Arsenal, Leicester post first wins of the season
Champions Leicester got back to winning ways after Jamie Vardy’s trademark strike and Wes Morgan’s secondhalf effort downed Swansea City 2-1
LONDON: Arsenal and Leicester City picked up their first Premier League wins of the season by beating Watford and Swansea City respectively on Saturday while Chelsea continued their 100 percent start with a 3-0 stroll over Burnley.
Danny Rose’s strike cancelled out James Milner’s penalty as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool.
First-half goals from Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil gave Arsenal a 3-1 win at Watford to ease the pressure on longserving manager Arsene Wenger.
“We had two difficult away games,” Wenger told Sky Sports. “But today I believe we had a good solid performance.”
Cazorla opened the scoring with a ninth-minute penalty and Sanchez and the outstanding Ozil struck again before halftime.
“We had a good cushion at halftime,” Wenger added. “At the moment we’re not completely there physically and you could see that in the second half.”
Debutant Roberto Pereyra pulled one back for Watford with an unstoppable shot.
Champions Leicester got back to winning ways after Jamie Vardy’s trademark strike and Wes Morgan’s second-half effort downed Swansea City 2-1 at a rainswept King Power Stadium. Vardy beat Lukasz Fabianski after being picked out by Danny Drinkwater before captain Morgan slammed home from close range.
Leroy Fer pulled one back in the 80th minute after Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez had a 56th-minute penalty saved by Fabianski.
Goals from Eden Hazard, Wil- lian and Victor Moses sent Antonio Conte’s Chelsea provisionally to top spot with a 3-0 win over Burnley in a one-sided match at Stamford Bridge. A revitalised Hazard beat Tom Heaton in the ninth minute and Willian added a second in the 41st minute after being played in by Diego Costa.
“The team played very well, created a lot of chances,” Conte said. “To keep the clean sheet is very important and to increase our confidence in the work we are doing. Now we must continue.”
Substitute Moses added a third as Chelsea’s revival continues apace.
Juergen Klopp was left frustrated at Tottenham as Liverpool failed to kill the game despite their first-half dominance.
Milner opened the scoring with a 43rd minute penalty after Erik Lamela had fouled Roberto Firmino, but Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane were both denied during a one-sided first half.
Rose made Liverpool pay for their profligacy in the 72nd minute to leave Klopp ruing an opportunity missed.
“We must be more clinical,” Klopp said. “It’s not a game you win four or five. It’s difficult to create one chance, we had a few.”
Everton continued their unbeaten start when they overcame Stoke City 1-0 thanks to keeper Shay Given’s own goal. Southampton and Crystal Palace scored late equalisers to 1-1 draws with Sunderland and Bournemouth respectively.