Controversies Refuse To Die Down In EPL Matchweek 1, Manchester United Left Fuming After Match Official Turn Down Penalty Call

The 2025-26 edition of the English Premier League has gotten off to a very spicy start. With Liverpool and Bournemouth opening the new season, football fans waited for the headline act of Matchweek 1 that was played between Ruben Amorim's Manchester United and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal. Manchester United, despite their lackluster show in the previous edition, have plenty to achieve this season and prove their detractors wrong.

'We need to win games but that was completely different to last season. We were the better team. In the end we lost the game, but really proud of the performance,' said the Portuguese manager. Manchester United indeed put up a valiant performance in their Premier League opener despite conceding a goal in the 13th minute of the game. Arsenal won the game 1-0, but the 'Red Devils' will have gained a lot of confidence from the performance that they put up.

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Controversial Penalty Call Leaves Manchester United Fuming

Manchester United were a far more superior side despite losing their campaign opener. The 'Red Devils' had 61 per cent ball possession and took 13 more shots as compared to Arsenal. The 89th minute of the game saw a big controversy that left United and their fans fuming. Arsenal's William Saliba ended up tripping United's new signing Matheus Cunha. There were appeals made for a penalty that would've denied Arsenal their victory, if United scored, but the match officials turned it down.

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Controversies Play Spoilsport In Matchweek 1

The Liverpool vs Bournemouth game that kicked off the new season of the Premier League saw Antoine Semenyo getting racist abuse from the crowd. The play had to be halted in the 29th minute as referee Anthony Taylor summoned both the managers for the briefing.

The season opener was hit with more controversial moments as Bournemouth's defender Marcos Senesi appeared to try and stop the ball as he got his fingertips. The Premier League Match Centre account on X tried to explain it with a lengthy statement, but none of it helped as the fans were convinced with what Senesi had gotten away with.

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Both these incidents did not affect the result of the match as the Premier League defending champions Liverpool won the game by a margin of 4-2.