A DAY OF DRAWS
London, UK - West Ham ruined Gareth Bale's Tottenham Hotspur return with a stunning late fightback from three goals down to rescue a thrilling 3-3 draw, while Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic endured a penalty nightmare in a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United on Sunday. Also, Alexis Mac Allister's first EPL goal gave Brighton a dramatic 1-1 draw at rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Tottenham were leading 3-0 when Bale came on as a 72nd minute substitute for his first appearance since joining on a season-long loan from Real Madrid.
The Wales star was one of the main Tottenham culprits as he missed a golden opportunity to wrap up the points before West Ham's Manuel Lanzini snatched a stoppage-time equaliser.
West Ham's Fabian Balbuena nodded in from Aaron Cresswell's cross after 82 minutes and Davinson Sanchez's headed own goal from Vladimir Coufal's delivery three minutes later left Tottenham panicking.
At Bramall Lane, Fulham's Mitrovic fired over with his second half penalty after Jack Robinson handled.
On-loan Leipzig winger Ademola Lookman put Fulham ahead in the 77th minute. But Serbia international Mitrovic was penalised for a high foot on Robinson in the 85th minute following a VAR check and Billy Sharp made him pay as he scored the penalty.
Mitrovic is the first player to commit the unwanted penalty double in the same EPL game since Mikel Arteta for Arsenal against Fulham in 2012.
At Crystal Palace, Palace took the lead in the 19th minute Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha sent Brighton keeper Mat Ryan the wrong way from the spot.
But, after a poor clearance from Palace defender Joel Ward, Argentine substitute Mac Allister fired home via a slight deflection from the edge of the area in the 90th minute.
United triumph
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer declared Manchester United's season 'starts today' after Bruno Fernandes and 'inspirational'
Harry Maguire enjoyed sweet moments of redemption in their side's 4-1 win at Newcastle on Saturday.
Also late on Saturday, Pep Guardiola said that Manchester City need time to hit top form after they ground out a 1-0 win over Arsenal.
Van Dijk faces lengthy lay-off
Liverpool's Premier League title defence was rocked on Sunday with the news Virgil Van Dijk must undergo knee surgery amid reports the Dutch defender could miss the rest of the season.
"Liverpool FC can confirm Virgil van Dijk will undergo surgery on the knee injury he sustained during Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Everton," Liverpool said in a statement.
"No specific timescale is being placed upon his return to action at this stage."
The 29 year old has started every league game for the past two seasons as the Reds won the Champions League in 2019 and ended a 30-year wait to win a league title earlier this year.