By Kato Jamil
\Mohamed Salah’s late equaliser earned Liverpool a 2-2 draw with rivals Arsenal on Sunday but the single point was not enough for the Reds to reclaim top spot in the Premier League, leaving champions Manchester City at the summit.
Manchester United suffered a 2-1 loss to West Ham United that will surely put manager Erik ten Hag firmly back in the hot seat, while Crystal Palace beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 for their first Premier League win of the season on Sunday.
Also in London, goals by Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer earned Chelsea a 2-1 home win over Newcastle to propel them to fifth place.
After their win against Southampton on Saturday, City have 23 points from nine games to lead Liverpool by a point, while Arsenal are third with 18.
At the Emirates Stadium, Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the lead in the ninth minute when he ran on to Ben White’s ball over the top for a 50th Premier League goal on his return from injury.
“We’re a bit disappointed, we just feel like we didn’t show our best selves for a full 90 minutes,” Saka said. “First half, we showed our qualities, we dominated, we gave them nothing. Second half, we sat back a bit and weren’t at our best.”
Virgil van Dijk equalised nine minutes later, nodding home a Luis Diaz flick-on from a corner, but Mikel Merino scored his first Arsenal goal just before half-time, meeting Declan Rice’s free-kick with a bullet header upheld after a VAR review for offside.
Liverpool improved after the break and Salah levelled in the 81st minute with a calm tap-in from Darwin Nunez’s cross.
“Listen, it’s a very tough place to come, but to come back twice is a good thing, we take the point and we move on, that’s the feeling,” Van Dijk said.
More Woe For Man Utd
At West Ham’s London Stadium, Jarrod Bowen converted a controversial last-gasp penalty to defeat Manchester United in a fluctuating clash between two struggling sides.
Crysencio Summerville scored his first goal in a West Ham shirt as the hosts climbed past their visitors to 13th in the table on 11 points after nine games.
Manchester Untied are 14th on the same points.
United thoroughly dominated through the first half, leaving Ten Hag, whose job has been the subject of constant speculation, to lament their squandered chances.
“We have to look in the mirror, we don’t score in a good game from our side,” he said.
Bowen netted in the 92nd minute, stepping up to the penalty spot after a lengthy VAR review showed Matthijs de Ligt had clipped the leg of Danny Ings.
Relief For Palace
Crystal Palace climbed out of the relegation zone with a much-needed victory thanks to a Jean-Philippe Mateta goal, easing the pressure on manager Oliver Glasner.
Palace moved up to 17th with six points, two points clear of the drop zone, while Spurs remain eighth with 13 points.
Palace started the game with much more intensity and their high press yielded the opening goal when Spurs shot themselves in the foot trying to pass the ball out from the back.
Daniel Munoz pinched the ball from Spurs centre back Micky van de Ven and the wing back put a cross into the box which was expertly flicked by Eberechi Eze to an unmarked Mateta who fired home.
“Very important, first win this season and we worked hard to have another win,” Mateta told Sky Sports.
“Every day in training, I always want to show the manager that I’m fit and can score for the team… I say every time, if he (Eze) plays good then we would win. Today he gave me the pass.”
Chelsea’s Progress
Goals by Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer earned Chelsea their narrow win over Newcastle in the latest sign of progress for the Blues under coach Enzo Maresca.
Jackson rounded off a sweeping counter-attack to give Chelsea the lead in the 18th minute, converting a perfect cross by Pedro Neto.
The home fans at Stamford Bridge roared their approval as the Londoners dominated Newcastle with their fast-passing game, before Newcastle equalised against the run of play when Alexander Isak converted a cross by Lewis Hall in the 32nd minute.
Barely a minute into the second half, Palmer restored Chelsea’s lead when he picked up a pass from Romeo Lavia close to the halfway line, raced to the edge of the box and fired a low shot past Nick Pope.
“We just try to play our own game, block the noise out from the outside,” the striker said. “We don’t mind proving people wrong. We are all young and we have a top coach, but there are improvements still.”
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