adventure for realism at Spurs, but that was always an overly simplistic analysis – and an underselling of the attacking football the former Brentford head coach can inspire.

His first Premier League game in charge was all the proof Spurs fans need of that.

The flap of the left foot that saw Mohammed Kudus jink past Quilindschy Hartman was a brilliant piece of skill. Richarlison’s acrobatic volley was sublime.

Their combination to put Spurs 2-0 up was their second such of the game, sparking suggestions that Richarlison is a better option than Dominic Solanke – and creating a new focal point for the Frank era.

It’s a relationship Frank obviously foresaw, given that the pair started up front together in Spurs’ penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.

Here, Kudus was impressive on the right wing, supplying crosses for the ruthless version of Richarlison we are more used to seeing in Brazil’s yellow and blue.

Richarlison's second goal v Burnley

Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins: Frank has a history of getting the best out of No 9s. His latest, Richarlison, has already scored half of his entire 2024/25 Premier League total of four.

If Frank can unlock Richarlison – and if his more direct style of football continues to suit Kudus – then Spurs will have their first post-Ange strategy in place.

Or perhaps second. A first clean sheet in 13 Premier League matches was also a notable departure from the Postecoglou wilderness. The future already feels brighter.

Reijnders leads a ruthless new-look Man City who look ready to bounce back

This is exactly what Pep Guardiola would have wanted to kick-start a new era; to begin the daunting rebuild after last year’s disappointment. Not just a win but a slick, ruthless, and comfortable one in the mould of Pep’s Man City at their very best.

Tijjani Reijnders was the star player – pre-assisting the opener, scoring the second, and assisting the third.

He was also the emblem of an adjusted way of playing. Reijnders’ slaloming run for the first goal, followed by his surge forward to put the final touch on a counter-attack for the second, added weight to the theory that Guardiola wants a more urgent and direct style of football this season.

As did the third, built by a longer forward pass from new goalkeeper James Trafford, before debutant Rayan Cherki added the fourth.

Reijnders also appeared to help get the best out of Erling Haaland, whose brace, following his slow second half of last season, was one of many signs City are in recovery.

Reijnders' impressive Premier League debut

Newcastle and Villa both lack firepower amid transfer speculation

Predictably enough, the ongoing transfer saga that keeps Newcastle United star Alexander Isak in exile had a major impact on the visitors at Villa Park.

Eddie Howe’s side drew a blank and, an early one-on-one for Anthony Elanga aside, rarely looked like scoring without their talisman up front.

Newcastle have now failed to win any of their last six Premier League matches when Isak has been absent. They didn’t even score a goal in four of those, scoring three times in total from 75 shots and an Expected Goals (xG) tally of 9.4.

Suffice to say Newcastle need the Isak situation to be resolved one way or the other, because on today’s evidence they may struggle for goals this season without the Swede or an adequate replacement.

Aston Villa have a similar problem, only slightly further back. Ollie Watkins is going nowhere, yet Villa managed just three shots on goal (fewer than in any of their 38 Premier League games last season) and zero in the first half, doing so for just the third time in the last 10 years.

Creativity is their issue, having failed to carve out any real openings even before Ezri Konsa’s red card for pulling back Anthony Gordon. Loan signings Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford have left while Leon Bailey, reportedly on the verge of an exit, was not in the squad today.

It might seem too easy a conclusion to draw after a 0-0, but it’s nevertheless true. After frustrating summers Newcastle and Villa are struggling for firepower.  

Muniz equaliser proves a point amid transfer speculation

Fulham snatched a late equaliser at Brighton & Hove Albion courtesy of a goal from substitute Rodrigo Muniz in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

It was a timely reminder, to all connected with Fulham, of Muniz’s value as reports have mentioned a possible transfer away from Craven Cottage.

Brighton were the better team throughout and ought to have put the game to bed before the hammer blow of Muniz’s thumping left-footed shot from a last-gasp Fulham corner.

Play that game 10 times and Brighton win nine of them – which is why Marco Silva be so thankful to be able to call on Muniz, a reliable super-sub. His seven goals from the bench since the start of last season are the most by any player in the competition.

Following a quiet summer, Muniz’s impact looks especially important.