Premier League
Man City crush Bournemouth, Arsenal also claim second win
Two games into the new season champions Manchester City have already raised the bar high as they crushed promoted Bournemouth 4-0 on Saturday to maintain their fast start.
Arsenal joined them on six point as former City striker Gabriel Jesus struck twice in a 4-2 win over Leicester City.
Leeds United looked on course for a second successive win but squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Southampton — one of three draws on a sultry Saturday afternoon.
Manchester United, bidding to avoid a second successive defeat under new manager Erik ten Hag, struggled in vain later in the day at Brentford.
City, bidding for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons, cruised to an opening win at West Ham United and were equally dominant against Bournemouth.
They wasted no time getting into their stride in the sunshine as Norway striker Erling Haaland marked his home debut with an assist for Ilkay Gundogan’s opener after 19 minutes.
City then cut loose and scored a sumptuous second 12 minutes later when Kevin De Bruyne curled a fine strike into the net with the outside of his foot.
Phil Foden added another before halftime from De Bruyne’s assist and it was just a matter of how many more the hosts would help themselves to. In the end they only managed one more courtesy of Jefferson Lerma’s own goal but they spent most of the second half on cruise control.
The arrival of Jesus has created quite a buzz at Arsenal and the Brazilian marked his home debut with a virtuoso display with two goals and two assists against Leicester.
A delightful chip gave his side the lead in the 23rd minute and he made it 2-0 with a header at the far post.
Leicester twice clawed themselves back to within a goal of the hosts thanks to an own goal by William Saliba, who like Jesus was making his home debut, and James Maddison.
But Arsenal were always a step ahead with Jesus setting up Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli scoring immediately after Leicester’s replies.
Leeds looked set for an away win at Southampton with Rodrigo’s brace putting them in control by the hour mark.
But goals by Kyle Walker-Peters and Joe Aribo earned Southampton their first point of the campaign.
Everton suffered a second successive defeat as they went down 2-1 at Aston Villa for whom Danny Ings and substitute Emiliano Buendia were both on target.
Fulham, who drew with Liverpool in their first game back in the top flight, missed the chance to earn their first win as Aleksander Mitrovic had a second-half penalty saved by Jose Sa in a 0-0 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Brighton and Hove Albion and Newcastle United also ended scoreless.
All games involved water breaks as much of Britain continued to swelter in a heatwave with temperatures reaching the mid 30s Celsius on Saturday.
-Reuters
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday was “an accident waiting to happen” after William Saliba was sent off in the first half.
Bournemouth won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert after Saliba was shown a red card for a challenge on Evanilson after 30 minutes as Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
It is the third time this season Arsenal have been forced to finish a match with 10 players, leaving Arteta frustrated that his side’s lack of discipline cost them points.
“We are obviously very disappointed with the result and gutted because we have to play again in that context,” he said. “This time was even more difficult than the previous two we faced this season.
“Playing for 65 or 68 minutes with 10 men at this level is just an impossible task. It’s an accident waiting to happen, not to get the points.
“I cannot fault the team for their effort, their commitment, how intelligent they are to play in the way that we have to do it.”
Declan Rice was sent off in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at home to Brighton earlier in the season, while Leandro Trossard was also shown red in the 2-2 draw against title rivals Manchester City.
Arsenal host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.
-ESPN
Joe Aribo scored a goal for Southampton on Saturday,but it was not enough to curb the club’s miserable run as they succumbed to a last-minute defeat by Leicester who snatched victory by 3-2.
Leicester scored three second-half goals to come from behind and stun 10-player Southampton, denying them a first Premier League win of the season.
The result means Saints have set a club record for the longest winless run in their entire top-flight history, having failed to emerge victorious from any of their last 21 Premier League encounters.
Inside five minutes, Joe Aribo had crashed a header onto the crossbar and inside seven minutes, the hosts had taken the lead. Kyle Walker-Peters led the charge after a quick free-kick and dropped the ball off to Ryan Manning, who squared for Cameron Archer to coolly slot in and send a wave of both relief and belief around St Mary’s.
Jordan Ayew scored in the 98th minute as Leicester staged a second-half comeback to earn a 3-2 win at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, with the 10-man hosts setting a club record of 21 matches without victory in the English top-flight.
Leicester moved up to 13th in the standings with nine points from eight matches, while Southampton fell to 20th – level on points with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who face champions Manchester City on Sunday
“It’s just unbelievable, that’s why we play football. We didn’t have a good first half,” Ayew told Sky Sports.
“Second half we got ourselves back together and attacked the game properly. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.
“It’s a good step forward to move up the table. We’re going to continue fighting and it’s not going to be easy so well done the lads and everyone.”
Having failed to win in their last 13 matches in the 2022-23 season when they were relegated, Southampton are without a win in the Premier League since they beat Leicester in the same fixture in March 2023.
Southampton shot out of the blocks and took the lead in the eighth minute when Ryan Manning squared for Cameron Archer to finish a sweeping counter-attack, before midfielder Joe Aribo added to their tally with a side-footed effort.
Leicester defender Wout Faes nearly scored a spectacular own-goal five minutes into the second half by sending a diving header straight at his own keeper Mads Hermansen, who spared the Belgian’s blushes with a deft save.
The visitors grew into the contest in the second half and created some half-chances before pulling one back in the 64th minute.
Buonanotte turned in a cross after a driving run from substitute Abdul Fatawu and the goal signalled the beginning of Southampton’s unravelling.
Minutes later, Vardy was denied on the line by an excellent Aaron Ramsdale save, but Leicester were awarded a penalty after a VAR review found that the forward was held back by Ryan Fraser.
Fraser was sent off and Vardy stepped up, blasting his effort past Ramsdale to equalise.
Leicester smelled blood and pushed forward in their quest for a winner, which came deep into stoppage time when Ayew’s low shot went through a sea of bodies and crept into the bottom corner, breaking the hearts of home fans at St Mary’s Stadium.
-Reuters
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