Sunday Football Round-Up: Arsenal Lift the Community Shield and Burnley Fight Back
Arsenal collected the first major silverware of the new domestic season on Sunday 16 August 2026, beating Manchester City convincingly in the FA Community Shield.
Elsewhere, Burnley staged a dramatic late recovery against West Ham United, Watford made a winning start to their Championship campaign and Stenhousemuir produced a Scottish League Cup upset against Motherwell.
Several Premier League clubs also completed their pre-season schedules, with Liverpool recording a confidence-boosting victory at Anfield.
Arsenal sweep Manchester City aside
Arsenal defeated Manchester City 3-0 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff to win the FA Community Shield and make an emphatic start to the 2026/27 season.
Riccardo Calafiori gave Arsenal the lead after only 23 seconds, producing the competition’s quickest goal for 58 years. Myles Lewis-Skelly supplied the pass before Calafiori found the net while City were still attempting to settle into the match.
Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal’s advantage in the 28th minute, heading home after new signing Christos Tzolis delivered a looping cross into the penalty area.
Any hopes of a Manchester City comeback were effectively ended three minutes after half-time. Tzolis was involved again, releasing Martin Ødegaard to score Arsenal’s third with a composed finish.
City recorded more possession and attempted more shots, but Arsenal created the clearer opportunities. David Raya dealt with City’s best efforts to preserve the clean sheet, while the Gunners repeatedly caused problems when attacking at speed.
The result gave Mikel Arteta’s side an early trophy and underlined their readiness to defend the Premier League title. It was a far less enjoyable competitive debut for new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca, whose team struggled to convert possession into meaningful attacking pressure.
City will now prepare for their Premier League opener against Bournemouth, while Arsenal begin their title defence at home to newly promoted Coventry City on Friday evening.
Flemming rescues Burnley against West Ham
Burnley produced a stirring late comeback to draw 2-2 with West Ham United in a meeting between two of the clubs relegated from the Premier League last season.
West Ham took the lead after ten minutes when central defender Maximilian Kilman headed in a Jarrod Bowen corner. Burnley responded positively and created several opportunities, but the visitors remained ahead at the interval.
Manor Solomon appeared to have secured the points for West Ham when he doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. Burnley refused to accept defeat, however, and were rewarded when Zian Flemming converted a penalty seven minutes from time.
Flemming then struck again deep into stoppage time, forcing the ball home following a crowded goalmouth scramble to earn Burnley a point on new manager Nicky Hayen’s birthday.
The result continued an unwelcome pattern for West Ham, who surrendered several winning positions during their relegation season. For Burnley, the determination shown during the closing stages provided encouragement as they began their attempt to return immediately to the Premier League.
Watford hold off Southampton
Watford opened their Championship season with a 2-1 victory over Southampton at Vicarage Road.
Iker Bravo marked his league debut with a fine individual goal during the first half. Academy graduate Amin Nabizada then doubled Watford’s advantage with an even more memorable solo effort on his first senior start.
The 19-year-old collected possession inside his own half before carrying the ball towards the Southampton penalty area and applying a composed finish.
Southampton improved after the break and reduced the deficit through Cyle Larin in the 56th minute. The visitors enjoyed more possession as they searched for an equaliser, but Watford defended resolutely to protect their lead.
The victory gave new Watford head coach Alessio Dionisi a successful beginning in English football. It was also an encouraging display from a young side featuring several players making their first competitive appearances for the club.
Before the match, Watford paid tribute to former player and manager Kenny Jackett, whose association with the club stretched across more than two decades.
Liverpool end pre-season with a victory
Liverpool played Como twice on Sunday as manager Andoni Iraola gave minutes to different members of his squad.
A behind-closed-doors meeting at Liverpool’s training centre ended goalless. A stronger Liverpool team then faced the Italian club at Anfield and recorded a 2-0 victory.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring after 23 minutes, finishing after good work from Jeremie Frimpong. Gakpo then turned provider shortly before half-time, setting up new defender Jérémy Jacquet for a goal on his Liverpool debut.
Jacquet played only the first half but received an enthusiastic response from the Anfield crowd following an assured performance alongside Virgil van Dijk. Fellow new arrival Ronald Araújo replaced him after the interval.
Liverpool controlled much of the contest, although Como became more competitive during the second half. Ryan Gravenberch struck the crossbar late in the game as Liverpool went close to adding a third.
Nottingham Forest also completed their preparations with a victory, beating French side Brest 2-0 at the City Ground.
Newcastle United drew 1-1 with Strasbourg at St James’ Park, having lost 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen at the same venue on Saturday. Tottenham Hotspur followed Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Hoffenheim with a 2-2 draw against the German club in a second, behind-closed-doors fixture.
The Premier League campaign begins on Friday when champions Arsenal host Coventry City.
Stenhousemuir shock Motherwell
Stenhousemuir produced Sunday’s biggest Scottish League Cup upset by eliminating Premiership side Motherwell at Ochilview.
The match remained goalless through 90 minutes and appeared to be heading towards penalties before substitute Euan O’Reilly struck in the 114th minute. His goal secured a 1-0 victory and sent Stenhousemuir into the quarter-finals.
Rangers progressed in much more comfortable fashion, beating holders St Mirren 5-1 at Ibrox to give Derek McInnes his first victory as manager.
Ryan Naderi and Vanja Dragojevic put Rangers two goals ahead before Chris Mochrie replied for St Mirren. Djeidi Gassama, debutant James Penrice and Ross McCausland added further goals during the second half.
Hearts survived an early scare against Inverness Caledonian Thistle before winning 6-2 at Tynecastle. Calvin Miller scored twice, while Christian Borchgrevink, Rogers Mato, James Wilson and Claudio Braga also found the net.
Hibernian completed the quarter-final line-up by defeating Partick Thistle 1-0. Owen Elding scored the only goal during the first half.
The subsequent draw produced an Old Firm quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic. Stenhousemuir were rewarded with a home tie against Hearts, while Ross County will face Hibernian and Kilmarnock will host Aberdeen.
Sunday’s action brought the opening weekend to a close with a trophy for Arsenal, encouraging Championship starts for Watford and Burnley, and one of the biggest results in Stenhousemuir’s recent history. With competitive matches now arriving throughout the week, the new domestic season is very much under way.
