Liverpool joined reigning champions Manchester City today in the new leaders’ duo of the English football league, after winning ‘big’ at Old Trafford against Manchester United (3-0) at the end of the third round.
With two goals, Colombian winger Luís Diaz, former FC Porto player, was the standout performer of the match and kept the ‘reds’ completely victorious in the Premier League, a very different scenario for the ‘red devils’, who have now suffered their second consecutive defeat and continue to struggle with a crisis that has lasted several seasons. Diogo Jota started for Liverpool, but failed to score, as did Bruno Fernandes, the captain, and Diogo Dalot on the Manchester United side.
Liverpool now has nine points at the top of the Premier League, alongside Manchester City, and for the third time in their history, they have not conceded any goals in the first three matches of the top English tier (7-0). On the other hand, Manchester United has only three points and heads into the international break again with Erik ten Hag ‘under fire’, after the ‘red devils’ management gave the Dutch coach another chance, having ended the last season in eighth place. Diaz was the match’s ‘scorer of service’, striking accurately at 35 and 42 minutes, returning to the big games alongside Egyptian Salah, who scored the third goal at 56 minutes, having previously assisted the Colombian for his ‘double’.
In the other matches held today, Chelsea, with Portuguese Pedro Neto starting, drew against Crystal Palace (1-1) and continues without a win this season at Stamford Bridge. In a London derby, Chelsea stumbled at home again after the defeat suffered against four-time champions Manchester City (2-0) in the opener, with João Félix coming on in the second half, precisely in place of Pedro Neto, and Renato Veiga, called up for the national team for the first time, did not leave the substitutes’ bench. Senegalese forward Jackson put the ‘blues’ ahead at 24 minutes, but Eze equalized early in the second half, at 53. Chelsea now has only four points from three rounds, while Crystal Palace got their first point and avoided a 14th consecutive defeat against the ‘blues’. With this draw for the ‘eagles’, Southampton and Everton are now the only teams still without points in the Premier League.
In northern England, Newcastle recorded their best start to the league since 2011 (two wins and one draw), beating Tottenham at home 2-1, marking the first defeat for the ‘spurs’. Swedish player Isak scored the decisive goal of the match at 78 minutes, but the ‘man of the match’ award went to Tino Livramento, a 21-year-old right-back, under-21 international for England, but the son of a Portuguese father and a Scottish mother. Earlier, Barnes had already given Newcastle the lead at 37 minutes, but Brun, in an unfortunate own goal, equalized at 56 minutes.
Newcastle, with seven points, joined Arsenal and Brighton in the second-placed group, while Tottenham remains in the middle of the table with four.