Salah sends Liverpool top as Man City held
Arsenal prevails after two defeats under Emery • Late Newcastle own-goal makes it 3 wins for Chelsea
LONDON (Reuters) – Mohamed Salah struck again to ensure an underpowered Liverpool maintained its perfect early-season record in the 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield and climbed to the top of the Premier League on Saturday night.
Salah, the league’s top scorer last year, scored the first-half winner to give Liverpool nine points from three matches after Manchester City’s spotless start to its title defense was halted by a 1-1 draw at newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On a day when Arsenal earned its first win under Unai Emery, a 3-1 victory over West Ham United, the two title favorites, while far from their best, both dominated their matches but with very different outcomes.
City, which won its first two games of the season in fine style, again largely controlled affairs against Championship winners Wolves at Molineux, but still had to come from behind to earn a point against Nuno Espirito Santo’s impressive side.
Wolves had gone ahead fortuitously after the break with Willy Boly’s diving header actually going in off his arm only for Aymeric Laporte to then equalize with a header, his first goal for City.
The champion hit the woodwork three times, once through Raheem Sterling, whose thunderbolt was tipped brilliantly on to the post by Rui Patricio, and twice from Sergio Aguero, whose free kick struck the crossbar in the dying seconds.
Manager Pep Guardiola felt his side had been let down by fragile defending, but reckoned it was still a good point against a Premiership newcomer that had demonstrated why it can still thrive in the top flight.
In the day’s late game, though, Salah demonstrated the clinical edge City had earlier lacked with his slide rule left-foot finish handing the edge to Liverpool.
It earned a lackluster Liverpool a twopoint lead over unbeaten Manchester City and Bournemouth, with Chelsea and Watford equaling on Sunday and Tottenham Hotspur having chances to join the three clubs on nine points in a match to be played against Manchester United on Monday.
Arsenal prevailed after two defeats under Emery, but only after Marko Arnautovic’s first-half goal for West Ham prompted brief thoughts that the home side might lose its first three league matches of the season for the first time since 1954/55.
Arsenal, though, responded quickly with a goal from Nacho Monreal, before a second-half own goal from Issa Diop and a Danny Welbeck clincher in injury time left the Hammers still searching for a first point under new boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Emery, reckoning that it was an important win for the fans, dismissed rumors of a row with Mesut Ozil, saying the midfielder was not on duty because of illness.
“No problem with the player. It isn’t true, that information,” Emery told reporters. “I don’t know who started it but if you ask me, the doctor, or the club, he was sick.”
It was the worst start by a West Ham manager since Israel’s Avraham Grant lost his opening four league games in 2010/11.
Bournemouth and Everton maintained their unbeaten starts to the season in a dramatic match at Dean Court in which both sides ended with 10 men.
Everton’s new Brazilian strike hero Richarlison was dismissed for a headbutt aimed at Adam Smith just before the break while Smith himself was sent off for a second half foul on Theo Walcott.
The home side then fought back after Walcott and Michael Keane had put Everton two up, with goals in the last 15 minutes from Josh King, from the penalty spot, and Nathan Ake.
Southampton’s difficult start continued with Harry Maguire’s stoppage-time winner seeing Leicester City earn a 2-1 comeback win, a victory that will have brought much pleasure to visiting manager Claude Puel on his return to his former club.
On Sunday, Chelsea kept up its 100 percent start to the Premier League season by snatching a 2-1 win at a stubborn Newcastle United, grabbing victory thanks to a late own-goal by DeAndre Yedlin.
Eden Hazard had blasted Chelsea ahead in the 76th minute from the penalty spot after Swiss defender Fabian Schar had tripped Marcos Alonso, allowing the visiting side a breakthrough after it had monopolized possession.
Chelsea joins Liverpool and Watford at the top of the table on nine points after three games, while Newcastle has one.
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez felt his side was hard done by.
“The penalty was soft and changed everything as we had to be more open.
“We had five players out and thought if we were compact we could maybe frustrate them. We wanted to stay in the game and try to take our chances and we were very close.”