Arsenal extended their Premier League lead with a fourth straight win, beating hosts Sunderland 2-0, while Chelsea saw off a spirited comeback attempt from visitors Hull City, led by Algeria's Mohamed Belloumi, son of legend Lakhdar Belloumi, before settling for a 2-2 draw in Matchday 4 of the Premier League on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland
Brazilian substitute Bruno Guimarães (58') and Bukayo Saka (90+8', penalty) scored Arsenal's goals.
The defending champions continued their perfect start, moving to 12 points at the top of the table, 3 points clear of last season's runners-up Manchester City, who play the Manchester derby against neighbors United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Spanish goalkeeper David Raya was outstanding, leaping to save a penalty from France's Enzo Le Fée (56'), before Guimarães followed with a brilliant strike, firing a powerful shot into the bottom corner of the crossbar (58').
The identity of the scorer vindicated Spanish coach Mikel Arteta's decision to bring him on in the second half in place of Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The London side could have extended their lead through a Saka shot (74') and a header from Germany's Kai Havertz (75'), but Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs saved the first, while Dan Ballard blocked the second.
Jurriën Timber had a goal ruled out for offside (78'), while the second goal came in the 7th minute of stoppage time from a penalty won and converted by Saka, which also saw the offending defender, Mozambique's Reinildo Mandava, sent off.
Chelsea 2-2 Hull City
Chelsea took the lead through Morgan Rogers just 7 minutes into the match, finding the net for the first time this season, marking a perfect start to his return to the top flight. Hull responded with two stunning goals from Belloumi in the 28th and 34th minutes.
The Blues leveled things up in the second half through Brazil's João Pedro (66').
Across five matches against top-flight opponents since new Spanish coach Xabi Alonso took charge, Chelsea have scored 16 goals while conceding 12.
Chelsea's draw denied Hull City even a temporary spell at the top of the table, with Hull moving up to 8 points in third place, a point ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea.
"A Massive Result for Us"
Bosnian coach Sergej Jakirović, Hull's manager, said after the draw: "We have to be happy, it's a massive result for us."
Liverpool and Aston Villa also continued to drop points, with Liverpool held to a goalless draw at home by Fulham, while Villa fell 2-1 to a late winner away at Nottingham Forest.
It marked Liverpool's third draw, following identical 2-2 results against Newcastle and Nottingham, against just one win, 2-0 over Ipswich in the previous round, leaving Spanish coach Anddoni Iraola's (44) side on 6 points in sixth place, only on goal difference behind Brentford, who themselves were held to a 2-2 draw away at Bournemouth.
Liverpool's Attack Fails to Fire
Liverpool's attack, which includes three players each valued at $135 million, France's Bradley Barcola, Germany's Florian Wirtz, and Sweden's Alexander Isak, failed to deliver the expected performance against a fragile Fulham defense.
Iraola said: "When you draw, especially at home, you can't be happy," attributing it to fatigue his team suffered following the significant physical effort of beating Spain's Atlético Madrid 2-1 in their Champions League league-phase opener on Wednesday.
He added: "We were a bit short on energy and sharpness today, and we didn't do enough going forward to make the difference."
Fulham, managed by Spain's Álvaro Arbeloa, picked up their first point of the season after three straight defeats, sitting 18th in the table.
Press reports indicated that Arbeloa, the former Liverpool defender, had been at risk of losing his job after losing his first three league matches since arriving in West London from Real Madrid.
At Villa Park, the hosts fell behind to a Liam Delap goal (46'), before equalizing through Brazilian substitute Alisson.
The visiting side then snatched the win and all three points through a goal from Brazilian substitute Igor Jesus, two minutes before full-time.
Aston Villa, last season's Europa League champions, sit second-from-bottom in 19th place with a single point from one draw and three losses.
Aston Villa had beaten their Midlands rivals in last season's Europa League semifinal, en route to their first trophy in 30 years.
Tottenham Still Without a Win or a Goal
Ipswich capitalized on hosts Crystal Palace playing a man down, winning 3-2 to claim all three points through a late winner from Netherlands' Zian Flemming in the 90th minute.
Tottenham, who revamped their squad this season after narrowly avoiding relegation last term, failed to open their account with a win or even a goal, drawn 0-0 at home by Everton.
Tottenham, managed by Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, the mastermind behind their Premier League survival, sit 17th with 2 points from two draws and two losses.
The North London club is still waiting for a return on its investment after bringing in several expensive signings over the summer, most notably Portugal's Matheus Fernandes, Egypt's Omar Marmoush, and Brazil's Savinho, all of whom featured in the starting lineup.
Everton, meanwhile, sit seventh with 6 points and remain unbeaten.
The round continues Sunday, with Coventry City facing Brighton, before wrapping up Monday with Leeds United hosting Newcastle United.
