MY ACCOUNT
Liverpool equalled the Premier League record for the biggest win after putting Bournemouth to the sword with a 9-0 victory at Anfield – becoming only the fourth side to score nine goals in a game in the competition after Manchester United, Leicester City and Tottenham.
Striker Roberto Firmino opened his account for the season with a brace to hit a landmark 100 goals for Liverpool, while elsewhere in England’s north west Manchester City won a Premier League game after being 2-0 behind at the break for the first time, beating Crystal Palace 3-2.
Manchester United secured a second win in a week with a 1-0 win against Southampton, ending a run of seven-consecutive away defeats in the Premier League, and 10-man Chelsea beat Leicester City 2-1 – which saw back-to-back dismissals for the Blues, the first time since under Jose Mourinho in 2014.
Elsewhere, Brighton maintained their fine start to the season with a 1-0 win against Leeds United, Brentford held Everton to a 1-1 draw and Arsenal came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1.
Stats Perform has taken a dive into Opta’s data pool to present a number-led review on the best of the day’s Premier League action.
Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth: Reds run riot to equal Premier League record
Jurgen Klopp’s men saw plenty of records fall their way as they picked up a first Premier League victory of the season at the fourth time of asking, equalling a club record for their biggest margin of league victory – when beating Crystal Palace 9-0 in 1989 and Rotherham Town 10-1 in 1896.
A first-half blitz saw the Reds score five in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time, while it was the first occasion they had scored five in the first half of a top-flight match since October 1927 against Portsmouth.
Firmino was undoubtedly the star of the show, becoming the first Liverpool player to be directly involved in four goals in the first half of a single Premier League match (one goal, three assists), and a second goal after the break saw the Brazilian become just the third Liverpool player to have a hand in five goals in a single Premier League match after Mohamed Salah against Watford in March 2018 and Luis Suarez versus Norwich in December 2013.
It was also a day for the next generation, with goals from Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho, both 19, seeing Liverpool have two different teenagers score in the same Premier League game for the first time in their history.
For Bournemouth, the loss hands Scott Parker’s side an unwanted record having conceded 16 goals in the first four games in the Premier League, more than any other side, while their aggregate score against Liverpool in the past seven Premier League matches stands at 28-1 against.
Manchester City 4-2 Crystal Palace: Haaland hits hat-trick as champions break tradition
Falling 2-0 down in the first half, it appeared City were set for another surprising home defeat to Crystal Palace, but a valiant response after the break saw Pep Guardiola’s side break tradition – coming back from a two-goal deficit at the break to win a Premier League match for the first time ever, having drawn two and lost 51 of the previous 53 occasions.
Performances will be concerning, however, with City falling two goals behind in four of their past six Premier League matches, as many as in their previous 84 matches combined.
Both goals came after 21 minutes, marking the earliest City have been two behind at home in the Premier League since December 2010 against Everton (2-0 down after 19 minutes).
City have been formidable when falling behind, though, and a quick start for Haaland to life at City will be extremely encouraging, netting his fourth hat-trick in Europe’s big five leagues and becoming just the fourth player to score six-or-more goals in their first four Premier League appearances after Diego Costa, Sergio Aguero and Mick Quinn.
Palace can at least be encouraged by the performance of Eberechi Eze, who is just the third player to provide an assist in three consecutive away appearances for the Eagles after John Salako in 1992 and Christian Benteke in 2018.
Arsenal 2-1 Fulham: Gunners grind out result to maintain 100 per cent record
For only the third time in Premier League history, Arsenal have won each of their opening four matches in a season. The Gunners have not managed that feat since 2004-05, when they went on to finish runners-up, and in 2003-04, when they won the title.
Mikel Arteta’s side showed they were made of sterner stuff, conceding first in the second half and going on to win for the first time since Boxing Day 2013 against West Ham. It marked the manager’s 100th league match in style, with Arteta picking up 100 points in his second 50 games (W32 D4 L14) after accruing 75 in his first 50 (W21 D12 L17).
Gabriel’s winning goal was his eighth strike in the Premier League since the start of 2020-21, more than any other central defender, while Martin Odegaard scored his third in three matches, as many as he netted in his previous 24.
For Fulham, a poor record in London derbies was maintained as the Cottagers have won just one of their past 26 in the Premier League, drawing five and losing 20, though Aleksandar Mitrovic netted his 100th goal for the club in all competitions – only Mohamed Salah (133), Harry Kane (121) and Ivan Toney (106) have scored more in England’s top four tiers in that time.
