The new football season in Europe officially kicked off this weekend, with exciting matches in the Premier League, LaLiga, and Ligue 1. Defending champions, big names, and fresh debutants all took to the pitch, giving fans a taste of what’s to come this year. While Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal enjoyed opening wins in the Premier League, Chelsea failed to make an impact, drawing 0-0 at home against Crystal Palace. For fans following Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend, this round provided plenty of talking points.
In Spain, Barcelona began their LaLiga title defense with a strong 3-0 victory over Mallorca. However, Atletico Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat to Espanyol, while Real Madrid’s season opener is delayed until midweek. Over in France, champions Paris Saint-Germain started with a narrow 1-0 win away at Nantes. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich lifted yet another German Super Cup, beating Stuttgart 2-1. These results highlight why Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend is already buzzing with record-breaking numbers.
To give a clearer picture of the action, here are some of the best stats from the opening weekend across the top leagues.
Premier League: Records and Surprises
The English Premier League kicked off with plenty of drama and some historic numbers, especially for those tracking Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
- Manchester United’s struggles against Arsenal continued. Their 1-0 loss means United are now winless in their last six league matches against Arsenal – their longest run without a victory against any Premier League side.
- Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz showed his super-sub qualities again. He has now scored 7 goals off the bench since the start of last season, all after replacing Raúl Jiménez.
- Manchester City’s new Dutch star, Tijjani Reijnders, became the seventh Dutchman to score for the club in Premier League history. A nice highlight from Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
- United also faced another embarrassment – they have now failed to score in 7 home league matches since December 2024, a record only worse than relegated Leicester’s nine goalless games.
- Liverpool’s new striker Hugo Ekitiké made history by becoming the 15th player to score on his Premier League debut for the club. Darwin Nunez was the last, back in 2022. This made Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend extra special for Liverpool fans.
- Aston Villa extended their incredible 22-game unbeaten home run across all competitions. This includes 15 wins and seven draws, making it the longest active streak across Europe’s top leagues.
- Manchester United’s defensive issues continued as Riccardo Calafiori’s goal meant they have now conceded 23 goals from corners in the last three seasons – the most by any Premier League team.
- Federico Chiesa’s late strike against Bournemouth followed his trend – all 3 of his Liverpool goals have come after the 88th minute. This was also his first ever Premier League goal and one of the best moments from Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
- Mohamed Salah entered the history books by scoring his 187th Premier League goal, tying Andy Cole as the league’s fourth-highest scorer of all time. A legendary record added to Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
ALSO SEE:
LaLiga: Barcelona Shine, Atletico Struggle
Over in Spain, LaLiga provided plenty of storylines on the first weekend that boosted the buzz around Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
- Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid faced disappointment. Their 2-1 loss to Espanyol was the first time under Simeone that Atletico have lost their opening league game.
- Mallorca’s clash with Barcelona turned chaotic. With two red cards in the first half, they became the first team in three seasons to have two players sent off before halftime in a LaLiga match. Another highlight from Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
- Atletico’s Julian Alvarez impressed with a superb free-kick goal – it was their third direct free-kick goal since last season, the joint-most in LaLiga alongside Las Palmas.
- Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal added to his reputation by scoring from distance. He now has six goals from outside the box since last season, the most in Spain’s top flight. This stat became one of the standout moments in Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
- Barcelona also continued their strong record when scoring first. They are now unbeaten in 31 consecutive matches after taking the lead, a streak that began in December 2024.
Ligue 1, German Super Cup, and Messi Watch
France and Germany also had their share of exciting numbers, while Lionel Messi once again made headlines in the United States. For fans of Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend, these matches had plenty to enjoy.
- Olivier Giroud scored just 11 minutes into his Lille debut, marking the second time in his career he has scored on debut (the first being for Montpellier back in 2010).
- PSG extended their incredible record of scoring in Ligue 1. Their 1-0 win over Nantes stretched their streak of matches with at least one goal to 20 games, dating back to December 2024. Another fact from Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend that stands out.
- Bayern Munich lifted their 11th German Super Cup title, the most in the competition’s history. Borussia Dortmund are a distant second with six trophies.
- Harry Kane continued his dominance against Stuttgart, scoring again. He now has 7 goals against them, one of his favorite opponents alongside Augsburg. In fact, Bayern have won 15 of their last 16 games at Stuttgart. Kane has also scored the opening goal of a game 26 times since joining Bayern. A perfect example for Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend followers.
And then, of course, there was Lionel Messi’s magic in Major League Soccer.
- Messi has now scored in 4 straight games coming off the bench for Inter Miami, his best run as a substitute since the 2012-13 season at Barcelona.
- He reached 30 goal contributions this MLS season – 19 goals and 11 assists – the only player to achieve that mark so far. Another incredible entry for Football Stats 2025 Opening Weekend.
- Messi also scored his 40th regular season MLS goal in just 44 appearances, the second-fastest player to do so in league history. Only Josef Martinez managed it quicker, in 42 games.
SEE MORE:
