Tag: West Ham United

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Premier League finale: West Ham relegated and Spurs stay up as Guardiola, Salah make emotional exits

West Ham was relegated and Tottenham survived on an emotional final day of the Premier League season when Pep Guardiola and Mohamed Salah made tearful exits after record-breaking spells in English soccer.

West Ham beat Leeds 3-0 but that wasn’t enough to climb out of the relegation zone because fourth-to-last Tottenham also won, 1-0 at home to Everton, to stay two points clear of its London rival.

That meant West Ham’s 14-year stay in the Premier League was over and Tottenham, which won three of its last five games under recently hired coach Roberto De Zerbi, will be in the top division for a 49th straight season.

“We shouldn’t be in the position we’re in but we’ve found ourselves in it and we’ve not done enough to stay up,” West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen said. “Hurt is the only thing.”

Guardiola’s decade-long tenure at Manchester City — which has included six Premier League titles among 17 major trophies — ended with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa that featured a mid-match guard of honor for first Bernardo Silva and then John Stones, two of Guardiola’s stalwarts.

Guardiola wept on the sideline as Silva left the field and was given his own guard of honor by players and staff after the match.

“We lived an incredible period,” Guardiola said. “If I had energy, I would stay here (but) a new person has to do this job.”

Salah started and was given a standing ovation — before he kissed the Anfield turf — during his second-half substitution in his 442nd and last game for Liverpool, in which he grabbed an assist in a 1-1 draw with Brentford. The Egypt winger finished his nine years with the Reds with 257 goals and received his own post-match guard of honor, which he walked through in tears.

Arsenal had already clinched the title in midweek and closed its first championship-winning campaign since 2004 with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. The players finally got their hands on the trophy about an hour after fulltime at Palace’s Selhurst Park stadium, with coach Mikel Arteta and the team wearing jerseys with “Champions 2026” on the back for the occasion.

In the final shake-up for European qualification, Bournemouth and Sunderland finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to get into the Europa League and Brighton was eighth to reach the Conference League.

Brighton lost 3-0 at home to Manchester United, for whom Bruno Fernandes scored and got a record-setting 21st assist of the season.

Sunderland, which beat Chelsea 2-1, will be in Europe for the first time in 53 years — a remarkable achievement for a team in its first season back in the top division and which was in the third tier as recently as 2022. The team’s players huddled around a cell phone to see their Europa League qualification confirmed and broke away in delight.

Chelsea, on the contrary, missed out on European competition entirely after finishing in 10th place — 10 months after winning the Club World Cup.

Add 2026 to 2003 and 2011 as years when West Ham lost its Premier League status.

The big difference this season is that the team is now playing its home matches in the vast Olympic Stadium, so that 68,000-capacity arena will be staging games in the second-tier Championship against the likes of Wrexham and the two clubs that had already been relegated from the Premier League before Sunday — Wolverhampton and Burnley.

“This club deserves to be in the Premier League,” said Bowen, who scored and set up a goal against Leeds. “Our aim now is to get this club back into the Premier League.”

A top-flight ever present since 1978, Tottenham was heading out of the Premier League before the club hired De Zerbi in what has proved to be an inspired appointment.

Three wins and two draws later — along with two losses — and Spurs have managed to avoid dropping into the bottom three in what would have been the most unlikely relegation since the Premier League was founded in 1992.

Joao Palhinha scored Tottenham’s winner against Everton in the 43rd minute, forcing in a rebound after initially heading against the post, and Spurs defended stoutly to stop Everton scoring the two goals that would have kept West Ham up.

“After a bad season like this one, we showed up as a collective and had amazing support from the fans,” Palhinha said.

“The club will grow up with this season and we know what we have to do in the future.”

Tottenham, one of the biggest clubs in Europe and the Europa League champion last season, has now finished one place outside the relegation spots in successive seasons. (JapanToday)

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Chelsea beats Spurs to leave rivals in ’embarrassing’ relegation danger

Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-1 on Tuesday to leave Roberto De Zerbi’s men in danger of relegation from the Premier League with one game left of the season.

Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring in the 18th minute, curling home from outside the box, and Andrey Santos doubled the home side’s league midway through the second half.

Tottenham gave themselves hope in the 74th minute when Richarlison converted from close range after Pape Matar Sarr’s backheel.

Spurs poured forward in search of an equaliser but could not find another goal.

The result gives renewed hope to West Ham, who are 18th in the table, two points behind Tottenham.

Spurs, who have not been relegated since 1977, face Everton in their final match on Sunday with a draw realistically good enough for survival given their superior goal difference.

“We have to give everything for the club, for the badge, for the fans,” said Spurs midfielder James Maddison.

“It’s a bit embarrassing that we’re in this position.”

The Hammers must beat Leeds to have any chance of extending their 14-year stay in the Premier League.

Burnley and Wolves have already been relegated.

Chelsea’s win at Stamford Bridge was their first in the English top division since early March and lifts them to eighth in the table. (JapanToday)

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Man City keeps title race alive; Liverpool frustrated by Chelsea

Manchester City kept the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Brentford, while Liverpool were booed off after a 1-1 draw against struggling Chelsea on Saturday.

With three games of the season left for both title contenders, City closed to within two points of the Gunners, who face a tricky trip to relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday.

After a dramatic 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday, Pep Guardiola’s men could not afford another slip up if they were to retain hope of a seventh title in nine years.

A resolute Brentford, still in the running for European football themselves next season, held out until the hour mark when the in-form Jeremy Doku curled into the top corner.

Erling Haaland backheeled in a second to move four goals clear of Brentford’s Igor Thiago in the battle for the Golden Boot.

Haaland then turned provider for Omar Marmoush to score what could be a vital third in stoppage time.

“We will see, it is not in our hands,” said Guardiola. “We will do our job and wait.”

City cut the goal difference gap on Arsenal to one and now must hope the Hammers cause an upset in a huge clash at both ends of the table at the London Stadium.

Arsenal face already-relegated Burnley and Crystal Palace, days before the play in the Conference League final, in their final two games. (JapanToday)

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Spurs draw with Leeds for priceless point in Premier League survival fight

Tottenham Hotspur took a small and potentially crucial step towards retaining its Premier League status after drawing at home with Leeds United 1-1 on Monday.

Spurs, just above the drop zone, moved two points clear of relegation rival West Ham.

Tottenham went ahead in the 50th minute with a lovely strike by Mathys Tels.

However, Tels’ foul on Ethan Ampadu with 15 minutes left led to a Leeds penalty that Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted with aplomb.

Spurs takes on Chelsea away and Everton at home in their last two games, while West Ham is away at Newcastle before facing Leeds at home on the final day of the season.

One of the two will join the already relegated Burnley and Wolves in next season’s Championship.

Spurs came into the game on a high after two consecutive victories but though they dominated the first half in terms of possession and shots on goal they didn’t break the deadlock until five minutes into the second half.

Pedro Porro’s corner kick was cleared to an unmarked Tels, who coolly struck into the far corner of the net from 20 meters out. It was the center forward’s first goal since Jan. 7.

Tels, however, turned villain 24 minutes later when his high foot was adjudged to have made contact with Ethan Ampadu’s head inside the box.

The referee pointed to the spot and Calvert-Lewin, who was denied a first-half penalty after a video review, confidently dispatched the spot kick.

Both sides suffered through an edgy last few moments and a remarkable 15 minutes of added time but there were no more goals and Spurs, for whom goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was outstanding. They will content themselves that their destiny remains in their hands.

“We played a good game but there was big pressure,” Tottenham coach Roberto De Zerbi said. “We didn’t play calmly. We wanted to win immediately without passes. When you are fighting for relegation you can’t play every game calmly.

“Leeds played a good game and we hope they play like that against West Ham in the next game.”

Spurs have taken eight out of a possible 12 points since De Zerbi’s debut defeat at Sunderland on April 12.

“We deserve to stay up,” he said. “We will fight until the end. . . . Even if we had won today it wouldn’t have been finished yet.”

Hull will play Southampton or Middlesbrough in the Championship playoff final after second half goals from Mo Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt gave it a 2-0 win over Millwall in London.

Belloumi’s 64th-minute strike with his left foot broke the deadlock in the second game of the two-leg affair and Gelhardt made sure with a low shot that squirmed past the Millwall goalkeeper.

The win means Hull have one match to secure a place in the Premier League for the first time since it was relegated in 2017. (JapanToday)

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Forest takes big step to ensuring Premier League survival by drubbing Sunderland

Nottingham Forest took a huge step toward ensuring its Premier League survival in a stunning 5-0 win at Sunderland on Friday.

Less than a week after beating Burnley 4-1, Forest rose eight points clear of the relegation zone and sent shivers down the spine of Tottenham Hotspur fans. Spurs occupy the third relegation spot, two points behind West Ham.

With Burnley and Wolves already relegated, Spurs or West Ham are now the most likely candidates to join them.

“It gives us some breathing room and puts pressure on the two chasing behind,” Forest’s New Zealand striker Chris Wood said. “Back-to-back wins do that for you.

“We built on the second half from last week, that is what we wanted to do. We want to build and get better and show what we are capable of. We started fast and what we did today was fantastic.”

Sunderland had the best defensive record in the league at home after Manchester City and Arsenal, but that defensive solidity disappeared during a woeful first half.

Forest looked quicker and hungrier from the off and took the lead after 16 minutes when Igor Jesus’ header went in off Trai Hume following a neatly worked short corner.

Disaster then struck for Sunderland as goalkeeper Robin Roefs gifted Forest a second. His sloppy pass went straight to Morgan Gibbs-White, who fed Chris Wood to give the big New Zealander, recently back from a long injury layoff, his first league goal since the opening day of the season.

Gibbs-White made it 3-0 three minutes later when he drilled home a low shot after Jesus’ superbly cushioned header gave him time and space.

Jesus got Forest’s fourth three minutes later as Sunderland crumbled.

Sunderland’s Dan Ballard had a goal chalked off after a video review in the second half and if there was any doubt the home side was all out of luck it came in stoppage time when Elliot Anderson made it five and confirmed Sunderland’s heaviest ever defeat at the Stadium of Light.

“It is hard to explain straight after the game,” Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka said. “What I can say is that we apologise to our fans. They were easy goals we conceded today. Three set-pieces and the coach has just said in there that if you drop 1% of your maximum then you are dead. You get punished and we got punished at home.” (JapanToday)

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Man City dominates Arsenal to win English League Cup

The first major domestic trophy of the season is Manchester City ‘s. And after a dominant 2-0 win against Arsenal in the English League Cup final on Sunday, it may not be the last.

Manchester-born Nico O’Reilly sealed victory with both goals in the second half at Wembley Stadium. The win could also have delivered a psychological blow in the race for the Premier League title as Pep Guardiola aims to chase down Arsenal’s nine-point lead at the top of the standings.

“(It’s an) unbelievable feeling to win a final and to beat this team. We know how good they are,” O’Reilly told Sky Sports. “We need to build on it now, it’ll give us momentum.”

This was serial trophy-winner Guardiola flexing his muscles. It was his 16th major trophy as City manager and a record fifth League Cup. He has won 34 career titles as a manager including his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

And, once again, he was stamping out Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s own ambitions, having twice beaten his former assistant to the league title in recent years.

“I’m really pleased because I know the opponent we played. Mikel created a team that is almost unbeatable,” Guardiola said. “Every time you win a title it looks more difficult than in the past. It is really difficult for many reasons.”

Arsenal remains favorite to be crowned league champion this season for the first time since 2004, given its big lead. But with second-place City having a game in hand and the teams still to play each other in Manchester at the Etihad Stadium, the picture could look very different in the coming weeks.

City’s win also ended Arsenal’s bid this season for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies by an English team – including the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

“I’m very sad. It is a very hard one to take, especially for our players and our supporters because we know how much it means to them and how much we want that,” Arteta said. “We will manage that energy in the right way and we have to go through that pain and disappointment. It’s normal and it’s part of football.”

The 21-year-old O’Reilly, who came through City’s academy, was the unlikely hero with both goals from left back.

He took advantage of Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s fumble to head City in front on the hour. And he headed in a second four minutes later to effectively kill off the match.

“My whole family came down today (to watch) … I know they’ll be buzzing and I can’t wait to see them,” O’Reilly said.

Arteta said he had no regrets about selecting Kepa — who had played in previous rounds — rather than first-choice David Raya.

Tottenham’s Premier League survival fight was plunged deeper into crisis with a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, one of three league games played on Sunday.

The relegation six-pointer left Spurs one place and one point above the drop zone and raised further questions about the future of coach Igor Tudor.

“The season is tough, especially in this moment. Another very bad (result) for us,” said Tottenham captain Cristian Romero. “The situation is tough, but most important thing is play (every game) like a final now.”

Fellow relegation-fighting Forest climbed above Spurs to 16th in the standings. The only positive on another miserable day for Tottenham was defeat for West Ham at Aston Villa to keep it in the bottom three.

Tottenham – one of English soccer’s most iconic teams and a founding member of the Premier League – is still without a win in the top flight in 2026. Its last win was Dec. 28 and it has lost six of its last seven games.

Igor Jesus’ header just before halftime gave Forest the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Morgan Gibbs-White added a second just after the hour mark.

Taiwo Awoniyi completed Forest’s first league win under coach Vitor Pereira in the 87th to leave home fans fearing the end of its ever-present stay in England’s top division since the inception of the Premier League in 1992.

Tudor was hired last month to try to turn Spurs’ season around, but has lost five of his seven games in charge in all competitions and seen his team eliminated from the Champions League.

Tottenham remains one point above 18th-place West Ham, which lost 2-0 to Villa.

Villa boosted its chances of Champions League qualification and took advantage of all of its immediate rivals dropping points.

Villa is fourth, one point behind Manchester United and five points above fifth-place Liverpool.

Brian Brobbey struck in the 90th minute to give Sunderland bragging rights in the Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle.

Brobbey’s close-range effort sealed a 2-1 comeback win at St. James’ Park and saw Sunderland complete a league double over its fiercest rival.

Earlier, the game had been halted due to a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd towards Sunderland’s Lutsharel Geertruida.

Before kickoff, there had been tense scenes between fans outside the stadium. Northumberland police said one arrest was made. (JapanToday)

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Palace sinks Fulham to reach 4th place; Rutter rescues Brighton

Crystal Palace moved into fourth place in the Premier League as their remarkable rise hit a new high with a 2-1 win against Fulham, while Brighton stopped West Ham climbing out of the relegation zone with a last-gasp 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Marc Guehi headed the decisive goal for Palace in the closing minutes at Craven Cottage as Oliver Glasner’s side made it four victories from their last six league games.

The England defender’s late winner lifted the Eagles above Chelsea and Everton into the Champions League qualification places.

For so long one of English football’s also-rans, Palace are enjoying a golden period including last season’s shock FA Cup final victory over Manchester City and a Community Shield win against Liverpool at the start of this term.

The south Londoners are also on track to advance from the UEFA Conference League group phase, but they might have far more illustrious European opponents next season if they can keep their unexpected top four challenge on course.

Palace took the lead in the 20th minute when Adam Wharton’s pass picked out Eddie Nketiah and the forward drilled a predatory strike past Bernd Leno.

Harry Wilson equalised for Fulham in eye-catching style with a sublime strike using the outside of his foot to bend the ball past Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the 38th minute.

Emile Smith Rowe thought he had put Fulham ahead but his close-range finish was disallowed for a tight offside against Samuel Chukwueze after a VAR check.

Palace took advantage of that escape to snatch an 87th-minute winner as Guehi met a corner with a thumping header past Leno.

“It makes me proud because the team did not want to defend the draw, we wanted to win and that’s why we got it in the end,” Glasner said. “Small margins like in every single Premier League games but we are always able to score goals and defend well. It was a huge team effort but that makes me very proud. That’s why we are where we are.”

At the Amex Stadium, West Ham were moments away from escaping the bottom three thanks to Jarrod Bowen’s second-half strike.

But Georginio Rutter grabbed Brighton’s leveller in stoppage-time to leave West Ham stuck in 18th place.

The third-bottom Hammers are two points behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest in the fight for survival.

Conceding so late was a painful blow for West Ham but after holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Thursday, West Ham’s battling display was further evidence of their improvement since Nuno Espirito Santo replaced the sacked Graham Potter in September.

West Ham have lost just one of their last six league matches to revive their survival hopes.

Brighton blew a two-goal lead in a 4-3 defeat against Aston Villa in midweek, surrendering their 10-match unbeaten run at home in the process.

Avoiding another loss in front of their own fans kept seventh-placed Brighton in the hunt for European qualification.

West Ham took the lead in the 73rd minute when Jan Paul van Hecke’s careless back header was intercepted by Callum Wilson.

Wilson slipped a pass towards Bowen, who stretched for a low shot that crept past Bart Verbruggen from an acute angle.

Brighton snatched their equaliser in stoppage-time.

West Ham ‘keeper Alphonse Areola made two saves in a penalty area scramble, but Rutter pounced on the loose ball and squeezed his low shot into the net from close range.

Nuno claimed VAR were wrong to rule that Rutter did not handle in the build-up.

“It’s not ‘appears’, it’s clear,” said Nuno. “I saw it, everybody saw it. We cannot understand how they gave the goal. It’s hard to take, man, it’s really hard to take especially after the hard work of the boys.” (JapanToday)

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Man United wastes chance to reach Premier League top 5 in 1-1 draw with West Ham

Manchester United blew the chance to move up to fifth in the Premier League on Thursday when West Ham salvaged a late 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

Soungoutou Magassa’s 83rd-minute equalizer canceled out Diogo Dalot’s opening goal that had put United on course to move level on points with fourth-place Chelsea.

Bruno Fernandes squandered two chances to score a winner in added time — blazing a shot wide from inside the box and then volleying another off target.

It was another setback for United, which has only won one of its last five games — drawing three.

Despite that run, Ruben Amorim’s team had the opportunity to move within reach of the Champions League places with a win. And that looked likely when in the 58th Casemiro’s long-range shot was controlled in the box by Dalot.

The United defender then spun and powered a shot past West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

It was a game of few chances, with West Ham rarely threatening to find an equalizer. But a late corner saw Jarrod Bowen’s flicked header cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui.

Magassa reacted quickest in the box and side-footed his shot low into the corner to spark celebrations from the visiting fans.

The result leaves United in eighth and West Ham 18th. (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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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)