The new Premier League season got off to a thrilling start, with two of English football’s most iconic clubs launching their post-departure eras in dramatic fashion on opening weekend. Enzo Maresca, stepping into the huge shoes left by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, secured a heart-stopping 2-1 victory over Bournemouth in his first match in charge, while new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola grabbed a last-minute 2-2 draw against Newcastle United that saved him from a disappointing debut defeat.
Guardiola, who delivered 20 major trophies including six Premier League titles across a trophy-laden 10-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium, set the bar for his successor incredibly high. In a neat parallel, Guardiola’s own reign at City began with a tight late victory over Sunderland back in 2016, and Maresca will be hoping his opening narrow win signals the start of an equally dominant stint at the club.
Questions had already been swirling around City’s title credentials this season after a flat 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield the previous weekend, and those concerns looked set to be validated for most of their opening fixture. Bournemouth drew first blood through Marcus Tavernier’s first-half strike, and City struggled for attacking invention and defensive cohesion for long stretches of the 90 minutes. But a substitutions masterstroke from Maresca turned the game on its head: French attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki, brought off the bench, provided assists for both of City’s late goals. Center-back Marc Guehi nodded home the equalizer with just six minutes left to play, before Josko Gvardiol slotted home the winning goal in stoppage time to hand Maresca a dream debut.
Speaking after the match, Maresca heaped praise on Cherki’s match-changing impact, noting: “The impact was unbelievable, he is that kind of player. I like Rayan, I told him also after the game, but sometimes when you plan a game and you already have four out of 11 players who arrived late (from holidays), if you go with one more maybe the difference is too big.”
Over at St James’ Park, Iraola’s first game in charge of Liverpool also ended in stopp-time drama, though the result was far less decisive. The Spanish manager took over the Reds after Arne Slot’s off-season sacking, with the club undergoing a major overhaul this summer: star forward Mohamed Salah departed for Trabzonspor, and a new ownership consortium fronted by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has injected significant investment to rebuild the squad.
Liverpool’s new era got off to a rocky start, as Newcastle exposed the same defensive vulnerabilities that cost Slot his job last season. Anthony Elanga put the Magpies ahead in the first half, and though Cody Gakpo leveled the score shortly after halftime, Joe Willock – netting his first Premier League goal since 2024 – restored Newcastle’s lead late on. But with the last kick of the game, after Newcastle’s Lewis Hall fouled Liverpool substitute Victor Munoz in the box, Dominik Szoboszlai kept his cool to convert the stoppage-time penalty, securing a dramatic point for Iraola’s side. While the Reds can take encouragement from their never-say-die attitude to rescue the draw, the unconvincing performance will leave new manager with plenty of areas to address.
Elsewhere on opening weekend, Brighton & Hove Albion ran riot against a depleted Aston Villa side, running out 4-0 winners at the Amex Stadium. Unai Emery’s Villa have seen a mass exodus of key players this off-season, and the side was missing star striker Ollie Watkins and first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez – both linked with imminent exits, following already confirmed departures of Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Morgan Rogers. Left without a single recognized senior striker in the matchday squad, Villa were outclassed from the first whistle.
A calamitous own goal from Manchester United loanee Victor Lindelof got the Seagulls off to a flying start, followed by a close-range finish from Maxim De Cuyper that put Brighton 2-0 up inside the opening half-hour. Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood put the result beyond any doubt with two goals in the space of just two minutes before halftime, and Villa’s miserable afternoon got even worse when new midfield signing Joao Gomes was sent off on his league debut just before the break, leaving Emery’s side to play more than 45 minutes with 10 men.