The English Premier League continued to produce thrilling contests in the second weekend of the 2024-25 season. Defending champions Manchester City produced a dominant performance courtesy of a hat-trick from Erling Haaland against Ipswich Town in a 4-1 win. It was not the same case with their neighbours as Erik Ten Hag's Manchester United suffered their first defeat of the season.

Meanwhile, the highlight of the weekend was Chelsea's rampant victory over Wolves. After losing their opening match to Manchester City, Enzo Maresca's side bounced back in style with a 6-2 win at Molineux Stadium. Other teams from the Big Six—Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur—registered clinical wins.

Here are the takeaways from the Premier League 2024/25 second weekend.

Erling Haaland scores his first hat-trick of season

Haaland continued his goal-scoring spree and netted a hat-trick in his second EPL match of the season. City conceded an early goal inside 10 minutes against Ipswich Town, but their star duo Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne displayed their class once again and scored three goals inside 5 minutes to make it 3-1 in the 16th minute. The Norweigan striker scored another goal in the final minutes of the clash to complete his hat-trick. Ahead of the season, Pep Guardiola said that he didn't have the motivation to win the Premier League at the start of the season, but it seems like it's not the case with his players.

Chelsea run riot

The Blues overcame the ghosts of City clash early and produced a dominant show versus Wolves with a 6-2 win. Noni Madueke netted a hat-trick while PFA Young Player of the Season Cole Palmer was at his creative best in Chelsea's terrific win. Nicholas Jackson opened the scoring for them in the second minute, giving them early momentum. The second half belonged to Madueke, who ran riot to Molineux Stadium, a memorable venue for them. The icing on the cake was Joao Felix's first goal on his return to Chelsea to announce his comeback in the blue jersey.

First defeat for Ten Hag's United

And the problems began early in the season for Manchester United as they lost 1-2 to Brighton. It was a lacklustre performance from Erik Ten Hag's side as they conceded a late goal in injury time to suffer their first defeat of the season. They have already spent a lot of money to strengthen their squad, but it seems like it's not enough for them to redeem themselves. It was another forgettable match for Marcus Rashford who is yet to take a shot on target this season.

Ten Hag managed to avoid getting sacked after last season, but it seems like the sword is hanging over his head once again.

Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham register crucial wins

Heun-min Son netted a brace as Spurs claimed their first win of the season and outclassed Everton 4-0 at home. They are still out of the top four and currently placed in the fifth spot after two matches. Meanwhile, another club from London - Arsenal registered back-to-back wins by beating Aston Villa 2-0. Unai Emery's men put up a fight in the first half but loosened their grip in the second half to concede a couple of goals inside 10 minutes.

Liverpool also continue to flourish under new manager Arne Slot with a 2-0 win over Brentford. Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah put their name on the scoresheet but it was style of play which was the highlight for Liverpool. The Reds completed 92% of their 602 passes vs Brentford, their highest passing accuracy in a Premier League game on record (since 2003-04). Slot also became the first Liverpool coach since 1991 to win his opening two league games.

Other results

Bournemouth were denied a late winner by a disputed VAR decision and had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home against Newcastle, who are placed sixth on the table. Second-half goals from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen helped West Ham United register their first win of the season as they cruised to a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Leicester City's wait for the first win of the season continues as Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi gave Fulham a 2-1 home victory over them.