Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Aston Villa were among 13 top-flight teams in action as Premier League sides continued their preparations for the 2026/27 season on Saturday.
Newcastle were at home as Matthias Jaissle prepares for his first season in the Premier League, as were Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Hull City, Sunderland and Fulham.
Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Ipswich Town were on the road with under a week to go until the campaign kicks off.
Take a look at the latest pre-season action, including highlights and team news.
Chelsea vs Real Sociedad: Joao Pedro scores twice
Two second-half goals by Joao Pedro took the forward’s pre-season tally to seven as Chelsea beat Real Sociedad 3-1, with £117 million Blues signing Morgan Rogers tapping in the opener.
The match was new Blues head coach Xabi Alonso’s first as boss at Stamford Bridge. You can read our report here.
Chelsea team: Robert Sanchez (Mike Penders 61); Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix (Josh Acheampong 62), Levi Colwill (Jorrel Hato 76), Pedro Neto (Willian Estevao 76), Reece James (Enzo Fernandez 62), Moises Caicedo (Romeo Lavia 76), Luca Palestra (Pep Chavarria 76), Palmer (Jamie Gittens 76), Morgan Rogers (Malo Gusto 62), Joao Pedro
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Aston Villa: Villans beaten
Monchedgladbach captain Tim Kleindienst’s strike and header inside four first-half minutes ensured Villa suffered another 2-1 defeat three days after losing the Super Cup showpiece to Paris Saint-Germain by the same scoreline in Salzburg.
John McGinn met Emi Buendia’s pass to equalise after the break.
Aston Villa team: Marco Bizot (James Wright 46), Kosta Nedeljkovic (Matty Cash 46), Victor Lindelof (Pau Torres 53), Tyrone Mings, Triston Rowe (Ian Maatsen 46), Lamare Bogarde (Boubacar Kamara 46), Ross Barkley (Kadan Young 86), Alysson, Luka Lynch (Emiliano Buendia 46), George Hemmings (John McGinn 46, Tammy Abraham (Bradley Burrowes 53)
Mainz vs Bournemouth: Evanilson scores in defeat
Finishes by Robin Zentner during the first half and William Boving during the second condemned Bournemouth to a 2-1 defeat at Mainz.
Rayan hit the woodwork for the Cherries after the opening goal and fellow Brazilian Evanilson slotted in their 40th-minute equaliser.
Bournemouth team: Djordje Petrovic, Adrien Truffert, Lewis Cook, James Hill (Bafode Diakite 46), Evanilson (Daniel Jebbison 70, Antonio Silva (Charlie Stevens 82), Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier, Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier, Justin Kluivert, ALex Toth, Rayan (Ben Gannon-Doak 70)
Union Berlin vs Ipswich Town: Tractor Boys roll to friendly win
After Zeno van den Bosch’s early goal for Union, Ipswich went 3-1 ahead through first-half goals by Jack Clarke, Emersonn and Dara O’Shea.
Josip Juranovic replied after the break before Kasey McAteer completed a team move to give promoted Town a 4-2 win over their Bundesliga hosts
Ipswich team: Kjell Scherpen, Dara O’Shea (Ben Johnson, 83), Issa Diop (Cedric Kipre 73), Jacob Greaves, Leif Davis (Darnell Furlong 66), Sasa Lukic (Cameron Humphreys, 66), Marcelino Nunez, Sindre Walle Egeli (Kasey McAteer, 73), Jack Clarke (Anis Mehmeti, 73), Daizen Maeda (Jaden Philogene, 46), Emerson (Chuba Akpom, 66).
Thank you for your support over here in Germany. 💙 pic.twitter.com/bvXRQebXsI
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) August 15, 2026
Brentford vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Thiago, Schade score twice each
Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago scored twice each and Dango Ouattara and Keane Lewis-Potter also scored as Brentford thrashed Frankfurt 7-0 at home.
Mamadou Sangare’s volleyed debut strike was the pick of the goals. Callum Wilson and Jaidon Anthony also made their bows at Brentford’s home.
Brentford team: Caoimhin Kelleher, Michael Kayode (Aaron Hickey 64), Kristoffer Ajer (Ethan Pinnock 71), Nathan Collins, Keane Lewis-Potter (Rico Henry 79), Vitaly Janelt, Mamadou Sangare (Jaidon Anthony 71), Mathias Jensen (Yehor Yarmoliuk 71), Dango Ouattara, Igor Thiago (Callum Wilson 71), Kevin Schade (Mikkel Damsgaard 71)
🗨️ "We're looking really strong"
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) August 15, 2026
The thoughts on Mathias Jensen on this afternoon's work@indeed pic.twitter.com/5W0LoR9KKR
Brighton vs Bologna: Hinshelwood hands Seagulls win
Jack Hinshelwood struck the 58th-minute winner as Brighton completed a perfect pre-season run of results with a 1-0 win at home to Bologna.
Albion’s competitive season begins slightly earlier than their fellow Premier League teams, heading to Norwegian side Tromo on Thursday in the first leg of their Conference League qualifying play-off.
Brighton team: Bart Verbruggen, Mats Wieffer (Costinha 77), Olivier Boscagli (Lewis Dunk 65), Luka Vuskovic (Michael Svoboda 65), Ferdi Kadioglu (Igor Julio 77), Yasin Ayari, Pascal Gross, Maxim De Cuyper (Ibrahim Osman 65), Diego Gomez (Zadok Yohanna 65), Jack Hinshelwood (Malick Yalcouye 65), Georginio Rutter (Charalampos Kostoulas 73)
Jack’s winner from pitchside! 🤳 pic.twitter.com/tiY7oKKPNK
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 15, 2026
Hull vs Nice: Premier League newcomers in stalemate
Hull’s final game of pre-season finished 0-0 against Nice, who came 16th in Ligue 1 last season and went closest to scoring at MKM Stadium.
City goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis made a double save to deny Victor Orakpo and Sofiane Diop during the first half.
Hull team: Konstantinos Tzolakis, Lewie Coyle (Paddy McNair 78), Semi Ajayi (Lucas Herrington 61), John Egan (Nobel Mendy 61), Ryan Giles (Matt Targett 61), Regan Slater (Cathal McCarthy 86), Matt Crooks (Kieran Dowell 78), Jens Hjerto Dahl (Lucas Gourna Douath 61), Mohamed Belloumi (Abdulkadir Omur 78), Oli McBurnie (Tyrell Sellars Fleming 86), Elliot Stroud (Liam Millar 61)
Newcastle vs Bayer Leverkusen: Jaissle suffers defeat
Ibrahim Maza scored from 25 yards inside the opening minute to set up Leverkusen for a 2-1 win against Newcastle, who switched from their usual black and white home colours to their new plum third shirt during the first half because of a colour clash.
Malick Thiaw headed the Magpies level before half-time but substitute Victor Boniface hit a late winner for the Bundesliga club.
Newcastle team: Lukas Hornicek, Lewis Hall, Sven Botman, Yoane Wissa, Harvey Barnes, Malick Thiaw, Sean Steur, Anthony Elanga, Nick Woltemade (Sean Neave 86), Lewis Miley (Rory Finneran 46), Mason Miley (Miodrag Pivas 81)
Sunderland vs Rennes: Brobbey, Hume goals seal comeback
Przemyslaw Frankowski’s first-half penalty gave Ligue 1 club Rennes the lead at Sunderland after Dan Ballard was ruled to have fouled Sebastian Szymanski.
Brian Brobbey slotted in and Trai Hume volleyed the winner to give the Black Cats a second-half comeback win, with Romaine Mundle almost scoring a third by hitting a post with a free-kick.
Sunderland team: Robin Roefs, Trai Hume, Dan Ballard, Luke O’Nien, Reinildo Mandava, Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki (Habib Diarra 62), Enzo Le Fee (Jocelin Ta Bi 83), Chemsdine Talbi (Romaine Mundle 62), Nilson Angulo (Chris Rigg 62), Brian Brobbey (Wilson Isidor 71)
Tottenham vs Hoffenheim: Moore goals help Spurs stroll
Richarlison opened the scoring and Mikey Moore struck twice from Mathys Tel assists as Tottenham beat Bundesliga club Hoffenheim 3-0 at home.
You can read our report here.
Tottenham team: Antonin Kinsky, Archie Gray, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi (Malachi Hardy 81), Andy Robertson, Lucas Bergvall (Jamie Donley 87), Sandro Tonali, Conor Gallagher (Tyrese Hall 81), Mikey Moore (Miracle Adewole 81), Richarlison (Reiss Elliott-Parris 81), Mathys Tel
Manchester United vs Milan: Amorim beats former club
Manchester United twice took the lead in Wroclaw, where Harry Maguire and Patrick Dorgu scored for the English side against their former manager, Ruben Amorim.
Milan recovered to win 4-2. You can read our report here.
Man United team: Senne Lammens, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven (Lisandro Martinez 61), Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui (Diogo Dalot 61), Andrey Santos (Kobbie Mainoo 61), Youri Tielemans, Patrick Dorgu (Marcus Rashford 61), Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo (Shea Lacey 61), Matheus Cunha (Bryan Mbeumo 61)
Fulham vs Stuttgart: Castagne goal settles friendly
Timothy Castagne’s second-half header gave Fulham victory at home to Champions League qualifiers Stuttgart.
Sander Berge thought he had put the Cottagers in front during the first half with a header that was adjudged not to have crossed the line and Bernd Leno made an excellent save from Badredine Bouanani’s volley to keep Fulham’s lead intact.
Fulham team: Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, Calvin Bassey, Jorge Cuenca, Antonee Robinson, Sander Berge, Alex Iwobi, Josh King (Shea Charles 78), Oscar Bobb, Gonzalo Garcia (Chibuzo Nwoko 88), Cesar Palacios
Freiburg vs Crystal Palace: Sage side suffer
Yannick Engelhardt, Lucas Holer and Derry Scherhant scored as Bundesliga club Freiburg beat Palace at the Europa Park Stadion.
The game finished 2-0 defeat after 90 minutes, with an additional third played. New Eagles boss Pierre Sage described his side as “good” for “only a quarter” of the workout.
When does the 2026/27 Premier League season start?
The season starts with reigning champions Arsenal hosting promoted Coventry City on Friday. Here are the key details on the first set of fixtures.
| Fixture | Date | BST | ET | PT | UK broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal vs Coventry City | Fri, Aug 21 | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | Sky Sports |
| Hull vs Man United | Sat, Aug 22 | 12:30 | 07:30 | 04:30 | TNT Sports |
| Everton vs Palace | Sat, Aug 22 | 15:00 | 10:00 | 07:00 | |
| Ipswich vs Sunderland | Sat, Aug 22 | 15:00 | 10:00 | 07:00 | |
| Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United | Sat, Aug 22 | 15:00 | 10:00 | 07:00 | |
| Brentford vs Tottenham | Sat, Aug 22 | 17:30 | 12:30 | 09:30 | Sky Sports |
| Brighton vs Aston Villa | Sun, Aug 23 | 14:00 | 09:00 | 06:00 | Sky Sports |
| Manchester City vs Bournemouth | Sun, Aug 23 | 14:00 | 09:00 | 06:00 | Sky Sports |
| Newcastle vs Liverpool | Sun, Aug 23 | 16:30 | 11:30 | 08:30 | Sky Sports |
| Fulham vs Chelsea | Mon, Aug 24 | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | Sky Sports |
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