Matchday 1 Awards

The 2024/25 Premier League season is here, with 10 games having taken place over the last four days.

It all started on Friday, with Manchester United squeezing past Fulham, while Saturday we enjoyed six games, including Brighton demolishing Everton at the soon-to-be-demolished Goodison Park, Arsenal making short work of Wolves and Villa coming out on top against West Ham in an intriguing contest.

Sunday saw Brentford edge past Palace and champions Manchester City start the defence of their trophy with an away win against Chelsea.

Monday night’s action brought us Leicester holding Tottenham to a draw thanks to a Vardy goal and a bit of sh*thousery. He just ages like fine wine, doesn’t he?

So who wins what on the return of Premier League football? Read on to find out.

Best Player

Plenty to choose from, right? Salah scored and assisted against Ipswich, Wissa did the same against Palace, while Kovačić made it seem like no big deal that Rodri was out.

In the end, we will go with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

He is now on nine goals (outright record) and four assists in Premier League opening matchdays, having never failed to contribute to a goal in such a game since joining the Reds in 2017.

Best XI

GK – Nick Pope (Newcastle)

RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

CB – William Saliba (Arsenal)

CB – Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

LB – Dan Burn (Newcastle)

CM – Mateo Kovačić (Manchester City)

CM – Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)

CM – Amadou Onana (Aston Villa)

RW – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

ST – Yoane Wissa (Brentford)

LW – Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Best Goal

Mateo Kovačić’s goal against Chelsea was of the highest order, especially when you count the fact that he was the one to intercept and do everything on his own.

Have a look.

HIGHLIGHTS! | HAALAND AND KOVACIC SCORE AGAINST CHELSEA! |CHELSEA 0 2 CITY | PREMIER LEAGUE

Best Game

Brentford vs Crystal Palace was an end-to-end affair that just reminded us why Prem games, regardless of the calibre of the teams, is our favourite pastime.

Wissa + Mbeumo score in opening day win | Brentford 2-1 Crystal Palace | Premier League Highlights

Best Stats

Ashley Young got sent off in Everton vs Brighton, becoming the oldest player in Premier League history to see a red card, aged 39 years and 39 days. About eight years older than new Brighton coach, Fabian Hürzeler.

Bernardo Silva is now level with Nani for the most assists by a Portuguese player in the EPL, on 43.

Erling Haaland has made his 100th appearance for City in all competitions and he marked it with a goal. Obviously. His 91st. The man is inevitable.

Best/Worst VAR Decision

When referee Simon Hooper was sent to check on whether the decision to give Everton a penalty for a contact on Dominic Calvert-Lewin should stand, it seemed like a very short consultation while the pitchside monitor was not even displaying the incident.

Sure, based on the replays, it did not seem enough for a penalty, but we still wonder whether Mr. Hooper should not have actually seen what went on before changing his mind.

Funniest Moment

This one goes to Jamie Vardy, reminding Tottenham fans that he has conquered the Premier League, while their favourite team has not.

Welcome back to the big time, Jamie, we’ve missed you!