On August 23, Gary Neville analyzed the performances of several Premier League teams in the first round on a Sky Sports podcast.

Aston Villa's Heavy Defeat

Neville: The goals Villa conceded were really poor. But when Villa's starting lineup was announced and you looked at their bench, you'd think, "Their core has been gutted." Look at the players who left: Tielemans, Rodgers, Konsa...

This reminds me of Newcastle's midfield situation. They lost too many experienced players in that area. And now something very strange is happening, isn’t it? It’s about PSR—the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules—and everyone seems clueless about where the money actually went. The entire transfer market is in chaos right now.

So Villa are sitting there, and Villa fans are sitting there. They have a very good manager. One big thing I kept thinking about when the game was 4-0 was that they have to keep Emery. Will he think, "Hold on, I can't be associated with a situation like this"? Hopefully he won't. Because I really want Villa to play well, and I want Emery to stay there.

If they can bring in three or four more players this week, that would be great. Emery has a characteristic: he always attracts players to join. I think, looking at his overall coaching record and experience, he might be the best manager in the Premier League. Of course, players will be willing to play for him.

Villa are still in a very good position and will play many exciting games this season, so this result was indeed a big shock.

Congratulations to Brighton as well. But for me, the biggest shock was still Villa. My biggest concern about Aston Villa right now is whether they can keep their manager.

Man City's Unconvincing Display

Man City certainly deserved to win this game. Just look at the chance Haaland missed and Guehi's header. What truly surprised me was seeing Man City's starting lineup announced.

I didn't expect the game to unfold that way, nor did I expect the players to be deployed in those positions. I thought Lewis went to right-back, O'Reilly to left-back, Grealish to midfield and Foden played on the right wing. Overall, it was a bit... how should I put it? I don't think it was particularly logical.

From Man City's perspective, winning was certainly very important, especially for Guardiola. This is his first weekend managing the team under new circumstances. New managers taking over big clubs face immense pressure and expectation. But Man City truly deserved to win—it's just that they didn't win easily, and the team still has some worrying issues.

Over the past week, as we previewed the new season, I kept thinking this might be the most unpredictable campaign yet. It will be fascinating because there are so many new managers, so many new players, and so many changes at the top. I thought Arsenal should win the league title by a large margin. By Sunday night, my opinion hadn't changed.

Tottenham lost yesterday, Man United also lost, Liverpool nearly lost today, and Man City had to work hard for a home win. Everything we expected to happen seems to be happening. Results such as Ipswich beating Southampton and Villa losing 4-0 show that the top teams may no longer be as stable as they were last season, when they comfortably beat Brentford, Ipswich, and other well-organized sides. The same applies to Hull City.

So far, the entire season has unfolded pretty much as I expected. It was a good win for Man City, but they still have problems. Remember how long ago it was that Man City and Liverpool were teams that nearly reached 100 points—or actually reached 100 points? Five, six or seven years ago? That memory is still very vivid. They both won the treble and the Premier League many times.

We are still measuring these two clubs against the standards they set in the past, and both are far from that level. This Liverpool team is still a long way from being one that can truly win the Premier League title. I think they need to do a lot of work. As for Man City, I also think they are far from where they should be. Losing Rodri is a huge blow.

Man United's disappointing defeat to Hull City

Neville: Hull City were excellent at set pieces. They attacked every opportunity, won the first ball, won the second ball, and fought for everything. Man United didn't do enough in these aspects in the first 25 to 30 minutes of the game.

Man United had over 75% possession yesterday. They have sometimes struggled against teams that sit deep, but this game was a huge wake-up call for them.

As for Hull City, I can only say: fantastic, truly fantastic. They came up from the Championship. We talked about Leeds United and Sunderland last season, who might embody this positive, tough style of play. We also saw Coventry's performance on Friday night.

Of course, this was a tough first-round match against one of the strongest teams in the league. But they brought in a group of players with excellent physical attributes. Carrick chose a more physical approach because the Premier League now has many technically gifted players with high overall quality, but you absolutely cannot afford to lose on physicality.

And Hull City not only didn't lose to Man United in terms of physicality—to be fair, they even outperformed Man United in this aspect. This will be Carrick's biggest disappointment.

Of course, he comes from a system that emphasizes technique and passing control. You have to use your technical advantages to play through combination, passing, and possession. But at the same time, you also have to win challenges, win battles, make sure you win every one-on-one, and outperform your opponent in every position.

But Man United didn't do that yesterday. Too many players performed well below their usual level. He will hope this was just a fluke. I think he will remain calm because they face Ipswich at home next weekend, and Ipswich also had a good win this round.

This loss cannot carry over into next weekend. By then, they must address the problems and get back in form. But this game exposed a real issue for Man United: their defense is not good enough.

But, to be fair, they probably know that themselves. They rebuilt their attack last year because it was the problem. Now, the midfield is also a very real problem.

They need to rebuild the midfield in this transfer window, and they are already doing so. Things will be different once the window closes and some key players return.

Tottenham, Villa, Man United, and Liverpool all have to start performing as expected as soon as possible. The same goes for Man City. Although they won today, they know they are not performing at the level they should be.

And Arsenal will certainly be feeling very confident now. This is probably the most confident I have ever been about a team ultimately winning the league title after only the first round of the Premier League.

Of course, I might be proven wrong at the end of the season. I'm also making my season predictions on 'Monday Night Football' tomorrow. But if I go purely by how I feel after the first round, this is the most certain I have ever been that we will see one team ultimately become Premier League champions.

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