Tag: Manchester City

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Chelsea dominates Barca in Champions League; Man City loses

Chelsea romped to a dominant 3-0 win at home to 10-man Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Pep Guardiola’s much-changed Manchester City went down to their first defeat of the campaign against Bayer Leverkusen.

In a battle between the second-placed sides in the Premier League and La Liga, Chelsea emerged emphatic winners thanks to goals from 18-year-old Estevao and Liam Delap after a Jules Kounde own-goal had given the 2021 Champions League winners a first-half lead.

The visitors played just over half the encounter a player down following captain Ronald Araujo’s dismissal for two bookable offences on the stroke of half-time.

After stalling last time out — Chelsea being held 2-2 by Qarabag and Barca drawing three-apiece with Club Brugge — both sides came into the match at Stamford Bridge looking to get their campaigns back on track.

Victory propelled Chelsea to fifth in the league phase standings on 10 points.

“It’s a big win, especially because the other team was Barcelona,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said.

After two Enzo Fernandez strikes were disallowed for offside, the hosts finally took the lead on 27 minutes.

A short-corner routine ended with Marc Cucurella firing the ball across the box. Pedro Neto’s attempted flick towards goal had the Barcelona defenders tying themselves in knots before France international Kounde inadvertently knocked it into his own net.

The game took a decisive turn in the 44th minute when Araujo received a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Cucurella.

Much of the pre-match build-up centred on talk around the young starlets on both sides, but it was Chelsea’s Estevao who stole the show over Barcelona’s Spain winger Lamine Yamal.

A moment of magic by the Brazilian teen put the game beyond the Spanish champions as he received the ball on the right before beating two defenders and lashing it into the roof of Joan Garcia’s net five minutes before the hour.

“I don’t really have any words to sum up how I’m feeling right now,” Estevao told Amazon Prime. “It really was the perfect night.”

Substitute Delap then put the game to bed in the 73rd minute.

A second defeat has the Catalans down in 15th spot, but Barcelona coach Hansi Flick insisted he was “really positive” about their chances of automatic qualification to the last 16.

“We’ve got players coming back now and there are three games to play and nine points to win,” the German said.

Guardiola surprisingly rested the majority of his stars at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Gianluigi Donnarumma all left out of the starting line-up as Man City went down 2-0 to Leverkusen.

A first loss of the campaign for Man City, coming hot on the heels of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle in the Premier League, leaves the 2023 winners on 10 points.

“I take full responsibility, still I think the players that started were exceptional players but we missed something needed at the highest level,” Guardiola said.

“I think playing every two or three days we need to make changes but seeing the result, maybe it’s too much.”

While defeat shall likely not prove fatal to their hopes of reaching the knockout stages, it was a chastening 100th European match in charge of City for Guardiola.

Slack defending allowed Alex Grimaldo the chance to put the away side in front in the 23rd minute, before Patrik Schick glanced in a second half-an-hour later. (JapanToday)

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Guardiola apologises for clash with cameraman after Newcastle loss

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola says he regrets losing his cool with a cameraman in the aftermath of Manchester City’s 2–1 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.

The City manager stormed onto the pitch at St James’ Park, angered by what he believed were multiple contentious decisions, a denied penalty, a handball shout, and a marginal offside, all of which went against his side.

According to BBC Sport on Monday, the Spaniard marched onto the pitch at the end, speaking with referee Sam Barrott, while he also pulled the headphones off of a cameraman to say something into his ear.

“I apologised. I feel embarrassed, ashamed when I see it. I don’t like it. I apologised after one second to the cameraman. I am who I am.

“After 1,000 games, I’m not a perfect person; I make huge mistakes. The reason why is I want to defend my team and my club,” Guardiola said of the incident, but did not reveal what was said.

There were flare-ups involving the players, too, with City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma being ushered down the tunnel and Magpies midfielder Joelinton being held back by his manager, Eddie Howe, while Guardiola also had words to say to Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes.

Guardiola added: “We have known Bruno for many, many years, and every time after the game, even at the Etihad, we talk in the tunnel or wherever we talk, always. I don’t know what happened.

“Our paths always cross, and I always have a good relationship with him. I love it. I’m an emotional guy, I love to talk and move my hands and my arms and everything.” (Punch)

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EPL: Arsenal beat Tottenham 4–1 as Eze scores hat-trick in North London derby

Arsenal moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 4–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with new signing Eberechi Eze scoring a brilliant hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium.

Eze, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace in the summer, was the star of the derby. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the first half after controlling a pass and finishing into the far corner. Minutes later, Eze made it 2–0 with a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box.

Just 35 seconds into the second half, Eze struck again, placing another low shot into the bottom corner to give Arsenal full control.

Tottenham pulled one back when Richarlison spotted goalkeeper David Raya off his line and scored from long range. It was Spurs’ first shot of the match.

Arsenal later restored their three-goal lead as Eze completed his hat-trick with another composed finish, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in this derby in nearly 50 years.

The win gives Arsenal 29 points from 12 matches. They have now won nine games this season and are level with Manchester City on the most goals scored (24). Tottenham sit ninth with 18 points after suffering their fourth defeat of the campaign.

Arsenal will face Bayern Munich next in the Champions League on Wednesday before travelling to Chelsea in the Premier League next weekend. (Punch)

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Liverpool stunned by Forest; Newcastle damages Man City title push

Troubled Liverpool’s woeful season hit a new low with a shocking 3-0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle dented Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge as Harvey Barnes’ brace sealed a controversial 2-1 victory on Saturday.

The spluttering champions fell behind in the 33rd minute when Murillo’s fierce strike punished their failure to deal with Elliot Anderson’s corner.

Reds boss Arne Slot was fuming that the goal was allowed despite Forest’s Dan Ndoye appearing to obstruct Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker — an offense that led Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser to be disallowed in the 3-0 loss at Manchester City before the international break.

Sean Dyche’s side doubled their lead after 46 minutes when Nicolo Savona slotted home from Neco Williams’ cut-back.

With Liverpool’s defense in disarray, Morgan Gibbs-White scored Forest’s third from the rebound after Omari Hutchinson’s shot was saved in the 78th minute.

Beaten by Forest at Anfield for a second successive season, Liverpool have lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions, including six of their last seven in the top flight.

It is the first time Liverpool have lost consecutive league games by a three-goal margin since 1965.

Once again Liverpool were devoid of inspiration and energy in another lethargic display that left them languishing in 11th place, eight points behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool’s stunning decline comes after a summer spending spree of over £400 million ($523 million).

Alexander Isak was hauled off in the second half of his fourth league start for Liverpool following a British record move from Newcastle that has failed to live up to the hype.

Sweden striker Isak has yet to score for the Reds in the top flight.

“Another big disappointment. We started off quite well but we conceded the 1-0 and weren’t able to play the way we did in the first half hour,” Slot said.

“If things go well or things go bad, it’s my responsibility. We weren’t able to create enough. I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out. We are in a very bad spell.”

At St James’ Park, Manchester City trailed to Barnes’ 63rd-minute drive from the edge of the area before Ruben Dias equalised with a deflected strike five minutes later.

Two minutes after Dias leveled, Barnes bagged Newcastle’s contentious second goal with a fierce volley, which was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check for a potential offside against Bruno Guimaraes, whose header had cannoned back off the bar.

Guardiola was also aggrieved over a rejected first-half penalty claim by Phil Foden.

City’s fourth league defeat this season left them in third place, four points behind Arsenal, who host Tottenham on Sunday.

Guardiola stormed onto the pitch at full-time to confront referee Sam Barrott, but later insisted “everything is fine” when asked about the incident.

“It happened in the Bournemouth game and it happened today again. It is what it is after VAR decided. They know perfectly,” he said of Newcastle’s second goal.

“It was entertaining game, we both had chances and then there was a momentum shift and ultimately we couldn’t win.”

Chelsea moved up to second place with a 2-0 win at Burnley.

Pedro Neto’s diving header put Chelsea ahead just before the interval and Enzo Fernandez netted in the closing stages.

Enzo Maresca’s side, who sit three points behind Arsenal, have won eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions, making it a memorable 50th Premier League game in charge for the Italian.

It was the ideal warm-up for Chelsea ahead of a crucial week featuring home games against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday and Arsenal in the Premier League on November 30.

New Wolves manager Rob Edwards suffered a 2-0 debut defeat against fourth-placed Crystal Palace at Molineux.

Brighton came from behind to defeat Brentford 2-1 at the Amex Stadium.

Raul Jimenez’s 84th-minute goal gave Fulham a 1-0 victory against Sunderland at Craven Cottage.

West Ham blew a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw at Bournemouth. (JapanToday)

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Man City crushes Liverpool 3-0 in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game

In his 1,000th game as a manager, Pep Guardiola celebrated victory as if it was his first.

Manchester City’s 3-0 triumph over Liverpool on Sunday was win No. 716 for Guardiola and likely one of the most satisfying of his trophy-laden career.

Not only did City totally dominate the defending Premier League champion and one of Guardiola’s fiercest rivals in a career spanning Spain, Germany and England – but the result firmly established his team as a genuine contender for the title this season.

“Thank you to the players and staff for giving me that incredible present (against) the most important opponent in my time here by far,” the City manager said afterward.

City moved up to second in the standings – just four points behind leader Arsenal, with a well-established record when it comes to chasing down Mikel Arteta’s team. It happened in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 and City’s momentum has an ominous feel about it after taking advantage of Arsenal’s surprise 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday.

“In October, November, you don’t win the Premier League. Teams that win the Premier League (are the ones) where everyone in the team is growing. When it grows and grows, you arrive at the end fighting for the title,” Guardiola said. “I have the feeling that we are in that way.”

By contrast, Liverpool, which was the runaway champion just six months ago, is slipping further adrift.

This was a fifth loss in six games after spending more than $400 million in the offseason. The Merseyside club is down to eighth in the standings and eight points off the top.

No wonder Arne, who was mocked by City fans chanting he would be fired in the morning, was in no mood to talk about the title.

“Last season when we were eight points clear it never felt like it was won already,” he said. “At this period of time, as Liverpool manager, I shouldn’t be talking about the top position because our performance needs to be better.”

There is no suggestion that Slot’s position is under any threat, but Liverpool’s form will be a source of concern. So complete was City’s superiority that Liverpool’s morale-boosting win against Real Madrid in the week was put into perspective.

A 3-0 win could easily have been bigger, with Erling Haaland seeing a 13th-minute penalty saved before he headed City in front in the 29th.

Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead when his shot deflected off Virgil van Dijk in first-half stoppage time.

Player of the match Jeremy Doku had tormented Liverpool throughout and he got a deserved goal in the 63rd when whipping in a curled effort from outside the box.

Newcastle fell to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, losing 3-1 at Brentford.

Having lost to West Ham by the same score a week earlier, Eddie Howe’s team once again took an early lead only to squander the points.

Harvey Barnes fired the visitors ahead at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Newcastle was stunned by a second-half fightback from Brentford and ended the match with 10 men after Dan Burn was sent off.

Kevin Schade leveled in the 56th, following Barnes’ goal in the 27th.

Burn was sent off when bringing down Dango Ouattara in the box and Igor Thiago converted from the spot.

Thiago got his second in stoppage time to seal the win, which left Newcastle 14th in the standings and just two points above the relegation zone.

Sean Dyche got his first league win as Nottingham Forest coach after his team rallied to beat Leeds 3-1 at the City Ground.

Victory came after last week’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United and moved second-from-bottom Forest to within a point of safety.

Lukas Nmecha put Leeds ahead in the 13th minute, but Ibrahim Sangare equalized two minutes later. Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson – from the penalty spot – completed the comeback after the break.

Aston Villa quickly bounced back from defeat to Liverpool last week by routing Bournemouth 4-0.

Villa endured a desperate start to the season – failing to win any of its first six games in all competitions. But Unai Emery’s team has powered back impressively by winning eight of its last 10.

Emiliano Buendia, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen all scored, while goalkeeper Emi Martinez denied Antoine Semenyo from the spot as Villa moved up to sixth in the standings.

Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 0-0 at Selhurst Park. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal winning run ends in Sunderland draw; De Ligt rescues Man Utd

Arsenal’s 10-game winning run came to an end as Brian Brobbey’s last-gasp goal gave Sunderland a dramatic 2-2 draw against the Premier League leaders, while Manchester United rescued a 2-2 draw at Tottenham on Saturday.

Former Arsenal defender Dan Ballard fired Sunderland ahead with a powerful finish in the 36th minute at the Stadium of Light.

That ended the Gunners’ run of eight consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.

Bukayo Saka levelled with a composed finish in the 54th minute before, Leandro Trossard smashed Arsenal into the lead from the edge of the Sunderland area in the 76th minute.

Arsenal were within touching distance of an 11th successive victory in all competitions, but Brobbey stabbed home from Ballard’s header to earn a point in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

It was the first time they had failed to win in any competition since a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the top flight on September 21.

“We conceded two similar goals, which is not good enough for ourselves,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

“But it’s true that we showed an incredible resilience and courage to come back. Even at the end after we conceded the goal we had a massive chance to win it.”

As they chase a first English title since 2004, Arsenal hold a seven-point lead at the top.

But second-placed City would close the gap on Arsenal to four points if they beat champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Liverpool can move within five points of Arsenal if they defeat City.

At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Bryan Mbeumo fired United ahead in the 32nd minute amid mounting discontent among home fans.

Booed off at half-time, Tottenham hit back and looked to have secured a dramatic victory after Mathys Tel equalised in the 84th minute and Richarlison deflected in a shot from Wilson Odobert in the 91st minute.

But United defender Matthijs de Ligt powered in a 96th-minute header to extend his side’s unbeaten run to five games.

Tottenham’s failure to hold onto the lead was another blow to their dismal record in home league games in 2025, which includes only one win in six top-flight matches in north London this term.

Neither manager was satisfied with the outcome and United boss Ruben Amorim said: “We have so much to grow as a team because today was our day to win. If we have a little bit more bravery, we can kill this game.”

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank added: “A lot of things we could have done a bit better. The last goal is all about the urgency, maybe don’t give the cross away and defend better.”

Seventh-placed United have now failed to beat fourth-placed Tottenham in eight meetings, including a 1-0 defeat in the Europa League final in May.

West Ham boosted their bid to avoid relegation with a 3-2 win against fellow strugglers Burnley at the London Stadium.

Burnley took the lead in the 35th minute when Lesley Ugochukwu’s cross reached Zian Flemming and the Dutch forward headed home from close range.

Callum Wilson hauled West Ham level with a predatory finish from the rebound after Crysencio Summerville’s shot was saved in the 44th minute.

Tomas Soucek netted for West Ham in the 77th minute, the Czech midfielder bundling in from close range after Lucas Paqueta’s cross was parried into his path by Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka.

And, when Dubravka fumbled the ball towards Kyle Walker-Peters in the 87th minute, the defender’s clinical finish put the result beyond doubt.

Josh Cullen’s stoppage-time strike was no consolation for Burnley.

Third-bottom West Ham’s second successive win moved them level on points with fourth-bottom Burnley.

Everton ended a three-game winless run with a 2-0 victory over Fulham at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane were the scorers for David Moyes’ men.

Chelsea quelled criticism of Enzo Maresca’s rotation policy with a 3-0 win against Wolves featuring the first goal of Malo Gusto’s career on Saturday.

Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney said Chelsea’s senior players should “question” Maresca’s selections after the Italian made seven changes for a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijani minnows Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday. (JapanToday)

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Haaland scoring run over in Man City loss as Arsenal opens up 4-point lead in Premier League

Erling Haaland’s 12-game scoring streak ended Sunday in Manchester City’s first loss in nearly two months, allowing Arsenal to extend its lead to four points in the Premier League.

Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace — secured via a brilliant scissor kick by former Palace player Eberechi Eze — was made all the sweeter by City losing 1-0 at Aston Villa, with right back Matty Cash grabbing the winner from a fierce 19th-minute strike.

It was City’s first defeat since Aug. 31 and meant Haaland’s scoring run for club and country — stretching back even further, to Aug. 23 — is over. The Norway striker did bundle the ball into the net in the 90th minute, before crashing into the post, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

With beleaguered Liverpool losing 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday, it has been a bad weekend for Arsenal’s chief title rivals.

Somewhat surprisingly, Arsenal’s closest challenger now is Bournemouth, which won 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. Even more unlikely is the sight of promoted Sunderland a point back alongside third-placed Tottenham, which won 3-0 at Everton. City is one point further adrift in fifth — and already six points behind Arsenal.

“It’s very early, we’re still in October,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose team is seeking a first Premier League title since 2004. “The emotional state is really high but there are a lot of things to get better.”

City reeled in Arsenal to win the title in the 2023-24 season and is going to have to do it again.

City manager Pep Guardiola isn’t too concerned at this stage.

“I was worried before the international break (in September) when we were 14th in the table,” Guardiola said.

“If they win all their games and win the Premier League, congratulate them. That’s all we can do … but I don’t live in October and November thinking, ‘Oh what is going to happen if we don’t win the Premier League?'”

Eze barely celebrated after producing a wonderful finish from Gabriel Magalhaes’ nod-down to ultimately clinch a fourth straight league win for Arsenal.

“The technique is unbelievable,” Arteta said of the England playmaker, who started the season with Palace before completing a move to Arsenal, the team he supported as a kid, for a reported initial fee of 60 million pounds ($80 million) late in the summer transfer window.

This was a first league goal for his new club — and it came from a typical source, an Arsenal set piece.

It was also another clean sheet for Arteta’s team, which has conceded just three goals in nine games. It was achieved despite center back William Saliba being withdrawn because of injury at halftime and Declan Rice also going off midway through the second half with an undisclosed problem.

Haaland had previously scored in all but one of City’s games this season and, in his words, has been in the form of his life.

But he was unable to make it seven straight Premier League games on the scoresheet as Villa defended stoutly in the face of a late City onslaught to record a third straight home win over Guardiola’s team.

City has lost three of its nine league games.

Cash lashed home a left-footed shot after a corner reached him at the edge of the area.

During the summer transfer window, Bournemouth lost three of its back four and its goalkeeper from last season.

It hasn’t stopped the team making an unexpectedly good start — and a prolific new striker has been unearthed, too.

After Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring directly from a corner in the 25th minute, 19-year-old striker Eli Junior Kroupi doubled Bournemouth’s lead with a long-range strike into the corner — his fourth goal in his last three appearances.

The France under-21 striker is currently playing in place of the injured Evanilson.

It was Sean Dyche’s first Premier League match in charge of Forest.

Center back Micky van de Van scored two first-half goals at corners and Pape Sarr added a late third for Tottenham in its win at Everton.

Burnley scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to win 3-2 at last-placed Wolverhampton, which has yet to win any of its first nine games of the campaign for the second straight season.

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira was involved in a heated exchange with his own fans after the game. (JapanToday)

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PSG hit seven, Barcelona, Arsenal run riot as Champions League rains goals

Paris Saint-Germain scored seven and both Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven hit six in big victories while Arsenal crushed Atletico Madrid 4-0 on a prolific night of Champions League action on Tuesday.

Erling Haaland was among the scorers in Manchester City’s 2-0 win at Villarreal as a total of 43 goals rained down across nine games.

However, it was champions PSG who stole the show with their 7-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

Desire Doue scored twice in between goals by Willian Pacho and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for PSG in a first half which saw Alejandro Grimaldo miss a penalty and Aleix Garcia net from the spot for Leverkusen.

Both sides had a man sent off in the opening period, with Robert Andrich seeing red for Leverkusen and Illia Zabarnyi walking for the visitors.

Nuno Mendes got the French side’s fifth goal shortly after the break and Garcia pulled it back to 5-2.

Ousmane Dembele, on his return from injury and first appearance since winning the Ballon d’Or, got PSG’s sixth and Vitinha completed the scoring at the death.

“I am not yet at 100 percent. I wanted to play at the weekend and the coach told me to wait a bit, but I felt great,” Dembele told broadcaster Canal Plus.

It is the first time PSG have scored seven goals away from home in a Champions League game, and they are top of the standings after three outings in the league phase, with a maximum nine points and the best goal difference.

Inter Milan and Arsenal are the other teams with a 100 percent record after three outings, with the Italians easing to a 4-0 victory at Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels.

Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez both netted late in the first half before Hakan Calhanoglu added a penalty soon after the restart and Pio Esposito completed the scoring.

Meanwhile Premier League leaders Arsenal hammered Atletico at the Emirates Stadium, as Mikel Arteta’s side made it three straight wins all with clean sheets in Europe this season.

All the goals came in the second half, with Gabriel putting them ahead and Gabriel Martinelli getting the second before Viktor Gyokeres struck twice to end a run of seven club appearances without finding the net.

“Hopefully it’s the start of some beautiful sequence now,” said Arteta of the Sweden striker.

Haaland put City ahead against Villarreal in Spain and Bernardo Silva got their second goal before half-time as Pep Guardiola’s team moved on to seven points from three outings.

Norway superstar Haaland kept up his remarkable record in front of goal this season and he has now found the net 15 times in 11 appearances for City in all competitions.

“I see that things are looking good, we are playing a little bit better day after day and that’s a good sign,” Guardiola told broadcaster Movistar.

Felix Nmecha hit a brace as Borussia Dortmund won 4-2 away to FC Copenhagen, with Ramy Bensebaini converting a penalty and Fabio Silva also scoring.

Waldemar Anton’s own goal had brought the Danes back level at one point in the first half, while Viktor Dadason got their other goal late on. They are yet to win in the league phase.

Beaten at home by PSG last time out, Barcelona bounced back to thump Olympiacos 6-1 at Montjuic as Fermin Lopez starred with a hat-trick.

Lamine Yamal got his name on the scoresheet with a penalty and Marcus Rashford scored twice, with Ayoub El Kaabi’s spot-kick scant consolation for the Greeks.

Newcastle United got their second straight win in the competition by easing to a 3-0 victory against Benfica at St James’ Park.

Anthony Gordon got the opener and Harvey Barnes emerged from the bench to score twice in the second half, leaving Jose Mourinho’s Benfica as the only team to have no points having played three games.

PSV claimed a stunning 6-2 home win against Italian champions Napoli, despite Scott McTominay giving the visitors the lead in the first half.

An Alessandro Buongiorno own goal restored parity and Ismael Saibari put PSV ahead before Dennis Man scored twice and both Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech also found the net.

McTominay pulled another one back for Napoli, who had Lorenzo Lucca sent off.

The night’s other game ended in a 0-0 draw between rank outsiders Kairat Almaty and Pafos of Cyprus in Kazakhstan. (JapanToday)

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Postecoglou fired; Haaland scores 2 more for Man City and Arsenal profits again from a corner

Around 20 minutes.

That’s how long it took Nottingham Forest to fire manager Ange Postecoglou after losing to Chelsea 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

As for Erling Haaland, he did his damage in a devastating five-minute spell in the second half, scoring twice more for Manchester City in its 2-0 win over Everton to move to 11 goals in eight league games.

City jumped to second place and was three points behind Arsenal, a 1-0 winner at Fulham thanks to another set-piece goal.

Postecoglou was removed after just 39 days in charge of Forest, which didn’t win any of its eight matches under the Australian after he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on Sept. 9.

In a terse 39-word statement issued while the City Ground was emptying following the defeat to Chelsea, Forest said Postecoglou was “relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect” after “a series of disappointing results and performances.”

British media had already been linking former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche with the beleaguered Postecoglou’s job. On Saturday, The Athletic reported that former Man City and Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been contacted by Forest.

Goals early in the second half by Josh Acheampong and Pedro Neto, and another by Reece James in the 84th minute, earned Chelsea a victory that prompted loud jeers inside the City Ground at fulltime and signaled the end for Postecoglou.

Postecoglou had been in defiant mood in recent weeks, even delivering a five-minute monologue on Friday in which he rejected talk that he was a “failed manager” and promised to win a trophy at Forest — just like he did at Tottenham last season before being fired.

However, Forest lost six and drew the other two of its eight games under Postecoglou. That included four losses from five in the league, scoring just one goal in the process, to leave Forest rooted in the bottom three.

Malo Gusto became the fifth Chelsea player to be sent off this season after collecting a second yellow card in the 87th.

Haaland has 23 goals in 13 games for club and country this season, having just come off a hat trick for Norway against Israel in a World Cup qualifier last week.

The striker has said he is in the best form of his career and it seemed inevitable he would make no mistake when Nico O’Reilly teed up a cross from the left in the 58th. Haaland leapt high and buried his header.

Five minutes later, Haaland peeled away from his marker in the box and met a cut-back from Savinho with a shot that went through the legs of defender James Tarkowski and past the unsighted Jordan Pickford in goal.

“He’s our key man, what can I say?” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “But at the same time, we cannot rely and do good things just with Erling.

“So our wingers, attacking midfielders and our other players have to make a step up.”

Jack Grealish wasn’t able to play for Everton under the terms of his loan move from City.

Make that 37 goals Arsenal has scored from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season.

The league leader’s 58th-minute winner at Fulham came from a familiar source, as Bukayo Saka swung in the corner, Gabriel Magalhaes flicked it on and Leandro Trossard converted at the back post.

It was a sixth win in eight games for Arsenal, which is seeking a first league championship since 2004 after being runner-up in the last three campaigns.

Fresh off his debut for France, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat trick — including an equalizer from the penalty spot in the seventh minute of stoppage time — in a breathless 3-3 draw against Bournemouth.

Nick Woltemade’s latest goal for Newcastle — a deft flick between his legs into the corner — proved to be in vain in a 2-1 loss at Brighton, which had a goal in each half from Danny Welbeck.

Burnley beat Leeds 2-0 and Sunderland won at home to Wolverhampton 2-0. (JapanToday)

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Haaland fires Man City to win at Brentford, Everton end Palace’s unbeaten run

Erling Haaland carried Manchester City to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal with the only goal at Brentford, while Crystal Palace’s 19-game unbeaten run was ended by a 2-1 defeat to Everton on Sunday.

The Norwegian maintained his sensational early season form to score his 18th goal for club and country in just 11 appearances this season.

Haaland showed his strength to bully his way through the Brentford defence from Josko Gvardiol’s long ball and fire home on nine minutes.

Victory came at a cost for Pep Guardiola’s men as Rodri was forced off in his latest injury setback since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament tear that saw him miss most of last season.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was in tears when he had to be replaced with an apparent hamstring problem midway through the first half.

Despite a less than sparkling performance, City held out to haul themselves up to fifth and right back into the title race.

Palace missed the chance to go second after suffering a European hangover at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The Eagles were dominant in the first 45 minutes but were left to rue not adding to Daniel Munoz’s finish from Ismaila Sarr’s pass.

However, their UEFA Conference League exertions in winning away to Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday took their toll in the second half.

Iliman Ndiaye equalised from the penalty spot after Maxence Lacroix clumsily upended Beto as Everton fought back to avoid a first defeat at their new home.

Jack Grealish then got fortunate for his first Everton goal as Munoz’s attempted clearance rebounded off the Manchester City loanee into the roof of the net.

“I thought Crystal Palace should have been out of sight, they should have been 3-0 up, but we stuck at it,” said Everton boss David Moyes.

Ange Postecoglou’s wait for a first win as Nottingham Forest manager goes on after a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle.

The Australian is the first Forest boss in over 100 years to fail to win in his first seven games and now faces an anxious wait to see if club owner Evangelos Marinakis decides to make another managerial change over the international break.

“I knew it was a big challenge walking in. That’s what it is and there’s nothing wrong with that,” said Postecoglou.

Newcastle had only won one of their opening six Premier League games.

But Bruno Guimaraes led the Magpies to victory with a brilliant strike from outside the box to break the deadlock on 58 minutes.

Guimaraes then won a penalty after robbing former team-mate Elliot Anderson inside the Forest box.

Nick Woltemade smashed the resulting spot-kick into the top corner for his fourth Newcastle goal since joining from Stuttgart last month.

Forest slip to 17th, the same league position that saw Postecoglou sacked by Tottenham at the end of last season despite winning the Europa League.

After a slow start to the season, Aston Villa beat Burnley 2-1 to secure a fourth win in the last 11 days.

Donyell Malen was the Villa match-winner with his first goals since April.

The Dutch forward opened the scoring after racing onto Boubacar Kamara’s brilliant through ball to slot into the far corner.

Morgan Rogers was the creator for the second that Malen controlled before drilling confidently into the far corner.

Lesley Ugochukwu pulled a goal back but Burnley remain in the relegation zone.

Wolves are still rooted to the foot of the table after conceding a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at home to Brighton. (JapanToday)