Liverpool on Saturday equaled the Englsih Premier League’s record win with a 9-0 demolition of AFC Bournemouth, while Erling Haaland’s hat-trick inspired Manchester City’s comeback 4-2 victory against Crystal Palace.
On a remarkable day in the top flight, leaders Arsenal maintained their perfect start with a dramatic 2-1 win against Fulham.
Meanwhile, 10-man Chelsea beat Leicester City 2-1 and Manchester United’s revival continued with a 1-0 victory at Southampton. Brentford drew 1-1 with Everton and Brighton beat Leeds 1-0.
Photo: AFP
Liverpool stole the spotlight as they recovered from Monday’s lackluster 2-1 loss at Manchester United in astonishing style.
After three games without a win, the Reds rebounded by equaling Manchester United’s 9-0 wins against Ipswich Town in 1995 and Southampton in 2021, as well as Leicester’s thrashing of Southampton in 2019.
It took just 3 minutes for Luis Diaz to strike at Anfield as the Colombia winger headed home Roberto Firmino’s cross. Liverpool moved further ahead 6 minutes into the game as Harvey Elliott bagged his first Premier League goal with curler. Trent Alexander-Arnold rifled into the top corner in the 28th minute.
After providing three assists, Firmino scored himself with a close-range volley to put the result beyond doubt by the 31st minute.
Virgil van Dijk headed in Andrew Robertson’s corner on the stroke of halftime as Liverpool scored five in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time.
Chris Mepham’s own-goal from Alexander-Arnold’s 46th-minute cross was followed by Firmino grabbing the seventh in the 62nd minute.
Fabio Carvalho’s first goal since his summer move from Fulham made it eight in the 80th minute, and Diaz notched the historic ninth with 5 minutes left as Liverpool equaled their biggest top-flight margin of victory, set against Crystal Palace in 1989.
“We wanted to show a reaction. Getting to be the best version of ourselves. We scored wonderful goals,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said. “The game settled and we kept scoring. It was the perfect afternoon.”
Champions Manchester City staged another impressive rally as they came from 2-0 down to beat Palace at the Etihad Stadium.
Palace went ahead in the fourth minute as Eberechi Eze’s free-kick deflected off John Stones into the net for an own-goal.
City fell further behind in the 21st minute when Palace defender Joachim Andersen was left unmarked to head in Eze’s corner.
But City came from 3-1 down to draw at Newcastle last weekend, and Bernardo Silva gave them hope with a 53rd-minute effort that deflected in off Jeffrey Schlupp.
City equalized in the 62nd minute when Phil Foden’s cross reached Haaland and the former Borussia Dortmund striker headed his first home-goal since joining in the close season.
In the 70th minute, Haaland prodded home and the Norwegian sealed his hat-trick in the 81st minute.
“What Erling Haaland has done today he has done all his career. It is nothing special,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
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