EPL REVIEW: Arsenal batter Chelsea, Man United thrash Leicester, Man City stay perfect
By reeling off a sixth successive English Premier League victory on Saturday, Manchester City underlined just how formidable it is under Pep Guardiola.
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But Jose Mourinho might finally have found the way to stop Manchester United being eclipsed by City this season - drop Wayne Rooney.
Having fended off mounting criticism of his captain, Mourinho left Rooney on the bench and the reward was a 4-1 victory over champion Leicester.
It ensured City, with a 3-1 victory at Swansea, couldn’t pull further away from United, which is six points behind its neighbor. The most impressive performance of the day came from Arsenal, which marked the 20th anniversary of Arsene Wenger’s appointment by ruthlessly beating Chelsea 3-0.
The day’s biggest scorer was Liverpool, which routed Hull 5-1, while Tottenham was second after winning 2-1 at Middlesbrough.
Here is a closer look at the day’s eight Premier League games:
MANCHESTER UNITED 4, LEICESTER 1
United goals all came in a sparkling first-half display. Juan Mata - Rooney’s replacement in the No. 10 role - Marcus Rashford, and Paul Pogba scored in a rampant five-minute spell. United took the lead through Chris Smalling, the captain in place of Rooney. United ended a run of two straight league defeats, but Leicester has lost three of its opening six games, as many as in its 38-game title-winning campaign last season.
SWANSEA 1, MANCHESTER CITY 3
Sergio Aguero scored twice on his return from suspension as Manchester City beat Swansea 3-1 to clinch a sixth straight win to open the English Premier League on Saturday. Raheem Sterling grabbed the other goal for City, whose only negative was the sight of playmaker Kevin De Bruyne limping off late on with an apparent hamstring injury.
City has won its first 10 games of the season under new coach Pep Guardiola - a club record - and has a four-point lead after six rounds in the Premier League. Guardiola tied Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea record for six consecutive victories at the start of a league.
ARSENAL 3, CHELSEA 0
Arsenal have cruised to a 3-0 win over Chelsea, scoring all three goals in the first half to claim their first Premier League victory over their London rivals in 10 attempts.
Arsenal gave their manager Arsene Wenger something to celebrate as he marked 20 years in charge of the club on Saturday, punishing Chelsea for poor defending to race into a 2-0 lead within 15 minutes at Emirates Stadium.
First, Alexis Sanchez pounced on a feeble attempt at a back pass by Chelsea defender Gary Cahill to beat the advancing Thibaut Courtois with a neat chip in the 11th minute.
Three minutes later, Arsenal were 2-0 up as Hector Bellerin found himself in space on the right and picked out Theo Walcott, who blasted home from close range.
Chelsea’s attempts to claw their way back were effectively finished in the 40th minute when Mesut Ozil picked up a loose ball deep in the Arsenal half and raced forward to exchange passes with Sanchez and volley the hosts into a 3-0 lead.
LIVERPOOL 5, HULL 1
With nine goals in its first two home games, a new-look Anfield is becoming a fortress for Liverpool under Juergen Klopp.
Liverpool was already on its way to a third straight league win when Ahmed Elmohamady was sent off in the 29th minute. James Milner converted the resulting penalty to double the lead already established by Adam Lallana. Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho added further goals before Milner was on target again from the penalty spot.
MIDDLESBROUGH 1, TOTTENHAM 2
Son Heung-min stepped up in Harry Kane’s injury absence with two goals. Kane, last season’s top scorer in the league, injured his right ankle last weekend and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
But Son, who wanted to leave Tottenham in the offseason, scored his second double inside two weeks, netting both inside 23 minutes at Middlesbrough. It was a third consecutive loss for Middlesbrough, but a third league win in a row for Tottenham.
BOURNEMOUTH 1, EVERTON 0
Junior Stanislas proved Everton’s bogeyman for the second season running as his stunning goal earned Bournemouth a 1-0 Premier League win at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
The former West Ham United winger had netted a 98th-minute goal to earn Bournemouth a 3-3 draw in this fixture last season and he proved the difference again with a fine long-range strike in the first half.
His goal allowed Bournemouth to bounce back from their League Cup elimination at the hands of second-tier Preston North End in mid-week as Eddie Howe’s side registered only a second win of the season.
Victory would have given Ronald Koeman’s Everton -- knocked out of the League Cup by Norwich City -- their best start to a league season since 1969, when they finished the campaign as champions.
But instead they fell to defeat for the first time in the league this term, which saw them slip to fourth place in the table, five points below leaders Manchester City.
SUNDERLAND 2, CRYSTAL PALACE 3
Sunderland wasted a 2-0 lead and dropped to the bottom of the English Premier League on Saturday as Crystal Palace won 3-2 for its third straight victory in the top tier.
Christian Benteke’s injury-time header left the Black Cats still waiting for their first league win of the season.
Jermain Defoe’s double strike in the 39th and 60th minutes at the Stadium of Light put Sunderland manager David Moyes in sight of a much-needed victory.
But Patrick van Aanholt deflected Joe Ledley’s 61st-minute shot past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and was then beaten to the ball by James McArthur who made it 2-2 in the 76th.
Deep into injury time, Benteke rose to power a header past Pickford from substitute Lee Chung-yong’s free kick.
Palace was two points behind Manchester United. Sunderland was last with only one point.
STOKE 1, WEST BROM 1
Stoke almost clinched its first English Premier League win of the season on Saturday but the 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion did at least move the Potters off the bottom of the table.
Joe Allen put the hosts ahead in the 73rd minute before West Brom grabbed an injury-time equalizer through Salomon Rondon’s header from a corner.
Mark Hughes’ side looked set to end its four-match losing streak in the league but Stoke had to settle for one point, and a total of two from six games - above single-point Sunderland.
West Brom remained in mid-table.
Home fans showed their appreciation for former Stoke boss Pulis as he emerged from the tunnel before kickoff. Pulis, in his 1,000th game as a manager, clapped back and waved to all sides of the ground.
Pulis has yet to lose against his former employers in five meetings.
credit: foxsports.com
