Premier League clubs continued their preparations for the 2026/27 by playing friendly fixtures on Saturday.
Europa League champions Aston Villa fell to a narrow defeat to Porto in the Portuguese capital, while top-flight newcomers Hull City won comfortably as the build-up to the new campaign continues for the 20 Premier League teams.
Everton, meanwhile, played out a goalless stalemate against Championship opponents.
Porto vs Aston Villa: Europa League champions narrowly beaten
Aston Villa, last season’s Europa League champions, were beaten 2-1 by Porto in the Portuguese capital.
Having lost Morgan Rogers to Chelsea in a record-breaking transfer for a British player, and with Alejandro Garnacho going the other way on loan, Unai Emery’s men fell behind to a William Gomes goal after just five minutes.
Teenager Luka Lynch then levelled with a fine finish just after the quarter of an hour mark, before Brazilian wide-man Pepe restored the host’s lead.
Aston Villa starting XI: Marco Bizot, Matty Cash, Modou Kéba Cisse, Tyrone Mings, Ian Maatsen, Lamare Bogarde, Ross Barkley, Leon Bailey, Luka Lynch, George Hemmings, Bradley Burrowes
Aston Villa substitutes: James Wright, Joe Gauci, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Joao Gomes, Brian Madjo, Triston Rowe, Aidan Borland, Ben Broggio, Rodrigo Fortes, TJ Carroll
Hull vs Konyaspor: Tigers deliver dominant display in first outing
In their first match of pre-season, Hull ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over their Turkish opposition in Slovenia.
Enis Destan and Abu Kamara scored either side of an own goal to secure a positive result for the newly promoted Premier League outfit.
Oli McBurnie thought he had added further sheen to the scoreline when he made it four but the goal was ruled out for a supposed foul.
Hull City starting XI: Jack Butland, Maty Jacob, Cathal McCarthy, Paddy McNair, Cody Drameh, Darko Gyabi, Oscar Zambrano, Abdulkadir Omur, Ibrahim Akintola, Enis Destan, Abu Kamara
Hull second-half XI: Dillon Phillips, Ryan Giles, John Egan, Semi Ajayi, Lewie Coyle, Matt Crooks, Regan Slater, Kieran Dowell, Liam Millar, Mohamed Belloumi, Oli McBurnie
Everton and Bolton played out a goalless stalemate as the Premier League side were held by their Championship opposition.
After a quiet opening first 15 minutes, Everton had a goal disallowed when Thierno Barry was deemed to have been offside.
Toffees head coach David Moyes made five changes at half-time, introducing Tom King, Michael Keane, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Vitalii Mykolenko and Tyrique George for Mark Travers, Jarrad Branthwaite, Carlos Alcaraz, Adam Aznou and Harrison Armstrong.
But the changes failed to change the result as neither side could break the deadlock, with the game petering out without much action.
Everton starting XI: Mark Travers, Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, Adam Aznou, Jake O’Brien, Merlin Rohl, Tim Iroegbunam, Carlos Alcaraz, Dwight McNeil, Thierno Barry, Harrison Armstrong
Everton substitutes: Tom King, George Pickford, Michael Keane, Beto, Vitalii Mykolenko, Tyrique George, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, William Tamen, George Finney, Braiden Graham, Eli Campbell, Malik Olayiwola, Harvey Foster
Premier League pre season fixtures today
Three Premier League clubs are in action later on Saturday and during the early hours of Sunday morning.
| Date | Fixture | Venue | BST start time | ET | PT |
| Sat, July 25 | Liverpool vs Sunderland | Nashville | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
| Sun, July 26 | Leeds vs Wrexham | Tampa | 00:30 | 19:30 | 16:30 |
When does the 2026/27 Premier League season start?
The campaign starts on the weekend of Friday, August 21. You can see the full list of Premier League fixtures in August and September and TV schedule.
Elsewhere in Europe
Scottish champions Celtic raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening half-hour of their match against Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan but were eventually pegged back.
New signing Camilo Duran continued his impressive start to life in Glasgow, netting his third goal in as many games to give his new employers the early advantage.
Duran then turned provider, setting up James Forrest who grabbed his side’s second with 28 minutes on the clock.
However, the Serie A side hit back after the break, with Francesco Camarda bagging a brace – the first from the penalty spot – to ensure the former Manchester United’s boss’ side avoided defeat.
In Germany, last season’s runaway Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich fell to a 2-1 defeat to third-tier side Wehen Wiesbaden.
A youthful Bayern team – with an average age of just over 17 years – fell behind when Ibrahim Ati Allah gave the home side the lead in a game to mark the club’s 100th anniversary.
Tom Bischof’s penalty for Vincent Kompany’s side levelled the score before Lukas Schleimer pounced in the closing minutes to give the hists victory.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund were also beaten by the same scoreline in their clash with Dusseldorf.
Seventeen-year-old Mathis Albert gave Dortmund the lead in the first half but goals from Fabian Schleuse and Anas Slimani after the break turned the tie the favour of the third division club.
Meanwhile, Juventus beat Belgian side Standard Liege 1-0 courtesy of a well-worked set-piece.
From a free-kick on the edge of the box, Andrea Cambiaso teed up Fabio Miretti who blasted into the net.
