Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka scored twice, including a late winning penalty, as the hosts beat Liverpool 3-2 in a pulsating Premier League clash to send the Gunners back to the top of the table at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Arsenal opened the scoring after 58 seconds, Gabriel Martinelli sweeping home a perfect pass from captain Martin Odegaard, but Liverpool grew into the game and Darwin Nunez levelled in the 34th minute.
There was a lengthy break midway through the first half as Trent Alexander-Arnold received treatment for an ankle injury sustained in a tangle with Martinelli, and the England defender had to be replaced by Joe Gomez at halftime.
By then Arsenal were back in front, sweeping forward on the counter-attack as Martinelli turned provider, whipping the ball across the box for Saka to poke home a simple finish in first-half stoppage time.
Odegaard missed a golden opportunity to increase Arsenal’s lead after the break and two minutes later Diogo Jota found Firmino with a perfectly weighted through ball for the Brazilian to slot across goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and into the net.
Arsenal came blazing back and a wild series of shots and blocks ended in a penalty when Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara was adjudged to have fouled Gabriel Jesus and Saka made no mistake from the spot to put his side 3-2 up in the 76th minute.
It was enough to seal a win that takes Arsenal back into first place on 24 points, one ahead of second-placed Manchester City after nine games.
Liverpool’s disappointing start to the season continued, and their second league defeat leaves them in 10th spot on 10 points from eight games.
Palace comeback
Eberechi Eze’s fine late winner earned Crystal Palace a 2-1 comeback victory over Leeds United.
The visitors raced into an early lead through Pascal Struijk, reacting first after Brenden Aaronson’s stunning run and shot had come out off the post.
Leeds striker Patrick Bamford, starting his first match since August, missed a glorious opportunity to double the lead, wastefulness that proved costly when Palace levelled through Odsonne Edouard’s header in the 24th minute.
Palace were much the better side in the second half but struggled to break down a resolute Leeds, until Eze picked the ball on the edge of the penalty area, threw a dummy and rifled an 76th-minute winner into the net.
Eze’s first strike of the season took his tally to four goals against Yorkshire clubs - 67% of his entire Premier League career total.
The away side kept coming but could not make their pressure pay, and Palace moved out of the relegation zone and up to 15th in the table, level on nine points with Leeds one place above them.
“It’s a good win and we needed that win,” Palace manager Patrick Vieira said. “It wasn’t pretty but we needed some different ingredients from the last couple of games.
“We worked hard and rolled up our sleeves and, at the end, we score that goal which is good for us. In the last couple of games we didn’t get what we deserved but today was a good win for us.”
The defeat represented further dropped points in a game when taking the lead for Leeds. Since the start of last season, only Leicester City have dropped more points from winning positions than Leeds away from home in the Premier League.
“The first half was one of the best 45 minutes we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Leeds boss Jesse Marsch said. “It was a shame to go in 1-1 at halftime. In total this is a step in the right direction. Of course, we have to get results along the way but we are doing OK. We just have to keep pushing.”
Fulham upset
Fulham manager Marco Silva felt West Ham United’s last two goals in 3-1 defeat should not have stood as Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio were guilty of handballs.
Scamacca appeared to lightly brush his hand against the ball before he chipped the goalkeeper to give West Ham a 2-1 lead and did not celebrate as he looked worryingly at the linesman, but the goal was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check.
In added time, substitute Antonio handled the ball before he profited from a defensive mix-up to score West Ham’s third but it was not caught by referee Chris Kavanagh.
“I will not speak about the referee, sorry, because they will probably come after me and I’ll be off the bench or pay a fine. I am not here for that, I am here to manage my players,” Silva told BBC. “I will not say to you what I think. Can I ask you what you think?
