Szoboszlai stunner secures Liverpool win over Arsenal as Man City collapses to another loss
Dominik Szoboszlai curled home a brilliant long-range free kick to earn Liverpool a - win over Arsenal in an early-season meeting between two of the likely Premier League title contenders on Sunday Manchester City was also expected to be challenging for the championship this season but collapsing to a - loss at Brighton for a second straight loss was another sign that Pep Guardiola s organization has lost its aura of dominance Little separated Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield before Szoboszlai stepped up to an rd-minute free kick and whipped it into the top corner from about yards meters Filling in at full back in an emergency the Hungary captain typically an attacking midfielder did his best impression of now-departed right back Trent Alexander with a top-quality strike that was out of keeping with the rest of the encounter It s now three straight wins to open the season for Liverpool the defending champion For Arsenal it was a first loss and first goal conceded extending its winless record at Anfield dating back to New season same issues for City The defeat at Brighton followed a - home loss to Tottenham last weekend for City which is demonstrating the same vulnerabilities and brittleness it revealed last season when surrendering the title to Liverpool after four consecutive years as champions This is the reality we are not at the level from a long time ago explained City midfielder Rodri the reigning Ballon d Or winner who was starting in the league for the first time since September last year following a serious knee injury Brajan Gruda surged through an open defense rounded goalkeeper James Trafford and slotted into an empty net for the th-minute winner for Brighton which trailed to Erling Haaland s first-half strike his th goal in Premier League appearances since moving to England in City conceded an equalizer in the th minute after Matheus Nunes raised his arm in the area to block a shot with James Milner converting the penalty for Brighton to become at age years and days the second-oldest scorer in Premier League history He is also the second youngest having netted as a -year-old for Leeds With City noticeably fading Brighton created a succession of chances before Gruda converted one to seal a repeat of his club s come-from-behind - win over City last season City s only points so far this season have come from a - opening-round win at Wolverhampton after which pundits were saying Guardiola s crew was back Now it has fewer points than Manchester United Surprise win for West Ham West Ham eased the pressure on manager Graham Potter with a - win at Nottingham Forest secured by late goals by Jarrod Bowen Lucas Paqueta from the penalty spot and Callum Wilson West Ham lost its first two games in the league conceding eight goals in the process and also was eliminated from the English League Cup in midweek Paqueta the Brazil midfielder celebrated his accomplished penalty kick by pretending to answer a call throw away a phone before kissing the badge on his jersey perhaps a nod to being linked over the past hours with a move to Aston Villa Late challenge Crystal Palace visits Villa in the final event on Sunday to wrap up the Premier League s third round Steve Douglas is at https twitter com sdouglas AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source
