Weekend review: Man City start Premier League in brutal fashion, Joshua knocks out Helenius

From the Premier League to LaLiga to heavyweight boxing, it was another exciting weekend in the sporting world last week.

Last weekend was another great one for sports, with European football taking centre stage. The English Premier League, LaLiga, and French Ligue 1 all returned for the 2023/2024 season.

Last weekend was another great one for sports, with European football taking centre stage. The English Premier League, LaLiga, and French Ligue 1 all returned for the 2023/2024 season.

Meanwhile, there were cup actions in Italy and Germany, with their leagues set to kick off this weekend.

It was not just football that dominated headlines over the weekend. There was also heavyweight action in boxing’s top division and tennis masters in Canada.

We look at some of these actions in this week’s round-up.

Manchester City lay down the gauntlet

If Manchester City’s rivals thought the champions would relax a little after winning the treble last season, they better have a rethink.

City sent a message to the rest of the Premier League that it would take something out of the ordinary for any team to wrestle the title away from them.

The Cityzens laid down the challenge after an excellent start to the season. Pep Guardiola’s men kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 demolition of newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor.

Erling Haaland was the main protagonist again as he continued from where he stopped last season with a brace before Rodri sealed a comfortable victory for the Champions.

Meanwhile, City’s big six rivals did not show enough to suggest they can challenge Guardiola’s men this season.

Arsenal struggled to beat Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur played a 2-2 draw against Brentford, while Chelsea and Liverpool shared the spoils at Stamford Bridge.

Mixed results for Real Madrid and Barcelona

LaLiga also kicked off last weekend, with the top two clubs suffering contrasting fortunes. Despite losing Karim Benzema in the summer and Thibaut Courtois to injury, Real Madrid kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.

There were question marks surrounding Madrid’s squad going into the new season, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men showed that they would be up there this season irrespective of their depth.

Goals from Rodrygo and new signing Jude Bellingham gave Los Blancos a solid win at the intimidating San Mames.

Meanwhile, champions Barcelona had an underwhelming start after they were held to a goalless draw at Getafe.

Barcelona had Raphina sent off in the first half for an elbow, but Getafe’s Mata was also dismissed minutes into the second half. However, Xavi Hernandez’s men struggled to break down a resolute Getafe defence.

Kane’s trophy curse continues with Bayern Munich

Harry Kane finally completed his move from Bayern Munich to Tottenham Hotspur on Friday, but the England captain had a debut to forget after Bayern Munich were thrashed 3-0 by RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup.

Kane left Spurs as the club’s record goalscorer but never won a trophy with the team. He joined Bayern Munich with the hope of winning silverware.

However, he got off to a bad start as Leipzig outclassed the German champions to win the Super Cup.

Dani Olmo was the star of the occasion, scoring all three goals that gave Leipzig a comprehensive win.

Anthony Joshua back with a bang

To heavyweight boxing. Anthony Joshua continued his road to redemption after knocking out Robert Helenius.

Joshua is trying to rebuild his damaged boxing reputation after losing his world titles to Oleksandr Usyk.

The Briton was initially scheduled to fight Dillian Whyte, but the bout was cancelled after Whyte returned adverse analytic findings in the pre-fight anti-doping protocols.

Helenius stepped in to replace him and surprised many when he took Joshua to the seventh round.

However, he had no answer to Joshua’s final knockout blow, which dropped him to the floor and ended the contest.

Jannik Sinner wins first Masters Title

Jannik Sinner finally won his first Masters title after beating Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1. Sinner lost his previous two Masters 1000 title matches in Miami in 2021 and 2023 but ensured he would not suffer final heartbreak again against de Minaur. He broke the Australian's serve five times to join Fabio Fognini (Monte-Carlo 2019) as just the second Italian Masters 1000 champion since the series began in 1990.

Meanwhile, there were cup actions in Italy and Germany, with their leagues set to kick off this weekend.

It was not just football that dominated headlines over the weekend. There was also heavyweight action in boxing’s top division and tennis masters in Canada.

We look at some of these actions in this week’s round-up.

Manchester City lay down the gauntlet

If Manchester City’s rivals thought the champions would relax a little after winning the treble last season, they better have a rethink.

City sent a message to the rest of the Premier League that it would take something out of the ordinary for any team to wrestle the title away from them.

The Cityzens laid down the challenge after an excellent start to the season. Pep Guardiola’s men kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 demolition of newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor.

Erling Haaland was the main protagonist again as he continued from where he stopped last season with a brace before Rodri sealed a comfortable victory for the Champions.

Meanwhile, City’s big six rivals did not show enough to suggest they can challenge Guardiola’s men this season.

Arsenal struggled to beat Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur played a 2-2 draw against Brentford, while Chelsea and Liverpool shared the spoils at Stamford Bridge.

Mixed results for Real Madrid and Barcelona

LaLiga also kicked off last weekend, with the top two clubs suffering contrasting fortunes. Despite losing Karim Benzema in the summer and Thibaut Courtois to injury, Real Madrid kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.

There were question marks surrounding Madrid’s squad going into the new season, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men showed that they would be up there this season irrespective of their depth.

Goals from Rodrygo and new signing Jude Bellingham gave Los Blancos a solid win at the intimidating San Mames.

Meanwhile, champions Barcelona had an underwhelming start after they were held to a goalless draw at Getafe.

Barcelona had Raphina sent off in the first half for an elbow, but Getafe’s Mata was also dismissed minutes into the second half. However, Xavi Hernandez’s men struggled to break down a resolute Getafe defence.

Kane’s trophy curse continues with Bayern Munich

Harry Kane finally completed his move from Bayern Munich to Tottenham Hotspur on Friday, but the England captain had a debut to forget after Bayern Munich were thrashed 3-0 by RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup.

Kane left Spurs as the club’s record goalscorer but never won a trophy with the team. He joined Bayern Munich with the hope of winning silverware.

However, he got off to a bad start as Leipzig outclassed the German champions to win the Super Cup.

Dani Olmo was the star of the occasion, scoring all three goals that gave Leipzig a comprehensive win.

Anthony Joshua back with a bang

To heavyweight boxing. Anthony Joshua continued his road to redemption after knocking out Robert Helenius.

Joshua is trying to rebuild his damaged boxing reputation after losing his world titles to Oleksandr Usyk.

The Briton was initially scheduled to fight Dillian Whyte, but the bout was cancelled after Whyte returned adverse analytic findings in the pre-fight anti-doping protocols.

Helenius stepped in to replace him and surprised many when he took Joshua to the seventh round.

However, he had no answer to Joshua’s final knockout blow, which dropped him to the floor and ended the contest.

Jannik Sinner wins first Masters Title

Jannik Sinner finally won his first Masters title after beating Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1. Sinner lost his previous two Masters 1000 title matches in Miami in 2021 and 2023 but ensured he would not suffer final heartbreak again against de Minaur. He broke the Australian's serve five times to join Fabio Fognini (Monte-Carlo 2019) as just the second Italian Masters 1000 champion since the series began in 1990.