The #PremierLeague is back!

Monday, 18 August 2014

The 2014/15 Premier League season kicked off this weekend, and it was Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United that dominated conversation on Twitter.

18 of the 20 clubs were in action, with Chelsea (@chelseafc) and Burnley (@BurnleyOfficial) completing the fixtures tonight in the first #MNF.

Here are seven facts from the opening weekend:

1. Total Tweets

There were more than 5.5 million Tweets sent in relation to the Premier League this weekend.

2. More than 1 million Tweets during Manchester United vs. Swansea City

@ManUtd’s 2-1 defeat to @SwansOfficial generated the most Twitter conversation of the nine opening fixtures.

The game, which saw Louis van Gaal make his bow as United manager, recorded more than one million Tweets during the match window (measured from 10 mins prior to kick-off and 30 mins after final whistle).

3. Most-discussed moments

The return of the Premier League threw up some huge talking points. Fans, pundits and athletes took to Twitter to discuss the action as it happened, and here were the three moments that generated the highest spikes in Tweets per minute (TPM):

  1. The full-time whistle blows as Manchester United lose 2-1 to Swansea: 32,000 TPM 
  2. Arsenal take a 2-1 lead as @AaronRamsey scores in injury time: 28,000 TPM 
  3. @WayneRooney equalises for Man United to make it 1-1 vs. Swansea: 21,000 TPM 

4. Louis van Gaal was most-mentioned person

New Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was the most-discussed person on Twitter this weekend in Premier League-related conversation.

5. Most-mentioned players

Over the course of the weekend many players stole the headlines on Twitter. The most-discussed three players were:

  1. @AaronRamsey
  2. @WayneRooney
  3. @youngy18 (Ashley Young)

6. Top Retweets

Twitter has become the place where clubs break news first. @ManUtd continued this trend in the opening game of the 2014/15 season, confirming the first starting XI of van Gaal’s reign in a Tweet.

It has had almost 13,000 Retweets at time of writing, making it the most Retweeted Tweet of the Premier League weekend. The top three are:

7. More than 60% of Premier League players are now on Twitter

The 2014/15 Campaign gets underway with all 20 clubs, more than 60% of players and two managers active on Twitter — @RonaldKoeman of Southampton and Garry Monk (@GarryMonk16) of Swansea City.


The return of the Premier League signals the imminent close of the summer transfer window on September 1. Continue to follow the action throughout the season, as fans, pundits, coaches and players join the conversation on Twitter.