MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Erling Haaland netted a hat-trick to fire Manchester City to a 4-1 victory over promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday and lift the champions to the top of the Premier League table.
They share the summit with Brighton & Hove Albion, who defeated Manchester United 2-1 with a last-gasp goal to give new manager Fabian Huerzeler a victory on his home debut.
Tottenham Hotspur handed last-placed Everton more misery with a 4-0 victory and West Ham earned their first win of the season, 2-0 over Crystal Palace.
Manchester City scored three times in less than four minutes after conceding a shock early goal to crush Ipswich and remain perfect in their quest for a fifth consecutive league title.
Haaland kicked off City’s trio of goals in 191 seconds with a penalty in the 12th minute. Kevin De Bruyne netted less than two minutes later and Haaland struck again in the 16th to all but seal the victory at Etihad Stadium.
“Last season (Haaland) struggled a lot, especially at the beginning,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “He felt tired and niggles most of the time. This time with the rest with no Euros, he has arrived with a good vibe. The numbers are unbelievable.”
LATE WINNER
Brighton earned a dramatic home victory over United at the Amex when Joao Pedro scored in the fifth minute of added time.
Brighton striker Danny Welbeck scored the opener against his former club before Amad Diallo drew Erik ten Hag’s men level in the second half and the game looked destined for a draw.
Brighton’s pressure paid off, however, when Simon Adingra chipped the ball over United’s defenders to an unmarked Pedro who headed home.
“It was very emotional, always when you get the win in the last minute, it is,” Huerzeler said.
“I think we deserved to win, we had a good game not a perfect game. There were also situations where United had the chance to win the game.”
Keeper Jordan Pickford’s error and Son Heung-min’s brace helped Spurs to a comprehensive 4-0 victory over struggling Everton.
Yves Bissouma and Cristian Romero also scored as Tottenham eased to their first win of the campaign against a visiting side who have conceded seven times in two games.
Pickford carelessly mis-controlled a back pass in the first half, allowing Son to snatch the ball and score Tottenham’s second goal.
“The performance was good,” Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said. “It’s really encouraging for us. There is more (to come). We want to keep performing.”
Second-half goals from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen fired West Ham to victory at Selhurst Park.
The visitors finally broke the deadlock when Palace struggled to clear the ball and Soucek made a late run to steer the ball home.
Hammers captain Bowen added the second goal five minutes later, latching on to a brilliant pass by Max Kilman before lashing a left-footed shot into the net.
There were more heroics from the goal-scorers when West Ham’s fans charged down to celebrate Soucek’s goal, causing an advertising hoarding to collapse, trapping a ball boy.
Soucek held the hoarding so the child could wriggle out, with Bowen pulling the boy through his teammate’s legs to safety.
“I just managed to grab him out as quick as possible, it was just instinct, just to do it,” Bowen said.
The early-season struggles continued for league newcomers Leicester City and Southampton. Fulham defeated Leicester 2-1 and Nottingham Forest beat Southampton 1-0.
Aston Villa hosted Arsenal in Saturday’s late game.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
Source Agencies
