Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend, featuring more competitive promoted teams and Manchester United’s summer signings.
Promoted teams all have real chance of survival
For the first time in almost five years, all three promoted teams won on the same Premier League matchday. It continues an encouraging trend of competitiveness from the new faces, following back-to-back campaigns in which all three promoted teams were relegated.
Sunderland sit fourth after a win at Chelsea and an extraordinary start to the season, while Leeds (15th) and Burnley (16th), sit six and five points clear of the drop zone respectively.
All three promoted teams have survived in the same Premier League season just four times previously, with the most recent occasion 2022/23. While there’s still plenty of work to be done, a positive start has raised confidence within each of the newcomers.
3 – All three newly promoted clubs have won on the same Premier League matchday for the first time since MD10 of the 2020-21 season (November 28th-30th). Fight. pic.twitter.com/FtnCcOc3G5
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 26, 2025
After just nine games, Sunderland, Leeds, and Burnley have won 38 points combined, an incredible 64% of the total last season’s relegated teams won throughout the entire 2024/25 campaign.
With Wolves, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, and Fulham struggling, we could have a genuine relegation battle this time around.
Liverpool and Slot look out of ideas
Liverpool sank to a new low this weekend after defeat at Brentford. It was a fourth league defeat in a row for the Reds, who were given a reality check after a midweek win in Europe.
After opening the season with five straight wins, it’s been an unforeseen downturn that has left Liverpool seventh, seven points behind leaders Arsenal. Having invested a record-breaking £415m on new signings in the summer, the pressure is on Arne Slot, who has lost some of last season’s cool.
5 – Liverpool are the first team in English top-flight history to win their opening five matches of a season and then lose their next four. Slump. pic.twitter.com/g81wIPWcpj
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 26, 2025
The continued tactical tweaks in-game are just not working and were summarised perfectly by the introduction of Joe Gomez for Florian Wirtz with Liverpool chasing the game on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, Dominik Szoboszlai is being tasked with multiple roles in each game, detracting from one of the few players who has been at the standard in recent weeks. There are huge question marks around the champions, ahead of tricky tests against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa this week.
Stop Haaland, stop City?
Manchester City’s winning run came to an end at Aston Villa and it should not surprise their streak coincided with Erling Haaland’s own scoring run stuttering. The Norwegian had netted in 12 consecutive games heading into the weekend, but drew a rare blank in the 1-0 loss at Aston Villa.
Pep Guardiola will be concerned with his side’s lack of goals, Haaland aside. The 25-year-old has netted 11 of the club’s 17 goals in the Premier League (65%), and four of City’s six scored in the Champions League (66%).
Erling Haaland’s incredible scoring run comes to an end ❌ pic.twitter.com/ZyPJ8ujfxk
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 26, 2025
It’s an unsustainable reliance on the forward, with no other player in the City squad having netted more than once this season.
Arsenal look like champions-elect
Things can change quickly in the Premier League, just ask Liverpool, but Arsenal look like champions-elect right now. We’re just nine games into the campaign, but the Gunners are proving incredibly effective at getting over the line.
A 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, courtesy of Eberechi Eze’s brilliant goal against his former club, made it seven straight wins in all competitions with just one goal conceded. Arsenal are not always flashy, but there’s a robustness and resilience that could lead to title success.
100 – Arsenal have gone 100 consecutive games in all competitions without conceding three goals in a game, just the second English league team to ever achieve this feat, along with Man Utd between October 2016 and August 2018 (107). Security. pic.twitter.com/tZyWlBBRhg
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 26, 2025
Sir Alex Ferguson once said that “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles,” and no side in Europe are better defensively than Arsenal. It looks like their title to lose.
Summer signings show worth for Manchester United
Are Manchester United finally making progress? A third consecutive win has lifted Ruben Amorim’s side into the top five, as the Red Devils beat Brighton at Old Trafford.
It was a win in which the club’s summer signings shone, with Bryan Mbeumo scoring twice, Matheus Cunha netting his first goal for the club, and Benjamin Sesko adding an assist.
Meanwhile, their three straight wins have coincided with the introduction of Senne Lammens, who has barely faulted since his arrival from Royal Antwerp.
Amorim needed to get his first summer transfer window right, and there’s plenty to like about the club’s business. More is required, but for the first time in a long time, United appear upward.
Read – Premier League Team of the Weekend: Mbeumo, Van de Ven, Cash
See more – Premier League Awards: Sunderland stun Chelsea, magic Mbeumo
