Premier League: Liverpool’s Perfect Start Ends, Man United Stumbles Again
Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Premier League came to a shocking halt as they fell 2-1 to Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Manchester United faced yet another setback, losing 3-1 at Brentford. The results have shaken up the standings, with Palace now the only undefeated team in the league.
Crystal Palace extended their impressive streak to 18 games across all competitions without a loss, capitalizing on a disjointed performance from the reigning champions. Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring early, taking advantage of Liverpool’s failure to clear a corner. Despite a late equalizer from Federico Chiesa, who swept in a loose ball in the box in the 87th minute, Liverpool couldn’t hold on. Eddie Nketiah struck in stoppage time, sealing the victory for Palace and moving them to second place, just three points behind Liverpool.
In contrast, Manchester United’s woes continued under manager Ruben Amorim. The team struggled defensively against Brentford, who capitalized on United’s mistakes. Igor Thiago opened the scoring after a defensive miscommunication, followed by another goal from the same player when he capitalized on a rebound. Benjamin Sesko managed to pull one back for United, netting his first goal for the club, but it wasn’t enough. Bruno Fernandes missed a crucial penalty—his second miss of the season—as Brentford sealed the match with a stoppage-time goal from Mathias Jensen.
In other matches, Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 victory over Burnley, benefitting from two own goals by defender Maxime Esteve. Despite a brief equalizer from Jadon Anthony, City regained control, with Erling Haaland netting two late goals to take his tally to 15 for the season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea suffered their second consecutive defeat, losing 3-1 to Brighton after a red card for Trevoh Chalobah shifted the game in Brighton’s favor. The Blues had initially taken the lead through Enzo Fernandez, but the dismissal allowed Brighton to capitalize, with Danny Welbeck scoring and later assisting Maxim De Cuyper for the winner.
The weekend’s action concluded with late drama at Elland Road, where Bournemouth salvaged a point against Leeds in a thrilling 2-2 draw, thanks to a last-minute strike from Eli Kroupi.
