--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-05-25T21:49:38.327Z last_updated: 2026-05-25T19:00:33+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/manchester-united/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2Zvb3RiYWxsLzIwMjYvbWF5LzI1L3N0b3J5LW9mLTIwMjUtMjYtcHJlbWllci1sZWFndWUtc2Vhc29uLWluLTEwMC1waG90b3M --- # The story of the Premier League 2025-26 season in 100 photos - **Source:** - **Published:** 25 May - **Club:** Manchester United - **Original URL:** https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/25/story-of-2025-26-premier-league-season-in-100-photos Prefer the Guardian on GoogleAugustReigning champions Liverpool left it late to beat Bournemouth 4-2 on the opening day of the season in their first league game back at Anfield following the death of Diogo Jota. The Reds also squeaked past Newcastle thanks to Rio Ngumoha and then Arsenal, after Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick, which won goal of the month. Meanwhile, Manchester City lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham and 2-1 away at Brighton, Everton christened their new home, Hill Dickinson Stadium, with a win, and Sunderland made a strong start on their return to the top flight with two wins from three. There were late goals aplenty in September. Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored a stoppage-time equaliser as Arsenal drew with Manchester City, before Gabriel Magalhães headed a 96th-minute winner when the Gunners came from behind to beat Newcastle. Elsewhere, Liverpool defeated Burnley with a 95th-minute Mo Salah penalty while Eddie Nketiah nicked a late winner for Crystal Palace as Arne Slot’s side lost for the first time. After five winless games to start their campaign, Aston Villa came from a goal down to beat Fulham. At the bottom, Graham Potter left West Ham, to be replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo, who had just departed Nottingham Forest. Manchester City comfortably won the Manchester derby 3-0. Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Nottingham Forest just 19 minutes after losing 3-0 to Chelsea, and a mere 40 days after replacing Nuno Espírito Santo. Liverpool endured a torrid month with defeats against Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford. Bournemouth’s 2-0 win over Forest lifted them to second, while Sunderland moved into the top four thanks to a 2-1 win at Chelsea. At the bottom, Burnley beat Wolves thanks to Lyle Foster’s 95th-minute winner, after which Vítor Pereira reacted angrily to abuse from Wolves supporters. Tempers frayed as Everton’s Idrissa Gueye gave his own teammate, Michael Keane, a slap round the face during a 1-0 win at Manchester United, resulting in a red card for the Senegalese, who later apologised for his actions. Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick as Arsenal thrashed Tottenham 4-1 to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 victory against Liverpool, before Harvey Barnes earned Newcastle victory over Pep Guardiola’s men. Tyler Adams scored the goal of the month from the centre circle but Bournemouth were still defeated 3-2 by high-flying Sunderland. And West Ham fans staged a protest against the clubs owners, featuring a coffin and a hearse, before watching their side beat Burnley 3-2. Mohamed Salah accused Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” after the Egyptian was left out of the starting lineup for the third game running – Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Elland Road. Elsewhere, Emi Buendía scored with the last kick of the game as Aston Villa beat Arsenal to close the gap on the Premier League leaders. But when the two sides met again later in the month, with Villa on an 11-match winning streak, Arsenal dominated and won 4-1. And Erling Haaland became the quickest player to reach 100 Premier League goals as Manchester City got the best of a nine-goal thriller with Fulham. Chelsea parted company with Enzo Maresca in acrimonious fashion on New Year’s Day – to be replaced, briefly, by Liam Rosenior – before Ruben Amorim’s miserable tenure at Manchester United was ended after a 1-1 draw with Leeds. Michael Carrick, who stepped in at United on an interim basis, started strongly as his side duly beat neighbours Manchester City in his first game in the dugout. Carrick then chased that up with a 3-2 win at Arsenal. Elsewhere, Igor Thiago scored a hat-trick against Everton and then a brace against Sunderland as he pushed Erling Haaland in the race for the golden boot. Erling Haaland scored a 93rd-minute penalty for Manchester City as they came back to beat Liverpool, while Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead against bottom-of-the-table Wolves after a mix-up between goalkeeper David Raya and Gabriel Magalhães. Tottenham sacked Thomas Frank and replaced him with Igor Tudor, but the Croatian watched in horror as his side were thumped 4-1 by Arsenal. Meanwhile, Spurs’ relegation rivals Burnley came from 3-0 down to briefly draw level with Brentford, but Mikkel Damsgaard’s late winner for the Bees meant it was all for nothing. Liam Rosenior came out with the strangest quote of the season when he said his players were trying to “respect the ball” when they surrounded both the ball and referee Paul Tierney with a bizarre huddle prior to their match with Newcastle, a 1-0 home defeat. Tudor’s hapless tenure at Tottenham continued apace with defeats against Fulham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. Arsenal opened up a nine-point lead in the title race, albeit with a game in hand, as Max Dowman became the youngest ever Premier league goalscorer, aged just 16 years and 73 days, during the Gunners’ 2-0 win over Everton. Danny Welbeck’s stellar season for Brighton continued with both goals against Liverpool in a 2-1 victory. In a seismic fixture in the title race, Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad thanks to a stellar performance from Rayan Cherki, meaning both clubs had the title in their hands going into the final stretch of the season. City’s fans mocked their rivals afterwards, claiming the result had triggered “panic on the streets of London”. Elsewhere, West Ham thrashed Wolves 4-0 and Forest pumped Burnley 4-1 and Sunderland 5-0, leaving Tottenham – and new manager Roberto De Zerbi – adrift in the relegation zone alongside Burnley and Wolves.