Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Joao Palhinha has been voted the Premier League Player of the Matchweek for Matchweek 2. The summer loan signing from Bayern Munich follows in the footsteps of his new Spurs team-mate Richarlison who won the honour for Matchweek 1.
Palhinha secured 33 per cent of the vote in the official Premier League poll which put him ahead of Liverpool’s 16-year-old sensation Rio Ngumoha, who received 22 per cent.
Palhinha won more duels and made more tackles than any Spurs player in their impressive 2-0 win at Manchester City last weekend. He also capped the fine performance with the second goal in the victory over the Premier League title contenders.
The other six nominees in the Premier League poll for Matchweek 2 were Jurrien Timber (17 per cent), Joao Pedro (12 per cent), Viktor Gyokeres (eight per cent), Jack Grealish (six per cent), Jaidon Anthony and Dango Ouattara (both 1 per cent).
Matchweek 3: Saturday’s Fixtures
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Manchester United v Burnley
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Leeds United v Newcastle United
Matchweek 3: Sunday’s Fixtures
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Brighton v Manchester City
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Nottingham Forest v West Ham
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Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Premier League: What happened in Matchweek 2?
Player of Matchweek 1: Richarlison
Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison was voted the best player from the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League season, according to an official fan poll.
The Brazilian’s two goals – including a spectacular scissor-kick – helped Spurs to a 3-0 win over Burnley at Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Results from the Premier League’s fan poll for Matchweek 1 had Richarlison top with 27 per cent of the votes, followed by Sunderland’s Dan Ballard (20%), Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders (18%), Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike (12%), Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo (9%), Arsenal’s David Raya (6%), Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (5%) and Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood (3%).
Mohamed Salah wins PFA Players’ Player of the Year for 2024-25
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was voted the 2024-25 Men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year. The 33-year-old Egyptian is the first player to win the prestigious award, which is voted by his peers, three times.
Salah was a worthy winner, after scoring 29 goals and creating 18 assists to lead Liverpool to the 2024-25 Premier League title.
“I look at myself now, a guy coming from Egypt and making it to the top level, making history today, it’s something that makes me so proud,” Salah said as he was presented with the award.
He previously won the award for the 2017-18 and 2021-22 Premier League campaigns.
Premier League: What happened in Matchweek 1?
Dean Henderson was the hero as he saved multiple Liverpool penalties to lift Crystal Palace to a shootout win in the 2025 FA Community Shield at Wembley on 10 August.
Palace fought back twice against Liverpool to force a 2-2 draw and send the match to penalties where Henderson kept out spot-kicks from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott.
Justin Devenny then wrapped up a 3-2 victory for the Eagles in the penalty shootout.
Before kick-off, tributes were paid to former Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, following their deaths in a tragic car crash in Spain last month.
However, the minute’s silence was cut short after a small number of Palace fans were heard shouting during the ceremony.
Who won the Premier League last season?
The 2024-25 Premier League season was one to savour for the red half of Merseyside as Liverpool were crowned champions. The Reds clinched a record-equalling 20th top flight title – but only their second in the Premier League era – with a convincing 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield back in April.
Liverpool’s success was a dream debut campaign for coach Arne Slot who replaced the legendary German Jurgen Klopp at the helm. Liverpool’s only other Premier League title win came in 2019-20 under Klopp during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Which Premier League teams are playing in Europe this season?
A record nine top-flight clubs qualified for UEFA competitions for the 2025-26 campaign.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League next season.
Aston Villa and Crystal Palace qualified for the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest will be playing in the Conference League.
However, Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League on 11 July due to club ownership issues raised by UEFA.
Separately, fans have been warned by the Premier League that this season fixtures could be moved at “relatively short notice” because of the number of English teams playing in Europe.
Who are the new teams in the Premier League?
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Leeds United: Secured automatic promotion as winners of the 2024-25 Championship season.
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Burnley: Secured automatic promotion as runners up of the 2024-25 Championship season.
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Sunderland: Promoted to Premier League after winning the 2024-25 Championship play-off final.
Are there any new Premier League rules this season?
Yes. There’s a number of a key law changes for the Premier League this season. You can read the full list and explanations outlined by the English Football Association (FA), here.
Below are some of the key changes fans will likely pay more attention to:
Law 3 – The Players
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Only captains will be allowed to talk to referees about key decisions.
Law 5 – The Referee
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Goalkeepers will now concede a corner if they hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds.
Video assistant referee (VAR) protocol
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Competitions have the option for the referee to make an announcement after a VAR ‘review’ or lengthy VAR ‘check’.
The VAR explanation is sure to generate lots of media headlines and social media debates. Buckle up.
What happened in pre-season?
Fans in Singapore were able to witness Premier League teams live in action during pre-season with both Arsenal and Newcastle United participating in this year’s Singapore Festival of Football – a five-year partnership between promoters TEG Sport and the Singapore Tourism Board.
Manchester City and Chelsea, who both participated in the Club World Cup, have just begun their pre-season after a short break.
Here’s a look at latest pre-season results from selected Premier League clubs:
Arsenal
Chelsea
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur
