The Premier League returned this weekend and immediately made most preseason predictions look a little less certain.

Manchester United lost 2-0 at newly promoted Hull City. Tottenham spent heavily all summer and then got run off the field by Brentford. Aston Villa was down four goals after 31 minutes at Brighton. Manchester City needed two goals in the final six minutes to escape Bournemouth, while Liverpool required a 99th-minute penalty just to salvage a point at Newcastle.

The defending champions provided the exception. Arsenal opened the season Friday night, comfortably dispatched Coventry City 3-0 and looked like a team that had simply picked up where it left off in May.

Arsenal 3-0 Coventry City

Goals: Kai Havertz 15’, Bukayo Saka 23’, Martin Ødegaard 49’

Arsenal began its title defense with perhaps the most predictable result of the weekend. Coventry was playing its first Premier League game in 25 years and the champions made the difference in level apparent fairly quickly.

The more interesting development was how comfortable Arsenal looked in attack. New winger Christos Tzolis was heavily involved from the left, helping create both first-half goals. For the opener, he and Riccardo Calafiori pressured Coventry into a turnover before Calafiori found Havertz. Eight minutes later, Tzolis’s cross eventually fell for Saka to make it 2-0. Ødegaard finished the scoring shortly after halftime.

There was no dramatic tactical turning point because Arsenal never really allowed the game to reach one. They controlled 65 percent of possession, limited Coventry to one shot on target and had the luxury of taking off several starters well before the end.

That does not tell us much about how Arsenal will handle the other title contenders, but after a summer in which many of their rivals changed coaches or substantially rebuilt their rosters, there is value in simply looking like a finished product.

Hull City 2-0 Manchester United

Goals: Semi Ajayi 17’, Nobel Mendy 38’

The first major surprise arrived Saturday morning.

Hull returned to the Premier League after nine years away and beat Manchester United with goals from center backs Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy, both coming from set-piece situations. The score was not merely a case of Hull stealing two dead-ball goals and hanging on. They were more physical in midfield, defended United’s attackers comfortably and repeatedly found target man Oli McBurnie when they wanted to bypass pressure.

Michael Carrick’s team had more of the ball and enough attacking talent on the field, but possession rarely became meaningful pressure. Hull’s back five dealt well with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, while United’s midfield struggled to match the home side’s intensity.

The result will naturally produce another week of Manchester United panic, although one game is too early to judge a rebuilt midfield. The more legitimate concern is that this looked less like an unlucky upset and more like Hull identifying exactly how it wanted the game to be played and United failing to change it.

Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace

Goals: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Thierno Barry

Crystal Palace had enough opportunities to make this a very different game, but Everton was much sharper when chances arrived. Palace created several dangerous moments early, only to be denied by Jordan Pickford and poor finishing. Everton then punished them shortly before halftime when 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong helped win the ball and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cut into the box before finishing into the far corner.

Everton doubled the lead after the break with a much quicker attacking sequence. Hayden Hackney restarted play rapidly from a free kick, Iliman Ndiaye got into space and his cross found Thierno Barry.

It was a very David Moyes type of victory. Everton did not need to dominate every phase of the game. They survived Palace’s stronger stretches, took their opportunities and then defended the lead without allowing the match to become chaotic.

Palace also lost Chadi Riad to what appeared to be another potentially serious knee injury, a concerning development beyond the result itself.

Ipswich Town 2-1 Sunderland

Goals: Emersonn 24’, Nilson Angulo 39’, Jack Clarke 90’

Ipswich also celebrated its Premier League return with three points, although this one required considerably more drama.

New manager Gary O’Neil started seven summer signings and two of them combined for the opener. Luke O’Nien’s poor pass out of the Sunderland defense was collected by Julio Enciso, who attacked the open space and squared for Emersonn.

Nilson Angulo responded with an excellent long-range free kick before halftime, and the match appeared to be drifting toward a draw until Sunderland committed essentially the same mistake again. Omar Alderete gave the ball away in the 90th minute and former Sunderland winger Jack Clarke punished him with the winner.

Ipswich was not dominant, but there was a clear theme to both goals. They were ready to attack immediately when Sunderland’s buildup broke down rather than slowing the game and allowing the defense to recover.

For a promoted team trying to integrate seven new starters under a new coach, that is a pretty good foundation.

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Leeds United

Goal: Anton Stach 88’

The least eventful game of the weekend was settled by one of its best individual moments.

Forest and Leeds traded periods of pressure without either team consistently breaking the other open. Igor Jesus had Forest’s best opportunities, including two quality chances created by Ola Aina, but could not beat James Trafford.

Then in the 88th minute Anton Stach curled a free kick past Matz Sels to send Leeds home with three points. There probably is not a grand conclusion to draw from this one. Leeds won only twice away from home last season, so finding a way to take three points from a balanced road game is useful. Forest, meanwhile, will be more concerned that their promising attacking moments again failed to become goals.

Brentford 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Goals: Keane Lewis-Potter 12’, Vitaly Janelt 33’, Michael Kayode 49’

If Hull produced the biggest upset, Brentford produced the most concerning result for the losing side.

Tottenham entered the season after another expensive summer but looked like a collection of new players rather than a coherent team. Brentford was better almost everywhere.

New midfielder Mamadou Sangaré was especially impressive, helping create the opening goal and repeatedly allowing Brentford to win the ball and attack before Tottenham could organize itself. Keane Lewis-Potter opened the scoring after 12 minutes, Vitaly Janelt made it two before halftime and Michael Kayode effectively finished the game four minutes into the second half.

The score arguably flattered Spurs. Brentford also missed a penalty and hit the woodwork, while Tottenham generated very little at the opposite end.

Roberto De Zerbi admitted afterward that Spurs are “not a team” yet, which is a fairly accurate description of what happened. There is plenty of talent on the roster, but Brentford’s players understood where their teammates would be, how they wanted to press and what to do once possession changed, while Tottenham rarely did.

That can improve quickly as the new pieces settle. On opening weekend, however, Brentford looked considerably further along.

Brighton 4-0 Aston Villa

Goals: Victor Lindelöf own goal 8’, Maxim De Cuyper 18’, Jack Hinshelwood 30’, 31’; red card: João Gomes 40’

Brighton had the most dominant half of the opening weekend and basically finished the game before Aston Villa had time to figure out what had happened.

Villa actually created a few early looks through Emiliano Buendía, who was playing as the most advanced attacker with Ollie Watkins absent. Then a poor Pau Torres backpass gave Brighton its opening.

Maxim De Cuyper intercepted the ball and his shot eventually went in off Victor Lindelöf for an own goal. Ten minutes later De Cuyper scored himself after Georginio Rutter created the chance from wide. Jack Hinshelwood then scored twice in roughly 80 seconds to make it 4-0 after only 31 minutes. Villa’s afternoon got even worse when summer signing João Gomes was sent off following a VAR review for kicking out at Rutter.

The important context is the timing. Villa was already losing 4-0 before the red card. This was not a reasonably close game distorted by playing a man down. Brighton’s pressure and speed after turnovers repeatedly exposed a Villa team that looked completely disorganized once its initial buildup broke down.

Considering the amount of talent Villa lost during the summer, this was about as ugly an opening performance as Unai Emery could have imagined.

Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth

Goals: Marcus Tavernier 26’; Marc Guéhi 84’, Joško Gvardiol 90+1’

Manchester City’s first Premier League game after Pep Guardiola almost turned into an embarrassing home loss.

Bournemouth took the lead through Marcus Tavernier in the 26th minute and spent most of the afternoon successfully frustrating a City attack that had plenty of the ball without consistently turning it into clean chances. Erling Haaland had five attempts without scoring, and City at times looked unbalanced as Enzo Maresca tried to fit his new pieces together.

With Rodri gone to Barcelona, it was center back Marc Guéhi stepping into midfield. While he handled the responsibility decently, he did have some awkward moments on the ball higher up the field. We’ll see if Maresca continues that experiment going forward.

The decisive adjustment came from the bench, when Rayan Cherki came on and gave City more creativity between Bournemouth’s lines. Cherki was involved in both goals as the hosts finally broke through. Marc Guéhi equalized in the 84th minute off a Cherki corner and Joško Gvardiol scored the winner in stoppage time.

Two center backs scoring in the final six minutes is probably not Maresca’s preferred long-term attacking formula, but City kept applying pressure until Bournemouth finally cracked.

The larger question is whether the somewhat awkward possession phases were merely opening-weekend rust or evidence that replacing Guardiola’s structure will require more time than the talent level of the roster suggests.

Newcastle United 2-2 Liverpool

Goals: Anthony Elanga 5’, Cody Gakpo 55’, Joe Willock 57’, Dominik Szoboszlai 90+9’ penalty

Sunday finished with the best game of the weekend and another reminder that changing coaches at an elite club is rarely seamless.

Newcastle scored after only five minutes when it won the ball and released Anthony Elanga into space. Liverpool eventually settled into longer stretches of possession and Cody Gakpo equalized early in the second half, but just two minutes later Joe Willock restored Newcastle’s lead.

That sequence summed up the issue for Liverpool. Andoni Iraola’s team could move the ball into dangerous positions, but Newcastle remained capable of attacking the spaces left behind whenever possession changed.

Liverpool improved after going to its bench and finally got the break it needed deep into stoppage time. Lewis Hall’s challenge on substitute Victor Muñoz was judged a penalty and Dominik Szoboszlai converted in the 99th minute.

Liverpool showed enough attacking resilience to rescue something from a difficult road game. Newcastle probably showed more in terms of a coherent initial plan.

For both new managers, though, this looked like the beginning of a project rather than the finished version.

Fulham 2-3 Chelsea

Goals: João Pedro 1’, Josh King 23’, Morgan Rogers 41’, Cole Palmer 49’, Gonzalo García 54’

Chelsea completed the opening weekend with a win in Xabi Alonso’s first competitive match, although the 3-2 score probably tells the story better than a comfortable victory would have.

Cole Palmer looked determined to prove he belonged on the England World Cup roster, helping the new-look attack click almost immediately. Palmer released João Pedro for the opener after only 31 seconds, the fastest goal ever scored in the opening round of a Premier League season. Fulham equalized through Josh King, but Morgan Rogers restored Chelsea’s lead on his Chelsea league debut after new center back Maxence Lacroix surprisingly overlapped down the right and picked him out in the box. Palmer then made it 3-1 shortly after halftime following another quick combination with João Pedro.

The concern was at the other end. Robert Sánchez was directly involved in both Fulham goals, allowing King’s shot through at his near post before parrying Timothy Castagne’s effort directly to debutant Gonzalo García for the second. Fulham nearly equalized again when Antonee Robinson caught Sánchez stranded off his line in the 78th minute but sent his attempted chip wide.

The major takeaway was Chelsea’s attacking potential. Palmer looked much more like his best version after an injury-plagued season, while João Pedro and Rogers already seemed comfortable rotating around him. Fulham’s aggressive approach gave Chelsea plenty of space to attack, so tougher defensive opponents will provide a different test, but Alonso could hardly ask for much more from his front three.

Six Takeaways From Opening Weekend

1. The promoted teams arrived ready

Hull beating Manchester United and Ipswich beating Sunderland is about as successful an opening Saturday as the promoted group could have hoped for.

Coventry lost 3-0, but their reward for returning to the league after 25 years was a road game against the defending champions, so judgment can probably wait a week.

More importantly, Hull and Ipswich did not win through random deflections or 90 minutes of desperate defending. Hull physically controlled long stretches against United and created its advantage through set pieces. Ipswich identified Sunderland’s buildup mistakes and attacked them immediately.

Staying in the Premier League requires much more than one good afternoon. Both already demonstrated that they have plausible ways to win games.

2. City and Liverpool are going to require some patience

Manchester City and Liverpool have enough talent to challenge for the title regardless of who is coaching them. Opening weekend also showed why changing managers matters.

Maresca’s City controlled the ball against Bournemouth but often looked awkward trying to turn possession into chances. Cherki’s introduction eventually helped solve the problem, although needing Guéhi and Gvardiol to score after the 84th minute was hardly convincing.

Liverpool had the opposite problem. They created danger but were vulnerable whenever Newcastle attacked quickly after turnovers.

Both escaped with something because great players can rescue imperfect performances. City got three points and Liverpool got one.

The process underneath those results is going to be more interesting.

3. Arsenal already knows what it is

That is the advantage the champions have over their two most obvious rivals.

Arsenal did not spend Friday night trying to discover a new identity. Ødegaard knew where Saka would be. Rice knew when to move forward. The press functioned as a unit, and Tzolis was able to plug into an established structure rather than being asked to create one.

Coventry is not a serious test of Arsenal’s title credentials. The ease of the performance was still telling.

City and Liverpool spent portions of their openers searching for answers. Arsenal looked like it already had them.

4. Tottenham’s rebuild is nowhere near finished

It would be unreasonable to make sweeping conclusions about De Zerbi after 90 minutes with a heavily changed roster.

It would also be difficult to find anything encouraging in what happened at Brentford.

The problem was not simply that Spurs lost. Brentford was quicker to loose balls, better coordinated in midfield and consistently more dangerous after possession changed. Tottenham’s expensive collection of players rarely looked like a connected unit.

That is fixable. It also demonstrated how much work remains.

5. Aston Villa may have the weekend’s biggest problem

Villa did not merely lose an opener on the road.

They conceded four goals in 31 minutes, committed damaging mistakes in their own buildup, played without a recognized striker and then had an important summer signing sent off before halftime.

The departures of Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne already made this a significant transition season. Watkins being left out amid transfer interest only creates another question.

Emery has earned plenty of patience from the work he has done at Villa. The roster he is working with now looks considerably less settled than the one that established the club near the European places.

6. Brighton looks ready to reload again

Perhaps nobody should be surprised by this anymore.

Brighton keeps changing important players without losing its ability to find technically capable replacements and place them into aggressive roles. Against Villa, De Cuyper attacked from the left, Rutter created problems between and around defenders, and Hinshelwood repeatedly arrived in the penalty area at exactly the right moment.

One 4-0 win does not suddenly make Brighton a Champions League favorite.

It does suggest that another summer of turnover has not removed the qualities that continue to make them one of the most difficult teams in the league to play against.

And after one weekend, they sit at the top of the table.