Step Away From the Panic Button — But What a Weekend

It's only Week 1. Every year, across the NFL, college football, or the NBA, there's at least one wild overreaction that takes over the internet. We always have to remind ourselves: it's just one game. It doesn't actually mean anything. Yet.

But still — the Premier League's opening weekend was a weekend of shockers. This is the first time since the 2021-22 season that the so-called "Big Six" have suffered two defeats on the opening weekend. And one of them, Chelsea, hadn't even played yet as of Sunday evening.

The "Big Six" — Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool — are the richest and most globally popular teams in English football. And two of them were humbled in stunning fashion.

Hull City Silence Old Trafford

Historically, Manchester United are the most famous football club in the world. They dominated for a critical era, had the likes of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad, and are essentially the Dallas Cowboys of the Premier League — enormous global brand, but inconsistent in recent years.

United had a strong finish to last season under new head coach Michael Carrick, who played during their last glory era. They're back in the Champions League and looked poised for a good campaign. Then Hull City happened.

Hull have just made it back into the Premier League for the first time since 2017. They weren't even expected to win promotion last year and were written off in pre-season as an easy win for any big team. Not so fast. They shut out Manchester United and won 2-0 — their first victory over the Red Devils since 1974, when both teams were in a lower tier. The ultimate underdog moment.

Tottenham Humiliated by Brentford

Tottenham Hotspur had a hellish season last year, falling down the table and nearly being relegated — something that hasn't happened to any current "Big Six" side since 2001. Spurs stayed up by the skin of their teeth after appointing Roberto De Zerbi as manager and spent heavily during the transfer window to reinforce the squad.

The consensus among analysts was that Spurs had nowhere to go but up, with our experts predicting a seventh-place finish. Instead, they lost their opening match 3-0 to Brentford — the "moneyball" club of the Premier League who consistently outperform their resources. One match doesn't make a season, but Spurs have to figure out how to start winning again, and fast.

Ed Sheeran's Ipswich Party

Did you see those videos of Ed Sheeran screaming and jumping for joy this weekend? That's because his team, Ipswich Town, won their opening match 2-1 against Sunderland.

Like Hull City, Ipswich were just promoted to the Premier League at the end of last season and carried the burden of low expectations. Sunderland, newly promoted last year, had been good enough to clinch a European tournament spot and were supposed to win. Instead, we got Ed Sheeran screaming along with every Ipswich fan around the world. This is why we love sports.

Brighton Demolish Aston Villa

Aston Villa are one of the most historic clubs in English football but went trophyless for 30 years before charging up the league under Unai Emery, winning the Europa League last season. But their opening match was a disaster — Brighton & Hove Albion beat them 4-0.

The scoreline was a genuine shocker. The best part? The instantly memed post-game interview with Villa coach Emery, who was asked about a star player who wasn't in the match and simply replied: "Silence." Not silence as in he said nothing — he said the word "Silence." Amazing. No notes.

The Rest of the Weekend

It wasn't all chaos. Defending champions Arsenal opened with a comfortable 3-0 win over fellow promoted side Coventry City. Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at Newcastle. Manchester City edged Bournemouth 2-1, and Everton beat Crystal Palace 2-0. Nottingham Forest fell 1-0 to Leeds at home.

Chelsea were set to travel to Fulham in the final game of the Premier League weekend on Monday at 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET.

Week 1 Scores

• Arsenal 3-0 Coventry
• Brentford 3-0 Tottenham
• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Leeds
• Ipswich 2-1 Sunderland
• Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace
• Hull City 2-0 Manchester United
• Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool
• Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth
• Brighton 4-0 Aston Villa

Week 2 Fixtures

Friday, August 28

• Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City, 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET

Saturday, August 29

• Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest, 12:30 p.m. BST / 7:30 a.m. ET
• Bournemouth vs. Everton, 3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. ET
• Coventry vs. Hull City, 3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. ET
• Spurs vs. Newcastle, 5:30 p.m. BST / 12:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, August 30

• Chelsea vs. Brighton, 2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET
• Leeds vs. Brentford, 2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET
• Sunderland vs. Fulham, 2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET
• Manchester United vs. Ipswich, 4:30 p.m. BST / 11:30 a.m. ET

Monday, August 31

• Aston Villa vs. Arsenal, 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET

All Premier League games are broadcast in the U.S. on Peacock, NBCSN, NBC, or the USA Network, with specifics confirmed later in the week.