Which two clubs did Manchester City and Brighton beat on Sunday in the 2026–27 Premier League opening round?

Manchester City beat Bournemouth and Brighton beat Aston Villa on Sunday in the 2026–27 Premier League opening round.

Manchester City defeated AFC Bournemouth 2–1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 23 August 2026. In the other early Sunday fixture, Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Aston Villa 4–0 at home.

Brighton’s four-goal victory was the biggest winning margin of the opening round. The fixture was scheduled for Sunday because Brighton had been involved in a UEFA Conference League qualification play-off on the preceding Thursday.

The two matches were followed later that day by Newcastle United versus Liverpool. Sunday therefore contained three opening-round fixtures, while the round began on Friday and concluded on Monday. The pairings are easy to confuse because Manchester City and Brighton both played at 14:00, but only Brighton kept a clean sheet and won by four goals.