Premier League Results Match Week 3: Arsenal Drops Points At Home To Brighton; Another Haaland Hat Trick Leads Manchester City Over Hammers; Liverpool Sails By Manchester United; Chelsea and Crystal Palace Draw At Stamford Bridge; Everton Makes History In Epic Loss To Cherries

Mikel Arteta was, of course, in full voice as he criticized the second yellow card that sent Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice off in the 49th minute at the Emirates. Brighton would score a tying goal nine minutes later as the surprising Seagulls remained undefeated by securing a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Rice’s second infraction was, of course, both obvious and silly as the English international was carded for delaying a restart. The Gunners had earlier taken the  lead when Kai Havertz scored in the 38th minute, his second goal of the season, assisted by Bukayo Saka. All momentum changed, however, when Rice received his first Premier League red card when he nudged the ball as Brighton’s Joel Veltman was trying to take a free kick. Rice had earlier fouled Veltman for his first yellow card and the second yellow left the Gunners to battle most of the second half with ten men. Brighton pressed its advantage and broke through in the 58th minute when Joao Pedro scored the equalizer. Both clubs now have identical records of two wins and a draw from three matches. Brighton should be ecstatic at their undefeated start under new manager Fabian Hurzeler.

When the ball drops for João Pedro , you know what’s about to happen next.

Refreshingly clinical. pic.twitter.com/vSuTUMUFZC

— Ryan (@ryanadsett) August 31, 2024

Arsenal, on the other hand, may already be worried about losing ground to fellow title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool, both of whom remain perfect after three matches. Erling Haaland continued his torrid start to the season, finding the net three times in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over West Ham. The Norwegian goal machine has seven goals on the season after his second consecutive hat trick and has now scored 70 Premier League goals in 69 matches for Manchester City.

Liverpool kept pace with the defending champions by defeating Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford. Luis Diaz scored a brace and Mohamed Salah had a goal and two assists as Liverpool Manager Arne Slot continued his perfect record in the Premier League. Manchester United’s midfield was overrun by their quicker Liverpool counterparts. Casemiro was dispossessed in the lead up to both Diaz goals and the former Real Madrid great was given the hook at halftime by Manchester United Manager Eric ten Hag. Casemiro’s midfield partner, promising youngster Kobbie Mainoo, also had a rough afternoon and lost the ball to Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister leading to Salah’s goal. The Red Devils certainly rued not having newly acquired defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte registered in time for the match. Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, meanwhile, continues to play like he is the answer to the Reds’ own defensive midfield concerns. Liverpool remains the only Premier League club not to have conceded a goal this season.

Newcastle United is level with Arsenal and Brighton on points after a 2-1 win at St. James Park over Tottenham Hotspur in a match where Spurs dominated play but was unable to capitalize upon its chances. Newcastle played conservatively but succeeded with its counterattack. The winner came when Spurs center back Cristian Romero was caught going forward as Newcastle attacked the space left in the Spurs defense. Joelinton found Jacob Murphy who crossed to Alexander Isak for the winner. Sandro Tonali made his return for the Magpies on Sunday after a lengthy betting suspension and received a warm welcome from supporters.

Brentford and Aston Villa each have two victories on the season after defeating newly promoted clubs on the weekend. Brentford pounded winless Southampton 3-1 as the Bees’ Bryan Mbeumo scored twice and forward partner Yoane Wissa added the third and final goal. The teammates have scored all five of the Bees’ goals this season with the Bees’ former striker Ivan Toney now having finalized a transfer to Saudi Arabia.

Aston Villa were 2-1 winners at Leicester as Villa’s super sub Jhon Duran scored in the 61st minute after coming on in relief of striker Ollie Watkins. It was Duran’s second match winner of the young season.

Newly promoted Ipswich Town got its first point of the season with a 1-1 draw versus Fulham. Twenty-one-year-old forward Liam Delap, acquired from Manchester City this summer, staked the Tractor Boys to the lead in the 14th minute. Not even an equalizer from Fulham’s Adama Traore could detract from the joy of Portman Road supporters in securing their first Premier League point in 22 years.

Less excited were the Chelsea supporters at Stamford Bridge who saw Crystal Palace take home a point when Eberechi Eze equalized after an opening goal by Chelsea’s Niclas Jackson. It was an all too typical day for the Chelsea forward. He scored a goal but bottled two later opportunities that could have given Chelsea the winner. His immaturity was on display when he received a yellow card for delaying play. Still, his contributions at the center of Chelsea’s attack are likely underestimated amid Chelsea’s perpetual search for  a different striker. Cole Palmer facilitated Jackson’s  goal against the Eagles on Sunday with  his league leading fourth assist. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, relied on Eze’s strike and some fine goalkeeping from Dean Hendersen, who notched six saves on the day, to end a steak of 13 consecutive losses against Chelsea and register the Eagles’ first point of the season.

The unhappiest fans of the weekend were likely those streaming out of Goodison Park after Everton collapsed in the late stages of a 3-2 loss to Bournemouth. The Toffees, who had failed to win, draw or even score going into the day, were leading by a 2-0 margin until Bournemouth began its comeback with an 87th minute goal by Antonio Semenyo. Stoppage time goals by Lewis Cook and Luis Sinisterra stole all three points for the Cherries in classic “smash and grab” fashion. The epic collapse by Everton was the first time in Premier League history that a club had lost after holding a two-goal lead into the 87th minute of play. The concern after two disappointing Everton losses to start the season had waned just a bit for 86 minutes until exploding into a cacophony of despair for the club that now sits dead last at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Wolverhampton resides with Everton and Southampton in the relegation places despite gaining a point in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Forest remarkably stayed undefeated after Saturday’s draw despite scoring only three goals in three matches. Wolverhampton earned its first point of the season when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde scored in the 12t minute, just two minutes after Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood had opened the scoring.

Premier League Preview: Match Week 3

Old Trafford will be the site for the 65th Premier League meeting between rivals Manchester United and Liverpool on Sunday. The heated rivalry saw the clubs draw both of their meetings last season. This time the focus will be largely on a pair of Dutch managers. Eric ten Hag was given a lifeline this summer by Manchester United’s new minority owners, but his leash could be short. Ten Hag led the Red Devils to their worst ever Premier League finish before helping to salvage another chance with an unexpected FA Cup win over Manchester City in May.

Manchester United prevailed on the opening weekend of this season at Old Trafford when new transfer Joshua Zirkzee scored a dramatic 87th minute winner. Last week versus Brighton, however, ten Hag’s managerial acumen was again called into question. He withdrew Bruno Fernandes, who was playing as a false nine, in the 79th minute at Brighton to put his team into a defensive shell. Manchester United failed to threaten after that point and the defense was ultimately undone in stoppage time by a Brighton winner. Media reports of Fernandes’ incredulity at his substitution were not helpful to his manager. In fairness, ten Hag has not finished building his roster for this season. In addition to Zirkzee, defenders Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt are still bedding in, and defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte is on the way from PSG to address weakness in the midfield. Goalscoring, where Marcus Rashford continues his inexplicably poor form, remains a problem and this weekend the club will face a Liverpool side that has not conceded a goal through two matches.

New Liverpool Manager Arne Slot, meanwhile, has professed great satisfaction in the squad he has inherited. That is a good thing as Liverpool has not helped its manager with many new signings. The transfer drought seems to have ended this week with the purchase of Federico Chiesa from Juventus. Slot remains on honeymoon with supporters after wins in the club’s first two matches. His first challenge could be brewing, however, with Trent Alexander-Arnold demonstrably pouting after his substitution from Sunday’s win over Brentford.

Another undefeated new Premier League manager,  31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler, takes his surprising Brighton side to the Emirates on Saturday to face Arsenal. Brighton’s late win over Manchester United followed an opening weekend rout of Everton in Hurzeler‘s Premier League debut. In addition to their young manager, the Seagulls have been freshened by the return from injury of star forward Kaoru Mitoma and the addition of six new transfer signings which has pushed their summer spending close to £200m. Ironically, a lack of investment was among the reasons that former manager Roberto De Zerbi departed. Arsenal, meanwhile, impressed with a win at Aston Villa last weekend after an easy stroll past Wolverhampton the week before. The Gunners have now finalized a deal for Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino who could be available to face the Seagulls.

Leaving Arsenal is striker Eddie Nketiah whose transfer is being completed this week to Crystal Palace. The struggling Eagles must go to Stamford Bridge this weekend for a London derby versus highflying Chelsea, the Blues having put up six goals last weekend versus Wolves. Crystal Palace Manager Oliver Glasner has pointed to the distraction and worry associated with his team’s actual and rumored transfer departures as contributing to the clubs’ two opening losses. Nketia’s arrival can hopefully raise the Eagles’ spirits as well as increase their goal production. Wolverhampton is another roster hit hard by transfer departures but has done little to fill the resultant vacuum after saying goodbye to defender Max Kilman and midfielder Pedro Neto.

Opponents have scored eight goals to just two by Wolverhampton in two losses to start this season. The bedraggled side now heads to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest which has grabbed four of six available points to date, albeit against less than imposing opposition. A win on Saturday by Forest and Manager Nuno Espirito Santo could force a reassessment of a gloomy preseason outlook for the Tricky Trees.

Everton, meanwhile, has been far worse than expected. The impact of losing midfielder Amadou Onana has been perhaps greater than anticipated with the club in no financial position to adequately replace him. Opponent goals have been flying into the Everton net while the Toffees are still looking for their first score of the season. Everton has had only two shots on target after two matches. Still, it seems ludicrous that Sean Dyche is purportedly on the hot seat after the former Burnley manager worked miracles with threadbare squads the past two seasons amid the club’s financial problems. Keeping the Toffees up could be an even greater challenge this season, but Dyche would seem uniquely qualified to undertake the task. The Toffees host Bournemouth on Saturday with the Cherries still coming to grips with their own heavy transfer loss, the sale of 19 goal scorer Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur. The Cherries and Manager Andoni Iraola have been able to tread water in the first two matches, each a 1-1 draw, with a possible win against Newcastle snatched away by a controversial VAR review which disallowed a stoppage time goal.

Tottenham Hotspur will be without the services of an injured Solanke when they travel to Newcastle to face the Magpies on Saturday. Richarlison is also a question mark, putting more of the weight on Son Heun-min to spearhead the Spurs attack. Newcastle, meanwhile, has been frustrated by four different offers having been rejected by Crystal Palace for prized center back Marc Guehi. While the focus has been on acquiring Guehi or a “Plan B” defender, the Magpies have also been listless in attack, scoring one goal in each of their two matches. This will be the 59th Premier League meeting between Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur with both clubs standing on 25 victories.

West Ham Manager Julen Lopetegui will have trouble finding his first win at London Stadium when the Hammers host defending champion Manchester City. While Lopetegui nicked his first Premier League win at Crystal Palace last week, the Citizens and striker Erling Haaland present a much more daunting challenge. Reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner Haaland is again leading the pack with four goals after his hat trick against Ipswich Town last week. Manchester City has not lost a Premier League match since December 6, 2023.

None of the newly promoted sides have won a match yet though Leicester captured a point, courtesy of Jamie Vardy on opening weekend. The Foxes host Aston Villa on Saturday. Winless Ipswich is home to Fulham. Southampton travels to Brentford where the Ivan Toney saga dominates the news. The Brentford striker has yet to step on the pitch for the Bees this season as transfer rumors swirl about the England international. Toney, thought close to a move to the Saudi Pro League, has now been linked with rumored interest from Chelsea. The transfer window closes on Friday for Premier League clubs though the opportunity to sell off players to the Saudi Pro League extends three days beyond that.

Premier League Results Match Week 2: Chelsea’s Young Stars Answer The Critics; Arsenal Finds Redemption At Villa; Haaland Hat Trick Plows Over Tractor Boys; Seagulls Nip Manchester United; Spurs Romp Increases Everton Worries; Liverpool Wins In Arne Slot’s Anfield Debut

Chelsea’s young stars, who led the club’s strong finish last season, had a day on Sunday. Noni Madueke had himself a hat trick. PFA Young Player of the Year Cole Palmer had three assists and a goal. Striker Niclas Jackson had a goal and an assist. Wolverhampton were left to look foolish in a 6-2 home embarrassment. Chelsea were thought the fools the past few weeks for their unusual personnel management which has seen a bloated squad experience more churn. Even Madueke had been the subject of transfer rumors, and at risk of losing minutes to newcomers, before his three-goal output on Sunday. Palmer, of course, is the club’s crown jewel and the man they call “Cold” delivered his first breakout performance of the young season, assisting all three of Madueke’s goals in addition to his own tally. The chemistry between Palmer and Madueke was undeniable, and one can only hope that Manager Enzo Maresca builds on that relationship amid Chelsea’s revolving door of lineups.

An injury to Romeo Lavia dropped Enzo Fernandez deeper along Moises Caicedo while Pamer moved inside to his more comfortable Number Ten position where Fernandez spent an uncomfortable shift against Manchester City the week before. Madueke slotted in on the right flank and excelled. Maresca’s system was evident on Sunday with Chelsea dominating possession and staying on the front foot throughout the match. To cap off an outstanding day, the final goal was the product of two of the club’s newcomers, Joao Felix scoring on an assist by Pedro Neto. Defensively, there’s still vulnerability, but the Blues look to have the goal potential to energize skeptical supporters.

That'll do. #CFC | #WOLCHE pic.twitter.com/Ac2zcXdRzx

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 25, 2024

Arsenal is intent that this will be their year after running second to Manchester City the past two seasons. Things were certainly different on Saturday when Arsenal removed the hex that ex-manager Unai Emery seemed to possess over the Gunners. The London side were 2-0 winners at Villa Park. Last season Arsenal not only lost twice to Aston Villa but failed to score a goal across the two losing efforts. Saturday’s win was also just the second win against Emery in eight meetings. Things were again far form easy on Saturday for the Gunners. Aston Villa had the better chances with Ollie Watkins uncharacteristically failing to convert on two golden chances. The Gunners finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 67th minute on a goal by substitute Leandro Trossard who continues to bid for a place in Manager Mikel Arteta’s starting lineup. A rare goal by midfielder Thomas Patey then removed all doubt as to the outcome ten minutes after Trossard’s breakthrough. Arsenal joins contenders Manchester City and Liverpool and surprising Brighton and Hove Albion as the Premier League sides with perfect records after two matches.

Brighton, and the Seagulls’ 31-year-old manager Fabian Hurzeler were 2-1 winners at home over Manchester United when Joao Pedro scored a stoppage time winner. No other club has lost in stoppage time as often as the six such defeats suffered since Eric ten Hag arrived at Manchester United. One-time Red Devil Danny Welbeck scored against his old club to open Saturday’s proceedings and give Brighton a 32nd minute advantage. Welbeck’s’ 100th career goal across all competitions was the sixth time he has scored against the Red Devils. Manchester United levelled in the second half on Saturday when Amad Diallo opened his account. A courageous performance saw the 22-year-old Diallo score just a day after the passing of his mother. Joshua Zirkzee would be ruled offside on a potential winner for Manchester United before Joao Pedro delivered the dagger in the fifth minute of stoppage.

There was little doubt as to the outcome at the Etihad where Manchester City spanked newcomers Ipswich Town 4-1. Erling Haaland scored a hat trick, the first coming by penalty, and Kevin De Bruyne had a goal and an assist to down the overmatched Tractor Boys.

Tottenham Hotspur also scored four times to win 4-0 over Everton. Son Heung-min found the net twice against an Everton side which has now conceded seven goals and failed to score any of its own in its two opening matches. Yves Bissouma returned from a club-imposed suspension to open the scoring for Spurs. Everton, meanwhile, managed just a single shot on target with Spurs controlling over 71% of possession. Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s howler  contributed to Everton’s woes when the England keeper was robbed of the ball by Son before the Korean international scored his first goal into an empty net.

While things look dire at Everton, Nottingham Forest is picking up points to try to separate itself from the relegation battlers. The Tricky Trees scored their first victory of the season and remained undefeated after a 1-0 win over Southampton. Morgan Gibbs-White provided the match’s only score with his 70th minute goal. The Saints, meanwhile, join Everton as the only sides yet to score a goal this season.

Crystal Palace surprisingly, is one of five Premier League clubs to have lost both games this season. The Eagles were superb down the stretch of last season under new manager Oliver Glasner, but now are trying to remain competitive while larger clubs poach their best players. Gone is electric young winger Miachel Olise. Gone is center back stalwart Joachim Andersen. Eagle supporters still have their fingers crossed that defender Marc Guehi and midfielder Eberechi Eze are still with the club when the transfer window closes on August 31. Palace suffered their second straight defeat Saturday, losing 2-0 to West Ham. West Ham Manager Julen Lopetegui recorded his first Premier League win when  Hammers Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowne scored second half goals at Selhurst Park.

Controversy clouded the finish of a 1-1 draw between Bournemouth and Newcastle on the south coast. The Cherries’ Dango Ouattara seemingly scored the winner three minutes into stoppage time, but VAR disagreed. The ball was determined on review to have come off the upper arm of the Bournemouth player, rather than his shoulder, and the goal was chalked off, much to the dismay of the Cherries and their home supporters. Bournemouth begins the season with two consecutive 1-1 draws. Newcastle was quite happy to head home with a questionable point.

Mohamed Salah scored for the second consecutive match and Luis Diaz had a goal and an assist to make Manager Arne Slot’s Anfield debut a success in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brentford. The visiting Bees played a second consecutive match without an appearance by striker Ivan Toney who remains the subject of transfer speculation. Liverpool, meanwhile, remains perfect heading into next week’s confrontation with historic rival Manchester United where Slot will face another Dutch manager in United’s Eric ten Hag.

Two former Arsenal prodigies scored in Fulham’s 2-1 victory over Leicester. Newly acquired Emile Smith Rowe scored the opener at Craven Cottage. After a tying goal by Leicester’s Wout Faes, Iwobi decided the contest with his 70th minute strike. The Cottagers were the far more threatening side on the day with 31 touches in their opponents’ box versus just six for the Foxes. Fulham Manager Marco Silva, however, is still hoping to add a striker capable of converting more of those opportunities.