7 Ups & 5 Downs From Premier League 2019/20 Opening Weekend

The Premier League is back! And boy have we missed it.

Sure, there may have been the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Copa America, the Africa Cup of Nations, and the Under-20 World Cup, but there’s just something special about the Premier League and its frenetic style of football.

Already we have familiar faces at the top of the table, with Manchester City at the peak after a dominant 5-0 victory away at West Ham, closely followed by Man Utd and Liverpool. The flip side of City's big win is that the Hammers find themselves occupying the league table’s bottom spot.

Of course, it goes without saying that there’s still a whole lot to play for – 37 games worth, to be precise – and there are sure to be plentiful twists and turns along the way in what is hopefully another fantastic season of top flight football.

Even in this first weekend, we have seen several major surprises and attention-grabbing antics – not least due to the fact that the VAR system has been fully implemented into all Premier League games for the 2019/20 season.

Reflecting back on this opening weekend of action, here are the Ups and Downs of the Premier League’s hotly anticipated return.