Arsenal’s perfect start to the Premier League season shows no sign of slowing, moving three points clear of Manchester City with a 2-0 win at Sunderland, while Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham all dropped points at home.
David Raya’s penalty save from Enzo Le Fée kept Arsenal level before Bruno Guimarães broke the deadlock with his first goal for the club, arrowing a strike into the top corner from distance.
Bukayo Saka added a stoppage-time penalty to complete the win, extending Mikel Arteta’s side’s unbeaten start to four games and opening up a real gap at the top of the table. Manchester City can close that gap back to level on points if they win Sunday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
Chelsea’s defensive frailties continued to undercut an otherwise electric front three, as newly-promoted Hull fought back from 2-1 down to draw 2-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Morgan Rogers gave Chelsea an early lead before Mohamed Belloumi struck twice for the visitors, and although João Pedro restored parity just after the hour, Xabi Alonso’s side couldn’t find a winner. Alonso admitted afterwards he’d rather sacrifice entertainment for results, with his side already five points off the pace after conceding 12 goals in five matches against top-flight opposition since his arrival.
Liverpool were held goalless at home by struggling Fulham despite fielding a forward line built around Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, with manager Andoni Iraola citing fatigue from Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Atlético Madrid.
The result leaves Liverpool six points behind Arsenal in sixth. Fulham, under new boss Álvaro Arbeloa, picked up their first point of the campaign.
Tottenham’s £300 million summer spend has yet to translate into goals, as they were held scoreless again by Everton and sit just inside the relegation zone.
Aston Villa also remain in the bottom three after a late Nottingham Forest comeback, with Liam Delap, a club-record signing from Chelsea, opening the scoring before Igor Jesus sealed Oliver Glasner’s first win as Forest manager.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace’s difficult start continued with a 3-2 defeat at home to Ipswich, who scored a stoppage-time winner through Zian Flemming after Axel Disasi’s first-half red card, while Brentford remained unbeaten thanks to a Kevin Schade double in a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
– AFP
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