Manchester United suffered another humbling home defeat as neighbours Manchester City outclassed them in a 2-0 Premier League win that ratcheted the pressure back up on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Solskjaer’s side never looked like being buried as they were in a 5-0 loss to Liverpool a fortnight ago but the defeat was just as hard to stomach for the home fans, thousands of whom headed for the exits before the end.
A seventh-minute own goal by United defender Eric Bailly gave City a dream start and they doubled their advantage just before halftime when Bernardo Silva poked home from close range.
City won at a canter and enjoyed a bonus as league leaders Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at home to lowly Burnley.
Chelsea lead the standings with 26 points, three ahead of City, while Liverpool can close to within a point if they win at fourth-placed West Ham United on Sunday.
United’s 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend relieved some of the pressure on Solskjaer although they were fortunate to get a 2-2 draw away to Atalanta in midweek courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s last-gasp equaliser.
There was no salvation on Saturday though and Solskjaer cut a sombre figure in the rain.
“Of course it’s very disappointing,” Solskjaer said. “It’s a big step backwards, it is a way of losing that we don’t like.
“When you lose a game against a good team you want to see a better Man United team than that.”
Chelsea could hardly believe their misfortune as they dominated Burnley with 25 goal attempts but were robbed of two points, according to manager Thomas Tuchel.
Kai Havertz headed Chelsea in front from a Reece James cross but 18th-placed Burnley levelled late on through Matej Vydra.
“That’s why everyone loves the game — a team can steal a point if the other team forgets to score the goals they deserve,” said Tuchel, whose side’s run of seven successive wins in all competitions came to an end.
TIME FOR A CHANGE
Norwich City enjoyed a first league win of the season as they hung on for a 2-1 victory at Brentford but it was not enough to keep coach Daniel Farke in his job.
Hours after Canaries fans celebrated in west London, news broke that Farke had left the club after four-and-a-half years.
“I know how determined Daniel and his staff were to succeed at this level, but we feel that now is the right time for a change to give ourselves the best opportunity of retaining our Premier League status,” sporting director Stuart Webber said in a club statement.
Norwich briefly climbed off the bottom of the table but ended the day back in 20th spot as Newcastle United drew 1-1 at Brighton and Hove Albion.
With expected new manger Eddie Howe watching from the stands, Newcastle earned a point as Isaac Hayden cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s first-half penalty.
Brighton ended the game with 10 men and centre half Lewis Dunk in goal after keeper Robert Sanchez was sent off for fouling Callum Wilson just outside the area with the striker clear on goal, but Newcastle could not take advantage and are still without a league win after 11 games.
Norwich and Newcastle have five points.
Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten league run to six games as goals by Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher secured a 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The win lifted Palace into the top half of the table.
West Ham United showed that their place in the Premier League’s top four was fully warranted as they outmuscled Liverpool for a memorable 3-2 victory at a rocking London Stadium on Sunday.
Victory for high-flying West Ham ended Liverpool’s club record 25-match unbeaten run in all competitions and lifted them above Juergen Klopp’s side into third place in the table.
What always looked like a tough fixture for Liverpool began badly when keeper Alisson, who endured a difficult afternoon, flapped a cross into his own goal after four minutes.
Liverpool were rarely allowed to find their usual fluency but they were level by halftime thanks to a moment of magic from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Those expecting the visitors to find another gear after the break were left disappointed as it was West Ham who took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Craig Dawson hit the bar for West Ham early in the second half as Liverpool wobbled at the back, before Pablo Fornals restored West Ham’s lead in the 66th minute before Kurt Zouma rose to head in West Ham’s third in the 74th minute.
Substitute Divock Origi gave Liverpool a lifeline with a shot on the turn in the 82nd minute and Sadio Mane should have levelled in stoppage time but the hosts clung on for a victory that would be celebrated into the night by the home fans.
West Ham’s fourth consecutive league win moves them to 23 points from 11 games with Juergen Klopp’s side one point behind them and the Hammers head into the international break just three points behind leaders Chelsea.
It was a doubly joyous day for Hammers boss David Moyes who had not tasted a league win over Liverpool for 11 years, losing 10 and drawing four in the interim period as manager of Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham.
“I want us to challenge the teams in the top four, I do not know who they will be but I want us to challenge,” Moyes said.
“This result shows that we’re really in with a good chance of challenging.”
It was a day to forget for Liverpool, who have dropped five points in their last two league games, and especially Alisson.
The game was only four minutes old when he flapped at a Fornals corner under pressure from Angelo Ogbonna and the ball ended up in the net. He hoped for a reprieve via a VAR check but the goal was rightly allowed to stand.
Klopp was perplexed by the decision.
“The first they score is a foul on the goalkeeper, the arm goes into Alisson’s arm so how can he catch it? That makes no sense,” he said.
Liverpool were a little lucky not to be down to 10 men after Diogo Jota caught Ogbonna with his elbow, forcing the West Ham player off, although Klopp suggested West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell got away with a reckless challenge on Jordan Henderson.
But they got back into the game when Alexander-Arnold played a short free kick to Mohamed Salah who then stopped it for the English defender to curl past Lukasz Fabianski and temporarily silence the home fans.
Fabianski made a crucial save from Mane’s volley after the break and minutes later West Ham went back ahead as Fornals went clean through and beat Alisson with a low shot that the Brazilian stopper might have saved.
When Zouma headed in shortly after for his first West Ham goal, again with Alisson found wanting, it felt like the roof was coming off the former Olympic Stadium.
Adam Armstrong’s early goal helped Southampton continue their Premier League revival as they inflicted a fifth defeat in a row on Aston Villa.
Dean Smith’s side are short on confidence and got off to a disastrous start with Matt Cash failing to clear a long ball and Armstrong smashing in a sensational first-time effort from 20 yards.
Newcastle fought back to claim a draw at Brighton in the Premier League as potential new manager Eddie Howe watched on from the stands.
With Howe’s appointment expected soon, he sat alongside Magpies part-owner Amanda Staveley and allowed himself a brief flicker of emotion as Isaac Hayden turned in an equaliser from Ciaran Clark’s downward header.
However, for much of this contest, Newcastle’s display will only have served to warn him of the scale of the challenge at a club that is still yet to win a top-flight game this season.
While the visitors deserve credit for sticking rigidly to their defensive shape, they were disjointed in possession and, bar Hayden’s effort, offered little in attack.
Leandro Trossard’s first-half penalty had appeared to have set Brighton on their way to a deserved victory, with the Belgian getting the benefit of a VAR intervention after tumbling over Clark’s leg.
Watford manager Claudio Ranieri accused Arsenal’s players of showing a lack of respect as the Gunners claimed a narrow victory in manager Mikel Arteta’s 100th match in charge.
The in-form Emile Smith Rowe scored in a third successive Premier League game, sending Arsenal up to fifth in the table with a low drive from outside the box after 56 minutes.
However, prior to the goal Watford had put the ball out of play due to an injury and the hosts chose not to return possession from the resulting throw-in.
Antonio Conte’s first Premier League game in charge of Tottenham ended in a hard-fought goalless draw against Everton at Goodison Park.Ademola Lookman thought he had poked home the winner midway through the second period, but was standing in an offside position when Jamie Vardy had flicked on a Youri Tielemans corner.
Leeds forward Raphinha had put his side deservedly in front in the 26th minute when his free-kick from out wide caught out Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel at his far post.
But Leicester responded seconds after the resulting kick-off with Barnes curling a stunner into the top corner from a tight angle ending the game 1-1,
