Everton hold Liverpool to stay top
Man City pip Arsenal as Sterling nets, Aguero returns
LIVERPOOL, England, Oct 17, (AP): With a leap reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo, Dominic CalvertLewin scored for the fifth straight Premier League game to earn Everton a 2-2 draw from a typically frenetic Merseyside derby against Liverpool on Saturday and cement his status as the hottest striker in English soccer.
Liverpool extended their decade-long unbeaten run in the derby but were denied a victory at an empty Goodison Park when Calvert-Lewin rose high to power a header into the bottom corner from Lucas Digne’s left-wing cross in the 81st minute.
The striker’s 10th goal in seven games for Everton in all competitions ensured the team will stay top of the league for another week, though the leaders dropped points for the first time this campaign in a match they ended with 10 men after Richarlison’s 90th-minute red card for fouling Thiago Alcantara.
There was still time for Jordan Henderson to turn the ball into the net, seemingly handing the champions a victory, but the goal in the second minute of stoppage time was ruled out for the narrowest of offside calls against Sadio Mané by the VAR.
Liverpool have not lost to their neighbors since 2010, and that undefeated streak was extended to 23 games in all competitions. Still, Jurgen Klopp’s side were handed a real test from Everton, which justified their surprise position at the top of the league by twice coming from behind.
Mané gave Liverpool a third-minute lead, only for Michael Keane to equalize from a corner in the 20th – soon after the visitors had lost commanding center back Virgil van Dijk to a right knee injury.
Mohamed Salah looked like earning Liverpool the win by lashing home a low, first-time shot in the 72nd minute after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross from the right was only partially cleared. However, the champions couldn’t hold out after Salah’s sixth league goal of the season.
Liverpool were hampered by having to play without their best defender for most of the match. Van Dijk hobbled off after a reckless challenge by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the seventh minute.
Pickford’s knee-high lunge at Van Dijk came seconds after the center back was adjudged to have been narrowly offside as a cross came over to him. It was seemingly only the fact an offside call had been made that meant Pickford avoided getting a card, with the VAR not checking for a red card.
Man City 1, Arsenal 0 Manchester City eked out a hardfought 1-0 win over, thanks to Raheem Sterling’s first-half goal.
Sterling slotted a rebound into an empty net in the 23rd minute after City midfielder Phil Foden had a shot parried away by Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno at Etihad Stadium.
City was missing star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne because of injury, but did welcome back Sergio Aguero. The team’s all-time record scorer played 65 minutes in his first match since June.
In one incident in the first half, Aguero complained to a female assistant referee about a decision and then placed his arm around her neck briefly before walking away.
City had goalkeeper Ederson Moraes to thank for preserving their lead,
with the Brazil international producing great saves from Bukayo Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang late in the first half.
It was City’s second win in four games in the Premier League, having started a week after most of the other teams because of their involvement in the latter stages of the Champions League last season.
Chelsea 3, Southampton 3 Southampton scored a stoppagetime equalizer to rescue a 3-3 draw at Chelsea, highlighting how the home team’s defensive vulnerability remains despite their offseason spending spree.
Jannik Vestergaard glanced in a speculative shot from deadline-day
signing Theo Walcott in the second minute of added-on time as Southampton rallied for a second time, having fallen 2-0 behind to Timo Werner’s first goals in the league.
Chelsea, who have already drawn two matches 3-3, missed the experience of one of their new recruits – center back Thiago Silva, who was missing as he recovered from international duty with Brazil – and also could have done with recent signing Edouard Mendy in the team.
With Mendy injured on international duty with Senegal, error-prone goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga filled in and made a bad mistake which allowed Southampton to make it 2-2.
Vindicating his nickname of “Turbo Timo”, Werner got in behind Southampton’s defensive high line two times in the first half before producing composed finishes to open his account in the league five games into the campaign following his offseason move from Leipzig.
He dummied the ball and spanned his marker to latch onto Ben Chilwell’s pass before cutting in and scoring the opener in the 15th. Then he ran onto Jorginho’s long pass forward, chipped the ball over advancing goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, and nodded into an empty net in the 28th.
Danny Ings pulled a goal back for Southampton just before halftime, and
Che Adams took advantage of dreadful defending by Chelsea to equalize in the 57th minute. First, Kurt Zouma’s backpass was under-hit, then Kepa made matters worse by completely missing the ball under pressure from Adams and then hooking it back into danger in the six-yard box after the ball came back off the post.
Kai Havertz reclaimed the lead for Chelsea within three minutes by tapping into an unguarded net after Werner was played in down the right – again exploiting Southampton’s high line – and crossed low for his Germany teammate to finish.
Vestergaard struck late, though, to deny Chelsea a third win so far.