From Hull City’s historic victory over Manchester United to Liverpool extending their remarkable unbeaten run on the opening day and Arsenal beginning their title defence in style, the opening weekend delivered plenty of numbers that made headlines. The 2026/27 Premier League season got off to a dramatic start, with Gameweek 1 producing landmark results, late goals and a host of individual milestones. Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over newly promoted Coventry City saw manager Mikel Arteta reach 150 Premier League wins. He reached the landmark in 249 games, putting him among an elite group of managers to record 150 Premier League victories in fewer than 250 matches, according to Jio Star.
The result also extended Arsenal’s remarkable record against promoted opposition. The fixture also continued its remarkable late-goal trend, with this being the fourth consecutive Premier League meeting between the sides at St James’ Park to feature a result-changing goal in the 90th minute or later. Newcastle’s late collapse also continued an unwanted trend.
The Gunners are now unbeaten in 46 consecutive Premier League home games against promoted sides, with 41 wins and five draws. They have won their last 17 such matches, scoring 47 goals and conceding just nine. One of the biggest shocks of the weekend came at Hull City, where the newly promoted side defeated Manchester United 2-0 despite United enjoying 71.6 per cent possession. It was United’s highest possession figure in a Premier League match since September 2023. Their attacking struggles were further highlighted by the fact that United have failed to score on the opening day in back-to-back Premier League seasons, despite registering a combined 43 shots across those matches. Liverpool’s new era under Andoni Iraola began with a dramatic 2-2 draw at Newcastle, but their remarkable opening-day record remained intact. Liverpool are now unbeaten on the opening day for 14 consecutive Premier League campaigns, the longest active run in the competition. Dominik Szoboszlai’s stoppage-time penalty came at 98:06, making it Liverpool’s latest-ever Premier League penalty and earning the visitors a point. Anthony Elanga scored his first Premier League goal for Newcastle on his 33rd top-flight appearance for the club, ending a run of 40 Premier League appearances without a goal. Joe Willock also scored against Liverpool, finding the net for the first time in the Premier League since February 2024. His goal ended a drought of 61 appearances and 40 shots without scoring in the competition. They have dropped 29 points from winning positions in the Premier League since the start of last season, the second-most among teams in Europe’s big-five leagues during that period, behind Wolfsburg’s 33.
