West Ham beat Wolves 4-0 in boost for boss Moyes

West Ham United secured their first points of the Premier League season with a 4-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, a result that will have boosted the spirits of manager David Moyes who missed the game after contracting Covid-19.

Wolves dominated the opening exchanges but fell behind in the 17th minute when the visitors' defender Willy Boly felled Michail Antonio in the centre of the pitch and referee Martin Atkinson allowed Pablo Fornals to take the free kick quickly.

He played a clever ball to Jarrod Bowen, who cut in onto his left foot and curled an exquisite shot in at the far post, despite being surrounded by three Wolves defenders.

Bowen was on hand again to rifle the ball home when Fornals hit the post in the 57th minute, and he could have had a hat-trick before being replaced by Mark Noble in the 88th minute.

After forcing some smart saves in the first half, midfielder Tomas Soucek looked to have got the goal his energetic performance deserved, but his glancing near-post header deflected off Raul Jimenez and was given as an own goal.

Wolves had plenty of possession but created little in the way of scoring chances, and West Ham substitute Sebastien Haller netted in stoppage time with a thumping header to complete the rout.

"Keeping a clean sheet was vital for us, and the fact that we scored four goals is big for us as well. It's the perfect performance for us, something we needed after the first two games," goalscorer Bowen told Sky Sports.

Linked with a big-money move to London rivals Chelsea, midfielder Declan Rice praised the West Ham coaches for stepping up following Moyes' coronavirus diagnosis.

"I am buzzing with the performance. Our manager has tested positive for the Covid, so the backroom staff have taken over. I can't be any happier for the staff tonight," he said. 

Late Bamford header gives Leeds win at Sheffield United 

SHEFFIELD - Patrick Bamford's 88th-minute header gave Leeds United a 1-0 win at Sheffield United in their Yorkshire Premier League derby on Sunday.

Jack Harrison whipped in a superb cross from the left wing and Bamford rose well to score for the third straight game and leave Chris Wilder's side without a point or a goal this season.

The game had been a story of excellent goalkeeping at both ends.
Leeds's French keeper Illan Meslier produced a superb save in the 29th minute from a close-range effort by John Lundstram after good work from Ben Osborn down the left.

Marcelo Bielsa's side threatened before the break, though, and United keeper Aaron Ramsdale did well to keep out a lofted shot from Stuart Dallas.

Meslier was alert again after the break when George Baldock turned sharply on the edge of the box to lose his marker and unleash a powerful drive but the 20-year-old keeper parried well.

Helder Costa then threatened with a stinging volley that was kept out by the diving Ramsdale.

Bamford's fine header, however, ensured that Leeds move to six points from their first three games on their return to the top flight after a 16-year absence.

"It was a just result," Bielsa said. "The first half was even. We could’ve scored but also conceded. The second half was a lot better for us. I think we created a small but just difference to create the victory."

Sheffield United had lost to Aston Villa and Wolves before the Leeds game and manager Chris Wilder said it had been a tough month.

"We'll be glad to see the back of September, Fresh start in October at Arsenal away. I can't fault a lot of things the players did in the game. I thought it was really tight, you have got to take the chances in the Premier League.

"We have to be more clinical, the best chances fell to us, we know how Leeds play, high energy and high tempo. We ultimately got punished by a fantastic ball and a great header," Wilder said.

Liverpool maintain perfect start

LIVERPOOL: Premier League champions Liverpool maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a 3-1 win against Arsenal at Anfield last night leaving them level on nine points with pacesetters Everton and Leicester City.

Liverpool created the early openings with Trent Alexander Arnold causing the visitors problems down their left. His cross was headed goalwards by Virgil van Dijk but Arsenal’s David Luiz cleared off the line and then another ball from the full-back was volleyed straight at goalkeeper Bernd Leno by Sadio Mane.

But in the 25th minute, totally against the run of play, Arsenal grabbed the lead when they broke down the left and Andy Robertson miscontrolled Ainsley Matiland-Niles’ cross, the ball falling to Alexandre Lacazette whose scuffed shot deceived keeper Alisson.

Liverpool responded swiftly though, drawing level three minutes later when Mohamed Salah burst in from the left and Leno parried his shot straight into the path of Mane who made no mistake from close range.

Robertson then made up for his mistake when he was picked out by Alexander-Arnold at the far post, chested the cross down and flicked the ball past Leno to make it 2-1 after 34 minutes.

New Liverpool signing Diogo Jota marked his debut from the bench with the goal that made sure of the win as he struck a well-taken volley from the edge of the box.

Earlier, Aston Villa moved into the top four after they strolled to a 3-0 win at Fulham thanks to goals from Jack Grealish, Conor Hourihane and Tyrone Mings in a lopsided contest.

United earn dramatic win at Brighton with late Fernandes penalty 

BRIGHTON - Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 away in the Premier League on Saturday after an incredible finale in which Bruno Fernandes struck the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 100th minute of the game.

Fernandes's winner, which came after referee Chris Kavanagh had initially blown for full-time, concluded an enthralling match which saw Brighton hit the woodwork five times and have a penalty overturned after a VAR review, while United had a goal ruled out in each half for offside.

Brighton's Neal Maupay gave away the decisive penalty with a handball as he tried to block a late header from United captain Harry Maguire, which led to a VAR review after Kavanagh had signalled for the game to end.

Kavanagh eventually gave the penalty after consulting the pitchside VAR monitor and Fernandes lashed into the net from the spot, moments after Solly March had levelled for Brighton in the fifth minute of added time.

Brighton took a deserved lead when Maupay coolly slotted in a penalty in the 40th minute after a foul by Fernandes but the visitors soon levelled with an own goal from Brighton defender Lewis Dunk.

A brilliant solo strike from Marcus Rashford had given United the lead in the 55th minute, after Rashford and Mason Greenwood had goals ruled out for offside, and Paul Pogba was relieved to see a possible penalty for a foul on Aaron Connolly overturned by a VAR review.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was happy to admit his side had ridden their luck.

"We got away with one. Maybe one point we deserved, we didn't deserve more. But the character deserved more," he told reporters.

"Last season we had too many draws, so that is a big plus for us."
Brighton coach Graham Potter could not believe his team had lost after creating so many chances and drawing level so late.

"It's a sore one, to say the least. Sometimes life isn't fair and it feels like that at the moment," he said.

"All the little things have gone against us but we were really good for 90 minutes and we have to take that forwards. We deserved something from the game to say the least."

Midfielder Leandro Trossard, who hit both posts in the first half and hammered the crossbar in the second, added: "We had a lot of chances and to lose like that is the worst feeling you can get. It was one of those days, the ball didn't want to go in."
United's match winner Fernandes made no apologies.

"Maybe they deserved more, but the point is score goals not hit the bar. Sometimes you have to have some luck." 

Everton win again after penalty controversy at Palace 

LONDON, - Everton made it three wins out of three as they topped the Premier League after a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday, won by a controversial penalty awarded for handball and converted by Richarlison.

Carlo Ancelotti's side took the lead in the 10th minute when a superb pass by Colombian James Rodriguez found the overlapping Seamus Coleman who slipped the ball across for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to score for the third straight league game.

Palace drew level in simple fashion though with Cheikhou Kouyate heading in an Andros Townsend corner at the back post.

But five minutes before the interval, referee Kevin Friend awarded a penalty, ruling that Joel Ward had handled.

Lucas Digne had headed the ball at the Palace defender who appeared to try to pull his arm out of the way but, after being advised to check the pitchside monitor, Friend pointed to the spot and Richarlison drove home the penalty.

"The referee gave the penalty for us and it looked like it hit his hand," said Calvert-Lewin. "Richarlison put it away. The refs have a tough job whether it is a penalty or not."

Palace dominated after the break but Everton defended well to maintain their 100 per cent record.

While Ancelotti's side could not reproduce much of the attacking flair they showed in wins at Tottenham Hotspur and against West Bromwich Albion, they showed the solidity they will need if they are to push for a European place this season.

"I thought it wasn't our best performance today but we stuck in there and got the result to keep the momentum going," added Calvert-Lewin.

"It is early days but we are looking to build on every game, the more we are training together, it is exciting times but we are not getting carried away."  

Chelsea recover from three goals down to draw at West Brom 

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham struck a 93rd-minute equaliser as they battled back from three goals down to draw 3-3 at West Bromwich Albion in their Premier League clash on Saturday.

An error by Marcos Alonso led to Callum Robinson opening the scoring for West Brom in the fourth minute and the Irish striker made it two when Chelsea's new signing Thiago Silva, who was given the captain's armband, miscontrolled the ball.

Kyle Bartley was left unmarked to add a third in the 27th minute with a close-range finish to send Chelsea in three down at the break, but Mason Mount threw the Blues a lifeline with a goal 10 minutes into the second half.

Callum Hudson-Odoi made it 3-2 in the 70th minute and it took until stoppage time for Chelsea to find an equaliser when Abraham pounced on a loose ball in the box and slammed it home to snatch a point for Frank Lampard's side.

"We had a few chances in the first half, and they scored from every shot. We knew we had to come out in the second half and keep going, not drop our heads, and that's what we've done," Abraham told Sky Sports.

The 22-year-old striker described his side as a work in progress and said they would continue to improve.

"We need to cut out the mistakes as a team -- not just defensively... so we don't concede. We need to be strong together and keep encouraging one another," Abraham added.

Chelsea coach Lampard was disappointed his side left themselves with a mountain to climb.

"You can't legislate for pure mistakes, which they were today. Then it gives you a really difficult game to get back into," Lampard told Sky Sports.

"I can laud character, because we showed character and persistence, but we didn't need to if we did things properly in the game," he added. 

Southampton's Ings returns to sink Burnley 

BURNLEY - Southampton's in-form striker Danny Ings grabbed an early goal to secure a 1-0 win at his former club Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.

Ings continued his prolific scoring for the Saints, having now netted 25 of their 54 goals since the start of last season, as he struck in the fifth minute at Turf Moor.

Kyle Walker-Peters played a superb pass through to Che Adams and, with Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope rushing off his line, the forward squared the ball to Ings who turned it home.

Injury-ravaged Burnley had an appeal for a penalty rejected when Chris Wood went down after Polish defender Jan Bednarek laid his hands on his back and there was more controversy involving the New Zealand international after the break.

Wood got behind the Saints defence to latch on to a long ball but the assistant flagged for offside with the Burnley striker continuing his run and putting the ball in the net.

VAR rules instruct officials not to flag or whistle until a move is complete, leading to confusion and frustration on the bench with the Burnley staff believing Wood was onside.

England international Ings had the ball in the net again in the final minutes but that too was disallowed for offside.

Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuettl was delighted with the way his team had responded to losing their first two games, including last week's 5-2 defeat at Tottenham.

"It wasn't a good start to the season but we have focused our work this week on the defence, and it was fantastic to see how much they had invested today," said the Austrian.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche, who was without seven of his already small squad, did not use any of his mostly inexperienced bench and repeated his call for the club to invest in new players.

"The chairman knows what is required. Action, we need players. It is a challenge though here, it always has been," said Dyche, who was able to give a debut to midfielder Dale Stephens, signed from Brighton.

American company ALK Capital are currently in talks with Burnley aimed at purchasing the club. 

Leicester crush City on Vardy hat-trick

MANCHESTER: A Jamie Vardy hat-trick coupled with goals from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans steered Leicester City to a stunning 5-2 win at Manchester City yesterday and kept them top of the Premier League with a maximum nine points from three games.

City had not conceded five goals in a home game since February 2003 against Arsenal and it was the first time their boss Pep Guardiola had seen a side he is managing concede five in what was his 686th game in the dugout.

With injured strikers Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero unavailable, City lacked bite as Raheem Sterling looked uncomfortable on his own up front while a porous defence was unable to contain Leicester’s lethal fast breaks. City, however, looked to be in cruise control after a sublime volley from Riyad Mahrez against his former club gave the home side a fourth-minute lead, as Leicester were barely able to break out of their own half in the opening stages.

Mahrez unleashed an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel after the visitors failed to clear a corner but Vardy turned the match on its head with two penalties either side of a deft back-heel finish.

The striker drove his first spot-kick into the top right corner in the 37th minute after he was fouled by Kyle Walker and then gave Leicester the lead in the 54th after a low cross from the right by Timothy Castagne.

Vardy completed his hat-trick four minutes later with a second penalty, drilling his shot into the bottom-left corner this time after Eric Garcia had hauled him down in the area.

Substitute Maddison made it 4-1 when he curled a brilliant shot from 20 metres into the top left corner before centre back Nathan Ake pulled one back for City with a header. The defeat snapped City’s 11-match unbeaten home run in the league dating back to last season, while it was also their first defeat in an opening top-flight home game since a 2-1 loss to Southampton in 1989.

Elsewhere, another controversial handball decision gave Newcastle United a stoppage-time equaliser by Callum Wilson from the penalty spot and a 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Spurs had led through a 25th-minute Lucas Moura goal and Newcastle had not managed a shot on target but deep into stoppage time Newcastle’s Andy Carroll and Eric Dier challenged for a ball and the forward’s header brushed the arm of the Spurs defender.

A VAR review led referee Peter Bankes to look at the incident, in which Dier had his back to the ball as he jumped with Carroll, and point to the spot.

Wilson’s spot-kick squeezed past Hugo Lloris and earned Steve Bruce’s side a point that had looked unlikely for most of the match.