ACTU

Leagues resume: Arsenal, Marseille and Atlético kick off the season in style

Fondateur & Rédacteur en chef · 22 août 2026

After several weeks of transfer business and preparation, the major European leagues are gradually getting underway again. And the opening matchdays are already offering some interesting pointers.

Arsenal struck first in the Premier League, Marseille made a stunning entrance in Ligue 1 and Atlético de Madrid also enjoyed a successful start. This weekend, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, PSG, Inter and Juventus in turn enter the fray.

Arsenal sets the tone

The champions of England wasted no time.

Arsenal 3-0 Coventry, Friday evening at the Emirates Stadium. Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard allowed the Gunners to begin their title defence with a clear-cut win.

But another name in particular caught the eye: Christos Tzolis.

On his Premier League debut for Arsenal, the Greek winger was very active and was directly involved in the build-up to the first two goals. He notably won back the ball before Havertz opened the scoring.

A first appearance that already leaves you wanting to see more. Tzolis could quickly become one of the talking points of this new Arteta side.

Marseille hits hard

In Ligue 1, OM did not do things by halves.

Marseille 4-0 Strasbourg, Friday at the Vélodrome.

After a goalless first half, Amine Gouiri opened the scoring right after the restart before converting a penalty to complete a brace. Keyliane Abdallah and then Pierre-Emile Højbjerg then rounded off the show.

The turning point of the match also came from Samir El Mourabet, sent off in the 59th minute following a VAR review. Strasbourg therefore finished the match with ten men.

A 4-0 to start: Marseille immediately sends a signal.

Atlético also begins with a win

In Spain, Atlético de Madrid opened their season with a 2-0 win over Málaga at the Metropolitano.

The Colchoneros, however, had to wait until the second half to make the difference: Kang-In Lee in the 70th minute, then Álex Baena in the 85th.

A positive first result for Diego Simeone, with in particular the immediate impact of Kang-In Lee.

What about Real Madrid and Barça?

Watch the schedule: Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have not yet played their first Liga match.

Real's opening matchday game against Real Sociedad was postponed to 26 August. The Madrid side will therefore ultimately begin their league campaign on Saturday against Espanyol.

The same goes for Barça: their first match is scheduled for Sunday at Elche.

The weekend will therefore see the two Spanish giants enter the stage.