The 10 biggest Premier League opening day upsets - including Man Utd, Arsenal, and Chelsea shocks

Twenty-seven days, that’s all there is left to wait. On August 11th, Burnley will welcome last season’s treble-winners Manchester City to Turf Moor and a brand new campaign of Premier League football will officially get underway.

The early stages of a season are always an exciting time, filled with hope and optimism, and while it usually doesn’t take long for the usual suspects to pull away from the chasing pack, there is still a certain magic to the opening day, when all 20 clubs begin on a level playing field.

And the first day of a new campaign is always a good time for the odd upset here and there. With that in mind, and with anticipation for the 2023/24 season starting to build, here are 10 of the most shocking opening fixture results in Premier League history...

Arsenal 2-4 Norwich City - 1992/93

A doubly surprising result, firstly because Norwich were 2-0 behind at one stage, and secondly because they were widely tipped to struggle in the Premier League that season. Instead, the Canaries scored four goals in 14 second half minutes to complete one of the great opening comebacks, and would eventually mount an improbable title charge, finishing third that season.

Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United - 1995/96

A match as infamous for the punditry it inspired as the result itself. In the aftermath of Villa’s commanding win over a relatively inexperienced United side, Alan Hansen asserted that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’. By the end of the season, the Red Devils would be Premier League champions, and the ex-Liverpool defender would forever by haunted by one of football’s greatest soundbites. On the opening day of the 95/96 campaign, however, Hansen looked more than justified in his vocal doubt.

Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal - 2000/01

A classic upset of the Arsene Wenger era during which the Gunners wasted a hatful of chances, had Patrick Vieira dismissed for a needless swipe at Sunderland defender Darren Williams, and then had to deal with a subsequent ban for the French manager following a tunnel fracas with the fourth official. Wenger was charged with ‘alleged threatening behaviour and physical intimidation’, and Niall Quinn netted the winner on the day.

West Brom 3-0 Liverpool - 2012/13

Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge at Liverpool ended in a humbling 3-0 defeat at the Hawthorns where just about everything that could have gone wrong did. The Reds were reduced to 10 men when Daniel Agger was sent off, and the scoreline could have been even worse had Shane Long converted a missed penalty.

Everton 1-0 Manchester United - 2012/13

Twelve months later, David Moyes would be in charge at Old Trafford, but back in 2012 his Everton side doled out a first opening day defeat in eight years to their visitors. The decisive goal was scored by Marouane Fellaini, who would follow Moyes to Manchester at the end of the season.

Manchester United 1-2 Swansea - 2014/15

After a dire campaign under David Moyes, United acted swiftly to bring in Louis van Gaal off the back of the 2014 World Cup. The Dutch coach was met with a baptism of fire, however, with Swansea travelling to Old Trafford and delivering an unceremonious bloody nose to the Red Devils on their home turf. Interestingly, the Welsh outfit would come to represent something of a bogey team for Van Gaal, who lost three of his four meetings with them during his time in England.

Hull City 2-1 Leicester City - 2016/17

Following the buzz of their miraculous title win in 2016, Leicester were brought crashing back down to earth when they suffered a shock defeat to newly-promoted Hull on the opening day of the new campaign. Ultimately, this would prove to be the first in a series of underwhelming missteps that saw the Foxes struggle to recapture their previous magic, and that led to Claudio Ranieri’s departure in February 2017.

Chelsea 2-3 Burnley - 2017/18

One of the all-time Premier League opening day upsets. Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Gary Cahill was shown a red card early in the contest, and from there, Burnley ran riot. The Clarets were 3-0 up by the interval, and while a spirited fightback from the home side brought the scoreline back to 3-2, a second dismissal, this time for Cesc Fabregas, ended any hopes of finding an equaliser and ultimately sealed their fate.

Watford 3-3 Liverpool - 2017/18

Another stunner from the opening day of the 17/18 campaign. Watford holding Liverpool to a point at Vicarage Road might not be quite as jaw-dropping as some of the other results on this list, but the manner in which they did so certainly caught onlookers off-guard. The Reds had taken a 3-2 lead courtesy of a strike from debutant Mo Salah, but were pegged back right at the death when Miguel Britos nabbed an unexpected equaliser in the 93rd minute.

Brentford 2-0 Arsenal - 2021/22

Brentford announced themselves as a serious Premier League presence with an astonishing 2-0 win over elder statesmen Arsenal in their very first game in the division. The Bees hassled the Gunners from first whistle to last, and were soundly rewarded with strikes from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard. It was no fluke either, and after two seasons in the top flight, they look to have established themselves as a worthy force who can beat just about anybody on their day.