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Chelsea beats Liverpool after late Estevao goal; Arsenal tops Premier League

Estevao struck in added time to inflict a third straight defeat on Premier League champion Liverpool.

The Brazilian teenager slid in at the far post to seal a 2-1 win for Chelsea in a breathless finish at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Estevao’s goal sparked wild celebrations that earned Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca a red card and ensured Liverpool goes into the international break knocked off the top of the standings.

“It is extra special to win like that because you win energy, trust and confidence in the process,” Chelsea assistant Willy Caballero said. “It is also something unforgettable for Estevao.”

Arsenal was in first place, a point ahead of Liverpool, after beating West Ham 2-0, while Manchester United picked up a crucial win against Sunderland to ease pressure on coach Ruben Amorim.

Liverpool is no stranger to late drama this season but the tide has turned on manager Arne Slot.

Late goals in six of the Merseyside club’s first seven games helped it maintain a 100% record and build an early lead in the standings.

But a first defeat of the campaign via Eddie Nketiah’s strike in the seventh minute of stoppage time for Crystal Palace last week was followed by Estevao’s strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time for Chelsea. In between, Liverpool lost to Galatasaray 1-0 in the Champions League.

Cody Gakpo looked like salvaging a point for Liverpool with his score in the second half after Moises Caicedo fired Chelsea in front with a thunderous long range strike in the first half.

But Chelsea, on the back of a three-game winless run in the league, mounted a late onslaught.

Enzo Fernandez headed against the post in added time and Estevao, the 18-year-old forward who joined from Palmeiras in the summer, converted Marc Cucurella’s cross.

“After we scored 1-1 it went our way and I was waiting for us to score the second,” Slot told the BBC. “Last week, same as this week, two difficult away games, the fine margins haven’t been in our favor.”

Ruben Amorim rang the changes and got the result he desperately needed.

Victory against Sunderland came at a crucial time for Amorim ahead of the international break, with speculation mounting over his position. He has still to lead United to back-to-back victories in the league after almost a year in charge but this was a step in the right direction.

“It’s really important to win games and have a better feeling but we need to forget this game and go for the next one,” he said.

Amorim showed his ruthless side by dropping $84 million summer signing Matheus Cunha and handing a first start to new goalkeeper Senne Lammens. Those decisions paid off with first half goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko at Old Trafford and a first clean sheet of the season.

This was only Amorim’s 10th win from 34 league games and going into Saturday’s match he accepted it would be “impossible” to continue in the job if results didn’t turn.

Which is why victory against Sunderland was crucial in a week when he was criticized by United greats Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, and ahead of the international break, which has traditionally been a convenient time to make managerial changes.

After 300 games in charge, Arsenal Mikel Arteta is looking down on the rest of the Premier League after victory against West Ham.

“I wanted to celebrate it with a win, I’ve got it,” he said.

Goals from Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, from the penalty spot, inflicted a first defeat on new West Ham coach Nuno Espirito Santo.

That’s four wins in a row for Arsenal in all competitions and, after a daunting start to the campaign, Arteta’s team looks like a title contender again.

Saka, who scored on his 200th appearance for the club, is convinced Arteta will deliver trophies after finishing runner-up three years in a row.

“We’ve had some tough games, particularly away. We are in a strong place in the Premier League and looking forward to coming back and pushing on,” he told the BBC. “Mikel has very much improved my game. He will bring this club success and (I’m) looking forward to when that day comes.”

Victory, however, came at a cost after another injury to captain Martin Odegaard.

Mohammed Kudus scored his first Tottenham goal to keep Thomas Frank’s team riding high. Kudus’ second-half strike from the edge of the box secured a 2-1 win at Leeds to move Spurs up to third.

Spurs have lost just once in the league under Frank, who took charge in the summer.

Kudus was one of Frank’s big signings, joining from West Ham.

Spurs led through Mathys Tel, whose deflected shot rocketed into the top corner.

Leeds, which was unbeaten at home since February, equalized through Noah Okafor from close range in the 34th. (JapanToday)

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Liverpool concedes late goal as its 100% start to Premier League ends with loss at Palace


There was a flurry of stoppage-time goals in the Premier League on Saturday — and one of them ended Liverpool’s 100% start to its title defense.

Eddie Nketiah’s strike in the seventh minute of added-on time secured Crystal Palace a 2-1 victory over the champions and extended the London team’s unbeaten run to 18 games stretching back to April.

Liverpool, which won its first five games of the campaign, saw its lead trimmed to three points — with second-place Palace now its unlikely closest challenger.

The Reds have made a habit of scoring late goals themselves this season and Federico Chiesa’s 87th-minute effort looked like securing a draw at Selhurst Park — or even giving them a chance of grabbing a sixth straight win.

Chelsea played almost the whole second half with 10 men against Brighton and paid the price, conceding two goals in stoppage time to lose 3-1 for a second straight defeat.

Erling Haaland scored in the 90th minute and again in injury time to wrap up Manchester City’s 5-1 win over Burnley.

Tottenham scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time through Joao Palhinha to draw 1-1 with Wolverhampton, which collected its first point of the campaign.

And Manchester United’s latest loss was sealed by a stoppage-time goal for Brentford, which won 3-1. It could have been so different had Bruno Fernandes’ penalty not been saved by Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher in the 76th minute, denying United an equalizer for 2-2.

Bournemouth also scored in stoppage time to earn a 2-2 draw at Leeds and Sunderland won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest, whose recently hired manager Ange Postecoglou has yet to win a game in five matches at his new club.

Liverpool had not been entirely convincing in gaining a maximum 15 points and Arne Slot’s team was undone again by Palace, which beat the Reds in a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield before the English season began.

Palace took the lead in the ninth minute through Ismaila Sarr and wasted a string of chances to move further ahead — with striker Jean-Philippe Mateta the biggest culprit.

Nketiah’s goal was scrappy but maintained Palace’s long undefeated run under Oliver Glasner, who has kept the team playing well despite losing star midfielder Eberechi Eze to Arsenal late in the transfer window.

“If one team deserved to win today it was Palace,” Slot said. (JapanToday)

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Gyokeres scores twice as Arsenal rout Leeds

Viktor Gyokeres scored his first two Arsenal goals as the Gunners gave Leeds a harsh lesson in the step up to the Premier League with a 5-0 win at the Emirates.

Victory came at a cost for Mikel Arteta as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard hobbled off injured just eight days before Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool.

Arsenal edged ahead of north London rivals Tottenham at the top of the table on goal difference, as the only two sides so far with a 100 per cent record from their opening two games.

Saka fired in a blistering strike from a narrow angle to double the home side’s lead after Jurrien Timber opened the scoring.

Gyokeres was signed from Sporting Lisbon as the solution to Arsenal’s need for a killer number nine.

The Swede’s ability to succeed in the Premier League has been questioned despite his prolific record of 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting.

Gyokeres made his mark with a fine individual run and finish before Timber bundled in his second from another Declan Rice corner.

Gyokeres rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot with virtually the last kick of the game.

A day of celebration for the home fans began before kick-off when new £60 million ($81 million) signing Eberechi Eze was paraded after he turned down a move to Tottenham.

But the sight of captain Odegaard and talisman Saka leaving the field soured a routine win.

Arsenal had to rely on their threat from set-pieces to grind out a 1-0 win at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season.

Despite a dominant start to the game, that was how the the Leeds defence was prized open.

Timber had scored just twice in 52 Arsenal appearances before Saturday.

The Dutch international doubled that tally as he firstly got his head to Rice’s inviting delivery on 34 minutes.

Odegaard then made his departure after appearing to injure his shoulder falling heavily to the turf.

Saka soon had the Emirates crowd back on their feet when he drilled Timber’s pass high past Lucas Perri with his supposedly weaker right foot.

Gyokeres had at one point been a target for Leeds during his days with Coventry in the Championship before making the move to Portugal.

Arsenal’s new £66 million signing showed the Yorkshire side what they missed as he scampered onto Riccardo Calafiori’s ball over the top and cut inside before firing in at the near post.

Saka missed nearly four months of last season with a hamstring injury.

Worryingly for Arteta, the England international was holding the back of his left leg when he was replaced on 53 minutes.

Arsenal added a fouth when Leeds failed to clear another Rice corner and Timber forced the ball over the line from close range.

Arteta could then afford the luxury of handing a Premier League debut to 15-year-old Max Dowman.

He became the second youngest ever player to play in the English top-flight after team-mate Ethan Nwaneri.

Dowman’s trickery won a penalty deep into stoppage time that Gyokeres gratefully dispatched. (Channels)