'Far from their best' to 'a joy to watch' – ranking Premier League teams' start to season

There is now a three-week international break with no Premier League games until 10 October.

Key points

• Sunderland: After coming seventh in 2025-26, Sunderland fans will have wanted a better start to this season.
• Hull City: To have eight points from a tough opening five fixtures is an excellent return, including beating Manchester United and drawing with Aston Villa and Chelsea.
• Tottenham Hotspur: After spending more than £300m in the summer, Spurs have been poor, failing to score in their opening four league matches.
• Chelsea: After a solid start under Xabi Alonso, the Blues have lost two of their past three – and were picked apart by Brentford.
• Coventry City: You could hear the sighs of relief in the away end at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

We are five matches into the league season and there is a long way to go in the campaign, but which teams have impressed so far and who have disappointed?

You can have your say in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Arsenal: Solid start to their title defence until they were ripped apart by Brighton having survived a penalty scare at Sunderland. 7.

Aston Villa: Signs they are beginning to move in the right direction after losing so plenty of key players during the transfer window. 6.

Bournemouth: If games lasted 80 minutes the Cherries would be near the top of the table. Need to cut out conceding so late. 6.

Brentford: Demolished Spurs and Chelsea without fuss during a highly impressive unbeaten start. Can they keep it up and challenge for Europe? 8.

Brighton: Kings of entertainment after hitting 16 goals in five top-flight games, including three against champions Arsenal. A joy to watch. 9.

Chelsea: After a solid start under Xabi Alonso, the Blues have lost two of their past three – and were picked apart by Brentford. Are they really moving in the right direction? 6.

Coventry City: You could hear the sighs of relief in the away end at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Will Frank Lampard's side kick on after that win? 6.

Crystal Palace: Room for improvement after one win and three defeats. 5.

Everton: Despite a transfer window to forget, David Moyes has created the Toffees hard to beat. 6.

Fulham: Decent draws against Liverpool and Manchester United but need a win. Ipswich (away) followed by Hull (home), Coventry (away) and Crystal Palace (home) offer hope when they return from the international break. 5.

Hull City: To have eight points from a tough opening five fixtures is an excellent return, including beating Manchester United and drawing with Aston Villa and Chelsea. 8.

Ipswich Town: Defensively vulnerable but two late winners, against Sunderland and Crystal Palace, have earned them six points and shown their fighting spirit. 5.

Leeds United: Fifth in the league, unbeaten and with the joint-best defensive record. They indicated what they are capable of with a superb 4-1 win over Newcastle. 7.

Liverpool: Unbeaten but have been far from their best. Three clean sheets in their past three games, but more is projected from Andoni Iraola's side. 6.

Manchester City: Five league games, five victories. Managed to win at Manchester United despite going down to 10 men midway through the first half. With Erling Haaland already top scorer, City fans will expect a real push to win the league. 9.

Manchester United: Disappointing performances to lose at Hull and draw at a Fulham side who were bottom of the league. Their only win so far came against Ipswich and they were denied a victory at Everton by a late equaliser. 4.

Newcastle United: A mixed bag under new manager Matthias Jaissle. Although they responded well to beat Hull, they impressed in a draw against Liverpool, won comfortably at Tottenham, but were additionally terrible in a loss at Leeds. 6.

Nottingham Forest: Their best results have come away, drawing at Liverpool and winning at Aston Villa. But their home form will be a massive worry – yet to score a goal and with only one point from three matches at the City Ground. 5.

Sunderland: After coming seventh in 2025-26, Sunderland fans will have wanted a better start to this season. The Black Cats offered good accounts of themselves against Arsenal and Manchester City, but lost both matches. 5.

Tottenham Hotspur: After spending more than £300m in the summer, Spurs have been poor, failing to score in their opening four league matches. Supporters will be demanding an instant improvement after the international break. 2.

Taken together, the developments around ' Far from their best' to ' a joy to watch' – ranking Premier point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.