Newcastle United stormed into second in the Premier League by outclassing Leicester City 3-0 away from home on Monday, while Harry Kane overcame his World Cup penalty pain by helping Tottenham Hotspur recover to draw 2-2 at Brentford.
Kane was heckled by members of the crowd who chanted “You let your country down”, in reference to his missed penalty against France in Qatar.
Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui got off to a strong start in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers after his side came from behind to sink Everton 2-1 with a last-gasp goal and increase the pressure on Frank Lampard.
Elsewhere, Fulham eased to a 3-0 win at Crystal Palace, who had two players sent off, while Brighton & Hove Albion earned a comfortable 3-1 win at Southampton, and Liverpool defeated Aston Villa 3-1.
And Eddie Nketiah scored the final goal of the match on his first start for Arsenal this season as the Premier League leaders completed a 3-1 comeback win over West Ham.
Joelinton, Miguel Almiron and Chris Wood were all on target as Newcastle struck three times in the first half against Leicester to record their sixth successive win in the Premier League.
Eddie Howe’s side has 33 points after 16 games, one more than third-placed Manchester City, although the champions have two games in hand.
Fourth-placed Tottenham got off to a nightmare start at Brentford but yet again staged a comeback, Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scoring in the space of six minutes in the second half to cancel out earlier strikes from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.
Harry Kane scores against BrentfordCredit:AP
It was Kane’s first match since missing a penalty in England’s quarter-final defeat in the World Cup and he showed that he had overcome that setback by scoring a thumping header.
Former Real Madrid, Sevilla and Spain manager Lopetegui saw his Wolves side fall behind to an early goal from Everton’s Yerry Mina. But they equalised through Daniel Podence in the first half, then snatched all three points thanks to a Rayan Ait-Nouri strike deep in added time.
The victory pulled Wolves off the bottom of the table and into 18th on 13 points, one point and one place below Everton.
Southampton sunk to the bottom after their defeat at home to Brighton, who moved up to sixth.
Free-flowing Liverpool moved to sixth in an entertaining game that featured a first senior goal from Spanish teenager Stefan Bajcetic and a record-making assist by Andy Robertson.
Striker Mohamed Salah tapped in the visitors’ opener in the fifth minute after a sublime passing move from marauding wing-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.
Defender van Dijk bagged Liverpool’s second in the 37th minute with a superb left-footed shot after being set up by Salah, who would have been proud of the finish.
Ollie Watkins put Villa back in the game with a smart 59th minute header across goalkeeper Alisson Becker, before 18-year-old midfielder Bajcetic squeezed in Liverpool’s third to secure the win in the 81st minute.
Stefan Bajcetic of Liverpool scores their side’s third goalCredit:Getty
Bajcetic became the second-youngest Spanish scorer in the Premier League after Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal in 2004.
“It was brilliant for him,” Robertson said of his teenage teammate after the match. “He’s really stepped up his game and he was brilliant when he came on.”
The Scottish defender’s pass for Salah’s opener took him past Leighton Baines with the most assists of any defender in Premier League history, 54.
“I’m not into individual things. I’m all for the team. But when you do stuff like that and you’re in the Premier League against some unbelievable defenders, it’s always nice to put yourself at the top,” Robertson said.
The result left Aston Villa 12th on 18 points.
After a poor start to the season, Liverpool are finding form and closing down on the top four and a hoped-for place in next year’s Champions League.
“I think we played exceptionally first half. We were really good,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
At the Emirates, Arsenal dominated possession in the first half but Said Benrahma’s spot kick for West Ham was the only goal at the break.
The Gunners regrouped and Bukayo Saka struck the equaliser eight minutes after the restart before Gabriel Martinelli fired Arsenal ahead.
Nketiah’s goal in the 69th ensured the Gunners secured all three points and equalled their longest-ever Premier League home winning streak with a 10th straight victory.
Reuters, with AP
