Reports, results, goals as Aston Villa lose, Hull win and Everton host Bolton
Premier League teams continued their preparations for 2026/27 by playing friendly matches on Saturday.
Europa League champions Aston Villa were narrowly defeated by Porto in the Portuguese capital, while top-flight newcomers Hull City won comfortably as the build-up to the new campaign continues in the 20-team Premier League.
Meanwhile, Everton played to a goalless draw against the Championship side.
Porto vs Aston Villa: The Europa League champions were badly beaten
Aston Villa, last season’s Europa League champions, were beaten 2-1 by Porto in the Portuguese capital.
After losing Morgan Rogers to Chelsea in a record-breaking transfer for a British player, and Alejandro Garnacho leaving on loan, Unai Emery’s men fell behind to a William Gomes goal after just five minutes.
Youngster Luka Lynch then equalized just after quarter of an hour, before Brazilian Pepe put the hosts back in front.
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
Other places to stay in Aston Villa: 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: The Tigers put in a dominant display in the first outing
In their first pre-season game, Hull comfortably won 3-0 against their Turkish side in Slovenia.
Enis Destan and Abu Kamara struck either side to secure a comfortable result for the newly promoted Premier League side.
Oli McBurnie thought he had added another highlight to the scoreline when he made it four but the goal was disallowed for a poor look.
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’s 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 draw as the Premier League side were held by the opposition in the Championship.
After a quiet opening 15 minutes, Everton were denied a goal when Thierno Barry was ruled offside.
Toffees manager David Moyes made five changes at the break, 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 these changes failed to change the result because neither team could break the deadlock, the game ended without doing much.
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 games today
Three Premier League clubs will play later on Saturday and in the early hours of Sunday.
| The day | Repair | Location | Start time is BST | ET | PT |
| Saturday, 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 schedule of Premier League games for August and September and the TV schedule.
Somewhere in Europe
Scottish champions Celtic went 2-0 up inside half an hour of their match against Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan but were eventually pegged back.
New signing Camilo Duran continued his impressive start in Glasgow, scoring his third goal in as many games to give his new employers the lead.
Duran then responded, setting up James Forrest for his side’s second with 28 minutes on the clock.
However, the Serie A side hit back after the break, with Francesco Camarda grabbing a brace – the first from the penalty spot – to ensure former Manchester United side avoided defeat.
In Germany, last season’s runaway Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich, lost 2-1 to third-tier Wehen Wiesbaden.
Bayern’s young side – with an average age of just over 17 – fell behind when Ibrahim Ati Allah gave the home side the lead in the 100th anniversary game.
Tom Bischof’s penalty for Vincent Kompany’s side scored before Lukas Schleimer struck in the dying minutes to seal the win.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund were beaten by the same scoreline in their match against Dusseldorf.
17-year-old Mathis Albert scored Dortmund’s first-half goal but goals from Fabian Schleuse and Anas Slimani after the break turned the game in favor of the third-tier side.
Meanwhile, Juventus beat Belgian team Standard Liege 1-0 thanks to a well-executed set piece.
From a free-kick on the edge of the box, Andrea Cambiaso blocked Fabio Miretti who found the net.
