Ipswich Town secured their first Matchweek 1 top-flight victory since 1993–94 by beating Sunderland in 2026–27.
Ipswich defeated Sunderland 2–1 at Portman Road on Saturday 22 August 2026. The match marked Ipswich’s return to the Premier League and ended a long wait for a winning top-flight opening round.
Summer signing Emersonn opened the scoring for Ipswich after combining with Julio Enciso. Sunderland equalised through Nilson Angulo, whose direct free-kick was notable because it made him the first player since Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso in 2021–22 to score his club’s first goal of a Premier League season directly from a free-kick.
Ipswich ultimately won when substitute Jack Clarke scored in the 90th minute against his former club. That late goal supplied the three points and made the historical Matchweek 1 statistic possible.