The opening month of the 2025–26 Premier League season concluded with the official release of the August Player and Manager of the Month nominees. The shortlist reflects a mix of attacking returns, defensive leadership and encouraging starts for newly aligned teams.

Riccardo Calafiori has been Arsenal’s starting left back so far this season. That freedom to get involved further up the field produced one goal and two assists across three games in August, with two clean sheets adding to a strong month for the Italian.

Liverpool supply two names. Hugo Ekitiké had two goals and an assist in his first three Premier League games, while Dominik Szoboszlai claimed headlines with a free-kick winner against Arsenal before the international break.

Jack Grealish returned to these shortlists after joining Everton on loan from Manchester City. Four assists in three games have underlined his early impact following his transfer, which was described in earlier reporting as a £100 million ($134.3 million) move to the Etihad.

Marc Guéhi navigated transfer uncertainty to produce a series of solid displays for Crystal Palace, overseeing two away clean sheets at Aston Villa and Chelsea and scoring a long-range goal against Villa.

Erling Haaland, who won this award in August 2024, registered three goals in as many games for Manchester City, finding the net against Brighton & Hove Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

João Pedro matched Grealish for direct goal contributions across August, scoring twice against Fulham and West Ham United and adding two assists in the latter fixture while leading Chelsea’s midfield in the absence of the injured Cole Palmer.

Antoine Semenyo, who made allegations of racist abuse against a Liverpool fan in Bournemouth’s opening game, responded on the pitch with two goals against Liverpool and an assist against Wolves.

Sunderland began life back in the Premier League strongly under Régis Le Bris, who has two wins from three games. Wilson Isidor grabbed attention with two goals off the bench.

On the managerial side, Chelsea remain unbeaten under Enzo Maresca after recovering from a stuttering home draw with Crystal Palace to beat West Ham and Fulham. David Moyes has overseen Everton’s resurgence, with Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye central to two wins in three. Arne Slot’s Liverpool sit top with the only remaining perfect record, claiming wins over Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Arsenal prior to the arrival of Alexander Isak.

Manchester City went into the September international break on the back of a surprise 2-1 defeat at the Amex Stadium, their second straight Premier League loss. Brighton & Hove Albion’s second-half substitutes altered the contest and goals from James Milner and Brajan Gruda completed a dramatic turnaround.

Defensive fragility returned
City’s defensive problems, exposed again against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, resurfaced at Brighton. Pep Guardiola selected a much-changed backline at the Amex, and what began as an untroubled hour for the visitors collapsed when Brighton injected urgency. The hosts managed 11 shots, three big chances and 2.25 expected goals in the second period. Abdukodir Khusanov and John Stones were unconvincing under pressure, Matheus Nunes needlessly raised his arms inside the penalty area to gift Brighton their equaliser and Rayan Aït-Nouri lost more duels (10) than any other player on the pitch. The high line was repeatedly breached and the back four imploded as soon as the Seagulls found width.

Haaland’s milestone and role
Sunday marked Haaland’s 100th Premier League appearance and he marked it with a goal. The striker fired five shots towards Bart Verbruggen’s goal during the first half and scored on his fifth attempt, caressing the ball into the bottom corner from close range. That strike was his 88th in the competition, nine more than any other player after a century of appearances in the competition’s history. It was not a pass-heavy first half for Haaland, who attempted just one pass before the break, but he again provided the decisive contribution. He will never be a forward who knits play together, creates space for others and tees up teammates, but his relentless goalscoring returns more than make up for his lack of impact outside of the penalty area.

Rodri’s return matters
Almost a year after his last Premier League start, Rodri returned to Guardiola’s XI. The Ballon d’Or winner had suffered an ACL tear last term and further setbacks at the FIFA Club World Cup. Sunday marked his full comeback. He dropped between the centre halves to dictate the tempo, recording the most touches (57) in the first half and a team-high six passes into the final third that helped break Brighton’s press.

Brighton and Hove Albion overturned Manchester City with a second-half comeback to win 2-1 at the Amex Stadium. Substitutes James Milner and Brajan Gruda scored the goals that sealed the victory after Erling Haaland had put City ahead.

Omar Marmoush supplied the pass that allowed Haaland to stroke the ball beyond Bart Verbruggen from close range. The strike was Haaland’s 88th in the Premier League, moving him nine clear of Alan Shearer for most goals after a century of outings in the competition.

City owed their half-time lead in part to James Trafford. The summer recruit produced an excellent save to thwart Kaoru Mitoma prior to Haaland’s opener and denied the Seagulls an earlier advantage. Trafford was also beaten by Gruda for the winner.

Brighton’s response was sparked after a quadruple substitution on the hour mark. Matheus Nunes was penalised for a clear-cut handball inside the penalty area and ex-City midfielder Milner used all his experience to guide his spot kick into the bottom corner.

Yankuba Minteh, who had stung Trafford’s palms before the equaliser, then fired just wide as Brighton pressed for the lead. In the closing stages, Brajan Gruda kept his composure to round Trafford and net the winner, as Guardiola’s side slipped to a second straight defeat.

Player ratings for Manchester City were led by James Trafford (7.5) and Erling Haaland (7.9). Other City ratings: Matheus Nunes 6.9, John Stones 7.0, Abdukodir Khusanov 7.0, Rayan Aït-Nouri 6.9, Rodri 7.3, Oscar Bobb 6.7, Bernardo Silva 6.3, Tijjani Reijnders 7.3, Omar Marmoush 7.9. Subs: Nico O’Reilly (72’ for Silva) 6.5, Jérémy Doku (72’ for Marmoush) 6.4, Rico Lewis (85’ for Nunes) N/A, Rúben Dias (85’ for Khusanov) N/A. Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké, İlkay Gündoğan, Nico González.

Brighton (4-3-3): Bart Verbruggen; Joël Veltman, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Maxim De Cuyper; Carlos Baleba, Diego Gómez, Jack Hinshelwood; Yankuba Minteh, Danny Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma.