Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has admitted he recognised that his side were capable of falling to Brighton on the opening day of their Premier League season as he knows improvement 'will not come overnight'.

The Red Devils were thrashed 4-0 by the Seagulls in their penultimate fixture last season at the back end of Ralf Rangnick's tenure. But after a fairly strong pre-season, United went into the new campaign full of optimism.

However, that positive feeling quickly dissipated as Pascal Gross grabbed two first-half goals - helped out by some shoddy United defending - to send Albion into the half-time break two to the good. The hosts pulled one back after Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez blocked Alexis Mac Allister's clearance, but that the visitors held on to win 2-1 and claim their first ever victory at Old Trafford.

United were second-best for long stretches on Sunday and captain Harry Maguire admitted that their heads dropped too easily after conceding the opener. Speaking after his first Premier League match, Ten Hag revealed that he wasn't completely shocked by such a mentality switch.

"It is a hell of a job . We have to work really hard, analyse and then move forward. Today was a good start and then after that we dropped down a level in belief and we made mistakes that the opponent punished. But it was a good opponent, we work well together but when you make mistakes you get punished for that," he said.

"I knew it could happen but I think we should have done better - that is clear.

"But I know also it will not come overnight. At times we played better in pre-season. Today we had a really bad period in the first half and we have to learn from that."

When asked if he could sense the squad's fragile confidence, Ten Hag replied: "I think so. That is also normal. I didn't expect that we are already a team that has had a lot .

"And I think that was the difference with our opponent: they have been a long time together with a certain plan and coach and we have not. But still it was unnecessary to lose this game." said Erik Ten Hag

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Belgian midfield maestro joined the Blue side of Manchester in 2015 and went on to mark a glittering 10-year career with the club, winning numerous personal and team accolades.

Fewest games needed to reach 100 Premier League assists:

◉ 237 - Kevin De Bruyne
◎ 293 - Cesc Fàbregas
◎ 367 - Ryan Giggs
◎ 445 - Wayne Rooney
◎ 559 - Frank Lampard

KDBrilliant. ™️ pic.twitter.com/lV9CZBOgWG

— Squawka (@Squawka) April 4, 2025

The 33-year-old midfielder has accumulated a total of 118 assists in his Premier League career across two spells with Manchester City and Chelsea, having tallied 280 appearances.

However, Kevin De Bruyne is the fastest player to register 100 assists in the Premier League, having played the fewest games among the footballers who have reached this milestone.

Here are the footballers who needed the fewest games to reach 100 Premier League assists.

Fewest games to reach 100 Premier League assists

237 - Kevin De Bruyne*

Kevin de Bruyne reached the 100-assist milestone in the Premier League in just 237 games, leaving behind some legendary figures who made it to this mark.

City's legendary midfielder registered his 100th assist in the competition on 8 April 2023 in Man City's 4-1 away win against Southampton. He also became the fifth player to bag a hundred assists in Premier League history.

Kevin De Bruyne reaches 100 assists in the Premier League.

No player has done it in fewer games (237) 🎁 pic.twitter.com/zLR9vuEmAU

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 8, 2023

De Bruyne has a total of 118 assists in his Premier League career, spanning 280 games for Chelsea and Manchester City, which is also the second-most PL assists of all time.

Read Also | Most Premier League Assists in a Season

293 - Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas, the Spanish midfield wizard, bagged a total of 111 assists across his 350 appearances for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League.

Fabregas, now retired, earned his 100th Premier League assist on 31 December 2016, in his 293rd appearance in Chelsea's 4–2 home victory over Stoke City.

Febregas is also the third player on the list who has the most assists in Premier League history, while 70 of these came at Arsenal, with the other 41 coming in a Chelsea shirt.

367 - Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs, the legendary Manchester United winger, tops the list for the most assists in Premier League history with a staggering 162 assists in 632 appearances, which is also the third-most PL appearances in history.

The Welsh legend took 367 games to reach the 100-assist milestone, having spent almost 25 years at Old Trafford before retiring in 2014.

Giggs is also the most decorated footballer in English football history, winning a record 34 trophies with Manchester United.

445 - Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is another Manchester United legend who made it to this list, having bagged a total of 103 assists in the Premier League in 491 appearances across Manchester United and Everton.

The English football legend achieved his 100th Premier League assist on November 6, 2016, during Man United's 3-1 away victory against Swansea City, his 445th PL appearance. He had two assists in the match, both for Zlatan Ibrahimović, with the first of these being his milestone 100th assist in the league.

Swansea 1-3 Manchester United. Goals from Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic seals a crucial win for the reds. #MUFC

Highlights of the game! pic.twitter.com/AFpPUiIraO

— David. (@Rooney_esque) November 6, 2016

Interestingly, that first assist for Ibrahimović also marked the 25,000th goal scored in Premier League history.

559 - Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard, the legendary midfielder for Chelsea, reached the 100-assist landmark in 559 appearances in the Premier League. The milestone assist came in Chelsea's memorable 7-1 victory at home against Aston Villa on March 27, 2010.

ON THIS DAY in 2010, Frank Lampard hit four goals in Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa http://t.co/L0yofsU2cq pic.twitter.com/vY3mpFQe3q

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 27, 2014

Lampard had a total of 102 assists in PL in a total of 609 appearances, having spent different spells across Chelsea, Manchester City, and West Ham United.

Remarkably, he is the only midfielder to have scored over 150 goals and provided over 100 assists in Premier League history.

(*the only active player on this list. The stats are accurate as of 5 April 2025)

Laliga clubs regularly own some of the biggest names in the world of football. Many of their top stars have come from abroad, often moving from the Premier League to La Liga. However, some superstars were not so successful in Laliga after the transfers. 
Trent Alexander Arnold is more likely to be the next biggest football transfer from the Premier League to Laliga. 
Discover the 10 biggest football transfers from the Premier League to Laliga, featuring players like Eden Hazard, and Phillipe Coutinho and legends like Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

10 biggest football transfers from Premier League to La Liga:  

10. Conor Gallagher | Chelsea to Atletico Madrid | €35 million:

Conor Gallagher was one of the key players for Chelsea in his final season. He is a Chelsea academy player, despite being an academy graduate of Chelsea, the Blues sold him to the Laliga side Atletico Madrid for €35 million and became one of the players with the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga.

He has seemed a perfect fit for Diego Simeone’s managed side, though he has rotated with other midfielders. Gallagher scored an important Champions League goal against Real Madrid, during a round of 16 match in which Atletico was heartbreakingly beaten on penalties.

9. Ferran Torres | Manchester City to FC Barcelona | €46 million:

FC Barcelona paid €46 million to Ferran Torres from Manchester City in 2022. But he was never able to prove his worth in FC Barcelona, he was one of the failed yet one the biggest transfers from the Premier League to Laliga.

The winger had never scored more than 10 goals in a single campaign for the La Liga giants. Torres played 145 games at Barcelona and has started almost exactly half (73), which shows the coaches he has played under have been aware that he cannot impact games.

8. Raphinha | Leeds United to FC Barcelona | €50 million:

Raphinha was not a major signing for FC Barcelona, yet among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. In the first season, Raphinha scored 14 goals and contributed in 15 goals. However, in the 2024/25 season, Raphinha found his lost form under Hansi Flick as he scored 27 goals and delivered 20 assists. Now the Brazilian winger is one of the players who is getting Ballon d'Or shouts in 2025.

7. Diego Costa | Chelsea to Atletico Madrid | €57 million:

Costa played for Atletico Madrid on a few different occasions. He had already left once before coming back in 2010 by the time he moved to Chelsea in 2014, and four years later, he was back, with Atletico Madrid paying €57 million for him.

Diego Costa was one of the players also among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. In his final season before leaving for the Premier League, Costa scored 36 goals, and in three seasons at Stamford Bridge, he scored 59 goals and 21 assists. The Spanish forward 81 games in four seasons after his return but scored just 19 goals in that time.

6. Luis Suarez | Liverpool to FC Barcelona | €75 million:

Barcelona had seen enough from Suarez in just two and a half seasons at Liverpool to sign him for an initially reported fee of £75million. That he’d move onto bigger things was unsurprising after notching 31 goals and 13 assists in his final season in the Premier League.

Luis Suarez was one of the key players also among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. The Uruguayan forward scored 195 goals and assisted 113 in 283 games, in his second season at Barca, scoring a remarkable 40 La Liga goals, along with 18 assists. Across all competitions that season, Suarez scored 54 goals and assisted 24.

5. Julian Alvarez | Manchester City to Atletico Madrid | €80 million:

One of the most recent players to the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga, Julian Alvarez moved to Manchester City for Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window of the 2024 season. He already has 23 goals and five assists this season, including eight direct goal contributions in the Champions League. So far, the move looks a positive one for Alvarez.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United to Real Madrid | €80 million:

Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly the best move from the Premier League to La Liga in history. He broke new ground with a transfer worth approximately £80million from Manchester United. The previous world-record transfer was Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid, which had stood for eight years.

Ronaldo was one of the most devastating forwards in the world for his entire spell at Real Madrid, scoring 450 goals and assisting 131 in 438 games. Ronaldo is the most successful and among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 while he was a Real Madrid player.

3. Gareth Bale | Tottenham Hotspurs to Real Madrid | €85 million:

At the time of his transfer to Real Madrid for approximately £85million, Bale’s was a world-record move. Gareth Bale was among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga.  

Bale would win five Champions Leagues with Real, as well as three La Liga titles, among many other honors. Throughout seven seasons, he scored 106 goals and assisted 67 times.

2. Eden Hazard | Chelsea to Real Madrid | €130 million:

Eden Hazard was one of the failed transfers yet and second-placed in the list of the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. That he never played 20 La Liga games in a single season, showed how much Hazard struggled, and he retired at just 32 years of age, having played just 10 games in his final season. The Belgian failed to match that single-season total in 76 games across his entire Real Madrid career.

1. Phillipe Coutinho | Liverpool to FC Barcelona | €142 million:

The biggest football transfer from the Premier League to La Liga, Barcelona spent an astonishing £142million to sign the midfielder from Liverpool. At Liverpool, he had become an iconic figure, having a direct hand in 97 goals in 201 games.

 After 13 direct goal contributions in his first 18 La Liga games, Coutinho slowed with only seven contributions in the 32 games he played in the season. The Brazilian left for Aston Villa, after only 39 goal contributions in 106 games at Barcelona.

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Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham broke Wayne Rooney's record for England in Friday's 2026 World Cup World Cup Qualifiers clash against Albania. Jude helped his side to win 2-0 at the famous Wembley Stadium to collect three points. 

Bellingham started in Thomas Tuchel's first starting XI as England's boss. It was the 41st appearance of the 21-year-old. The English midfielder overtook Wayne Rooney for the most senior appearance for the England national football team at 21 or younger. The former Manchester United legend made 40 appearances.

41 - Jude Bellingham is making his 41st appearance for England, overtaking Wayne Rooney's record (40) for most games for the senior side while aged 21 or younger. Baton. pic.twitter.com/wBVzvIiFlL

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 21, 2025

Jude Bellingham made his senior debut for the National side being a 17-year-old in November 2020 on his debut England triumphed with a 3-0 victory over Ireland in a friendly match. He has since made 41 appearances and scored 6 goals and provided 10 assists.

Jude Bellingham continued his good form against Albania on Friday as well. He got the ball in midfield and went past a couple of players before putting a cross for the debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly and the debutant scored the goal and put his side a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.

Harry Kane scored the second goal in the 77th minute and helped the Three Lions clinch a 2-0 victory over Albania. England is now at the top of the group k of 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The group also has Latvia, Serbia, and Andorra along with England and Albania.

Off to a winning start 🙌

A 2-0 success to start the Thomas Tuchel era and our @FIFAWorldCup qualifying campaign. pic.twitter.com/lXJYDIJsHA

— England (@England) March 21, 2025

While England beat Albania 2-0, Jude Bellingham spoke about things the Tuchel's managed side need to improve. Assessing his side's performance Jude said: (Via England Football)

Jude Bellingham against Albania:

- 90 minutes played
- 1 assist
- 0.43 xG
- 91% passing
- 102 touches
- 1 chance created
- 6 ground duels won
- 100% aerial duels won. pic.twitter.com/pAnrh2XGDy

— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) March 21, 2025

I think we had clear ideas on what we wanted to do and how we wanted to play. We tried that as much as possible. I know it is difficult when you play against a team that sits so low and is so compact.

At times the game takes you a different direction. You want to go on the ball and move around but generally, we stuck to the plan really well. We had a really good week of training, and it was a good way to start the new era.

The Premier League has seen some of the greatest figures who have led their respective teams to ultimate glory, wearing the captain's armband. These players have been monumental in shaping the clubs' history or writing the golden chapters the clubs have enjoyed over the years, in the past or now. 

The captain's armband carries a significant value and thus it deserves the players who lead the core from the front as a true leader. This list includes some of those footballers who have not only captained their sides to innumerable glories but also set examples for the upcoming generations. 

Sportz Point ranks these five footballers based on collected achievements and the long-standing impact they have created on their respective clubs as well. 

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A post shared by Sportz Point Football (@sportzpointfootball)

Terry, Gerrard, Vieira, Keane and Kompany: Ranking the Greatest Premier League Captains

5. Vincent Kompany – Man City

Vincent Kompany cemented his legend at Manchester City when he captained the club to their inaugural Premier League title in the 2011/2012 season.

The Belgian center-back was among the limited number of players who stayed at City following the takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, having signed for the club prior to the takeover being completed. During his time at City, Kompany led the team to four Premier League titles, with his last championship win being in the 2018/2019 season.

10 - Since Vincent Kompany's first season with the club, @ManCity have won more domestic trophies than any other side in England (4 Premier League titles, 4 League Cups, 2 FA Cups). Era. pic.twitter.com/DOGcPOYFyy

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 19, 2019

His exceptional leadership and defensive abilities made him a true icon of the club. This is reflected in his impressive Premier League record, consisting of 265 appearances, 18 goals, 8 assists, and 94 clean sheets.

4. Steven Gerrard – Liverpool

Steven Gerrard is practically synonymous with Liverpool. Despite not winning any Premier League title as a captain, the 'Captain Fantastic' Gerrard solidified the spirit of the club by leading by example through his remarkable talent, determination, and commendable attitude.

He famously inspired Liverpool to a comeback victory in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final with a heroic performance, cementing his place in Anfield folklore as one of the greatest captains in the history of the club.

540 Games
120 Goals
92 Assists

Steven Gerrard is the latest player to be inducted into the @premierleague’s Hall of Fame.

LEGEND 👏 pic.twitter.com/NDYZrRX3yZ

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) May 20, 2021

Gerrard's record in the Premier League is impressive as well, with 504 games, 120 goals, and 92 assists, and this further cements his place as a Liverpool legend.

3. Patrick Vieira – Arsenal

Patrick Vieira was a very crucial part of the Arsenal team during all three of their Premier League victories. He served as club captain for the triumphs in the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons. The latter season featured the famous Arsenal Invincibles, who completed the entire league campaign without losing a single match.

Patrick Vieira arrived at Arsenal in 1996, the same time Arsene Wenger did. Next season, they won the double.

He captained Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ side. His final kick in Arsenal colors won the FA Cup.

He returns today as Crystal Palace manager and as an Arsenal legend 🔴 pic.twitter.com/dFCCLKjVUW

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 18, 2021

Vieira is considered one of the best footballers in his position and is also one of the most successful and respected captains of the Premier League. 

2. John Terry – Chelsea

John Terry is one of the all-time greats in the history of the Premier League. Appointed Chelsea captain by Jose Mourinho in 2004, Terry took the Blues to their maiden Premier League crown in the same year.

🔹 5x Premier League winner
🔹 5x FA Cup winner
🔹 3x League Cup winner
🔹 Champions League winner
🔹 Europa League winner

24 years ago today, John Terry began his legendary Chelsea career 🏆 pic.twitter.com/TYwvs34Qaz

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 28, 2022

During his 12 years as Chelsea captain, Terry had a very successful career winning five FA Cups, three League Cups, the Europa League, and the 2012 Champions League. In the Premier League, he played 492 times and scored 41 league goals, becoming the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history till date.

1. Roy Keane – Manchester United

Roy Keane is widely regarded as the Premier League's all-time greatest captain. Joined with intense drive and masterful leadership, Keane led Manchester United to four Premier League titles and the legendary treble of 1999. His unstoppable courage, tireless work ethic, and leadership through example made him an all-time Manchester United icon.

Roy Keane is the most decorated Irish player in Premier League history, winning seven league titles with Manchester United. pic.twitter.com/cybzycAhcs

— The Extreme Football Enthusiast (@ExtremeFootbal4) March 13, 2025

Keane's Premier League career further reinforces his legacy. He played 366 games, scored 39 goals, and won 220 matches, suffering just 61 losses during his time. Keane's incredible story goes beyond the Premier League years, however, and shows how his legacy has lasted for a long time.

Keane's stay at the Old Trafford, however, came to a sudden end following a falling out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2005.

Hello and welcome to another live coverage of Premier League football. Tonight, we will bring you all the live updates, scores, news, and free commentary of the matchup between Leicester City and Manchester United at King Power Stadium in Leicester.

Leicester City will be at home, but that will not be enough to keep them confident. They have already fallen prey to Manchester United three times this season across all competitions. The Foxes are in the relegation zone as they have only been able to win four games in 28 league matches this season.

On the other hand, Manchester United will be confident enough as they are coming in after a dominating win in their UEFA Europa League fixture over Real Sociedad. Their first-half performance was not very good, but they came well-prepared in the second half and ran riot over their opponents. The Red Devils are in the 14th spot having won nine games in the same number of matches. The Red Devils will look forward to carrying their momentum going ahead.

So, sit back and relax as Swastik Debnath brings you the buildup, news, images, live scores, news, and updates of the match Leicester City vs Manchester United from our webdesk.

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