With the 2026-27 European soccer season now underway, we’re jumping to early conclusions after seeing all of the top teams in action.
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Premier League 🏴
Is there room for all the trophies?
The Gunners’ season started with 3-0 triumphs over Manchester City in the Community Shield and Coventry City in the Premier League opener. Arsenal, without the immense pressure of a league title drought, are destined for more greatness. They picked up where they left off last season, and their main threats in the title race all looked vulnerable during the opening weekend.
Expect another league crown and even the Champions League, after Arsenal came close to European glory in May. Our main concern is whether the Gunners’ trophy cabinet is big enough.
No. 9 ‘curse’ is over
Chelsea should finally feel great about their No. 9 after a thrilling 3-2 victory at Fulham. Joao Pedro was already with the club last season, but the Brazilian recently received Chelsea’s infamous No. 9 shirt, a number that’s been a club concern for decades. Several Blues strikers have struggled to meet expectations in the so-called goalscorer’s jersey, including, most recently, Liam Delap.
But Chelsea’s No. 9 curse is no longer an issue. Joao Pedro found the net with a superb finish in the first minute versus Fulham, and later delivered a nice assist, too.
Worst transfer window ever
Liverpool’s 2025 summer transfer window looks worse with each passing match. The Reds spent roughly £450 million on new signings last year to bolster what was a title-winning squad, and it totally backfired.
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, the two marquee additions from that window, made no impact in Liverpool’s season opener at Newcastle. At what point do we just throw in the towel and say that neither can handle the pressure of their respective price tags? Meanwhile, full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are complete shadows of their former selves, offering nothing going forward and actively making the team worse defensively. Andoni Iraola is going to have exactly the same issues as Arne Slot.
Haaland lost his powers
Erling Haaland must not be familiar with Samson, the biblical figure who lost his supernatural strength when his long hair was shaved off. The Manchester City star debuted an alarming buzz cut ahead of the new Premier League season, and promptly looked like a run-of-the-mill striker in his team’s opener. Haaland, whose flowing locks have been his signature look for much of his career, lacked sharpness in Man City’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth. He was off the pace with his runs, and when he did take up good positions, he couldn’t sort his feet out to make clean contact on any shots.
Short hair don’t care 😅✂️ pic.twitter.com/tPzQVFoUIL
— Erling Haaland (@Erling) August 23, 2026
Zlatan Ibrahimovic told Haaland during his indelible 2026 World Cup run that his long blonde hair was the source of his strength. He clearly didn’t heed that advice.
Time to fire Carrick
Michael Carrick got the permanent job after helping Manchester United improve late last season. However, they won’t replicate that success with him in charge from Day 1, as evidenced by a listless 2-0 defeat to Hull City in their opening match. It was United’s first league-opening loss to a newly promoted side ever, according to Opta. And Hull were fully deserving of the win.
The Red Devils’ squad remains unbalanced, particularly in the midfield, and Carrick can’t fix it. Expect regression to hit hard.
No avoiding relegation this time
Tottenham was close to relegation last season, but Robert De Zerbi – their third manager of the campaign – was able to save the club in its final match. That won’t happen this season. De Zerbi’s side fell 3-0 to Brentford in its opener, repeating the mistakes that ruined the club’s 2025-26 campaign.
It’s clear that the squad’s overall talent isn’t the main issue, yet Spurs have gone on a massive spending spree this summer. The early results? Tottenham generated only 0.47 in expected goals, against Brentford’s 3.96. To make matters worse, newly promoted clubs that many believe are destined for relegation (Ipswich Town and Hull City) are off to winning starts.
Alvarez won’t play for Atleti again
Is there any way Atletico Madrid can fix this obviously broken relationship at this point? Fans at the Metropolitano during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal treated Alvarez to boos and a hostile environment amid the striker’s transfer saga. His response? He left the field alone instead of applauding the supporters with his teammates after the match.
Alvarez has said he wants to leave and reportedly pushed for a Barcelona transfer. Atletico are apparently open to selling the Argentina star as long as it’s not to a direct La Liga rival. Diego Simeone insists he can build around the 26-year-old star, but this player-club relationship is unfixable.
They’ll break La Liga’s scoring record
Real Madrid set the single-season La Liga scoring mark with 121 goals during their incredible 2011-12 campaign. But the days are numbered for that record. Barcelona, now without striker Robert Lewandowski, destroyed Elche 5-0 in their first game of the new season, with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez each scoring a brace. New signing Karim Adeyemi also found the net.
Barca’s prolific attack topped La Liga with 95 goals last season, 18 more than the next-best team. With Lamine Yamal only getting better and the arrivals of Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon – and possibly another forward before the transfer window closes – Hansi Flick’s side is even more unstoppable.
Mbappe is Los Blancos’ biggest problem
Real Madrid won their first game with Jose Mourinho back on the sideline, but there’s still an elephant in the room: Kylian Mbappe holds them back.
The World Cup Golden Boot winner’s fit in the same lineup as Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Co. was hotly debated last season. Los Blancos have yet to lift a major trophy with Mbappe, and former boss Alvaro Arbeloa even left him out of the starting XI at one point. He played the entire game against Espanyol but probably should’ve been subbed off.
Mbappe became the first Galactico to take at least 10 shots without scoring in a La Liga game since 2018. He lost 15 possessions, according to Sofascore. Mourinho’s men were being held to a 1-1 draw until new substitute Carlos Espi’s 90th-minute winner.
Who needs Leao?
Rafael Leao is reportedly being chased by teams in Saudi Arabia and Turkey as the transfer window enters its final week. AC Milan should let him leave.
In 19-year-old attacking midfielder Alphadjo Cisse, who scored a lovely goal in their season-opening win over Torino, Milan already have a more exciting replacement who can become the focal point of Ruben Amorim’s side. Leao’s future has become an off-field soap opera, and will be a distraction if he remains at the club beyond deadline day. The Rossoneri can avoid that by selling him to the highest bidder, and they won’t lose any on-field production by giving his place in the team to Cisse. Everybody wins.
Pack it up, the Serie A title race is over
Inter Milan’s title defense started with a 4-1 win over newly promoted Monza. The Nerazzurri look stronger than last year and should claim consecutive Serie A titles for the first time since 2009-10.
Cristian Chivu’s men dominated Italy with a league and cup double last year, but Saturday’s opening-day victory showed that they have actually improved this season. Young striker Pio Esposito, who had a goal and an assist against Monza, continues to get better every day. Notable signings such as wing-back Djed Spence, midfielder Curtis Jones, and defender John Stones will also further strengthen what was already Italy’s best squad by some distance.
Signings solved nothing
Juventus spent well over a year chasing Randal Kolo Muani to solve their scoring woes, but his eventual arrival on a permanent transfer didn’t fix anything. The Frenchman’s bewildering close-range miss in Juve’s season opener against Frosinone – an unconvincing 1-0 win – was reminiscent of Dusan Vlahovic, the man Kolo Muani was signed to replace up front. Perhaps the Bianconeri will simply underperform their expected goals for eternity.
At least getting rid of Michele Di Gregorio in goal means they didn’t concede on the first shot they faced. But that’s small consolation for a team that once again will fall well short of the Serie A summit. Qualifying for the Champions League is the best this team can hope for.
Malen will make history
Is Donyell Malen the greatest signing in the history of the January window? It sure seems that way. The Dutch forward, picking up right where he left off from last season, scored a hat-trick in Roma’s season-opening 4-0 destruction of Fiorentina. He now has 17 goals in 19 league matches since joining the Italian club from Aston Villa in January. At this rate, he’s a credible threat to break the single-season Serie A scoring record that’s jointly held by Ciro Immobile and Gonzalo Higuain (36 goals).
Malen’s sensational scoring form makes it all the more infuriating that Ronald Koeman foolishly left him on the bench in the Netherlands’ World Cup-ending loss to Morocco this summer. What could have been.
We’re stretching the parameters a little bit here. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund don’t begin their Bundesliga campaigns until this coming weekend, but their meeting in the German Supercup provided much food for thought.
Nathaniel Brown: Secret No. 10
Bayern have struck gold. Again.
Brown joined the Bundesliga champions this summer as a promising left-back from Eintracht Frankfurt. Well, the Germany international’s reported €55-million fee looks like a robbery for Bayern; he dazzled in his debut for the Bavarians on Saturday … playing as a No. 10.
The 23-year-old looked comfortable everywhere on the field and contributed with a goal, the first in Bayern’s 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the German Supercup.
The gap is insurmountable
The gap between Borussia Dortmund and their Klassiker rivals keeps getting bigger, with Bayern’s latest German Supercup triumph adding another blow to the lopsided rivalry. While the Bavarians continue to sign (and develop) world-class playmakers, Dortmund – once a marquee pipeline for talent discoveries – have struggled to keep up with other European powerhouses.
Going back to Bayern’s victory over Dortmund in the 2013 Champions League final, the two rivals have faced off in 11 finals. The Bavarians won eight, including six of the past seven and three in a row. Dortmund’s last title over Bayern came in 2019 (Supercup), and they haven’t won the Bundesliga since 2012.
Torres will win European Golden Shoe
In his first game since scoring the winner for Spain in the World Cup final, Ferran Torres rescued PSG, coming off the bench (for 2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele) to net two second-half goals in 10 minutes and help the reigning champions erase a 2-0 deficit against Rennes.
Luis Enrique’s side dropped points with the 2-2 draw, but Torres left his mark in his PSG debut. The 26-year-old – who’s never scored more than 21 goals in a club season – will shatter that mark and become Europe’s scoring king this campaign.