Tag: English Premier League

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AARON RAMSDALE STARS AS ARSENAL BEAT LEICESTER TO CONTINUE EXCELLENT FORM

Arsenal reaped the benefits of a fast start as they continued their fine run with victory at Leicester on Saturday, with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in inspired form.

Gabriel Magalhaes and Emile Smith Rowe – with his fourth goal in seven games – had the visitors on top within the opening 20 minutes at the King Power Stadium and Arsenal headed back down the M1 with a 2-0 win after stoutly defending their advantage.

The victory is a seventh in nine across all competitions for Mikel Arteta’s side, who showed glitz and guile in equal measure to outfox Leicester.

Brendan Rodgers has overseen something of a mini-revival after Leicester’s slow start to the season almost paralleled that of Arsenal, but – after beating Manchester United here last time out in the league – they could not find a way back into the game.

Even Jamie Vardy, fit enough to start following a knee injury, could not inspire a comeback and add to his 10 goals in 12 previous appearances against one of his favourite opponents.

Arsenal set the tone early, with Bukayo Saka – on his 100th appearance for the club – seeing an effort blocked which Daniel Amartey almost inadvertently then steered into his own goal.

Scoring from set-pieces is becoming a regular occurrence for the Gunners and it was a Gabriel header from Saka’s corner which broke the deadlock as the Brazilian celebrated his first goal since March.

Smith Rowe doubled the lead on 18 minutes, continuing his fine form with the latest England squad announcement looming.

With Alexandre Lacazette battling for the ball in the box, it was cleared into the path of the academy graduate, who made no mistake with a clinical finish.

Benjamin White has made a fine start to life at Arsenal and was passed fit to play here after illness, but he conceded a silly free-kick on the edge of his own box as half-time approached.

James Maddison, a reported summer target for Arsenal, bent over a perfect effort which Ramsdale did brilliantly to tip onto the post at full stretch, jumping back up to keep out Jonny Evans’ effort from the rebound.

The save was so good, even Peter Schmeichel, whose son Kasper was in goal at the other end, tweeted that it was the best he had “seen for years”.

Rodgers reacted to the hosts’ first-half display by introducing Harvey Barnes and Ademola Lookman, with the Foxes much brighter following the restart.

Luke Thomas, in for the injured Ricardo Pereira, drove an effort just wide, with Arteta’s response to Arsenal’s loosening grip on proceedings seeing Martin Odegaard replace Lacazette.

Still Leicester pushed as Ramsdale turned a Lookman shot behind, the former Sheffield United goalkeeper becoming increasingly important as he then made himself big to save from Barnes.

Vardy’s chances had been quite limited and he uncharacteristically miscued a header as the game entered the final quarter with Arsenal still holding on.

Evans was arguably lucky to avoid a red card as he dragged Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang down with no other defenders around him but was only booked by referee Michael Oliver.

Schmeichel made a big save of his own soon after, keeping out Aubameyang’s effort from five yards out, with Leicester unable to find a way through in the closing stages as Arsenal held on for the three points.

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TEN-MAN MANCHESTER CITY SLIP TO 2-0 HOME DEFEAT TO CRYSTAL PALACE

Manchester City suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Wilfried Zaha scored early while Conor Gallagher grabbed a late second as City finished the game with 10 men after Aymeric Laporte was sent off in the first half.

Pep Guardiola’s side slipped to only their second Premier League defeat of the season on his 200th game in charge at the club.

City remain third in the league table while Palace move up to 13th position.

“It was about getting in their faces and not letting them play,” Zaha said postmatch. “We know how good they are, we wanted to show them what we could do.

“I scuffed it but a goal is a goal. I was just buzzing to see it go in so I was happy. Conor Gallagher brings a lot of energy and I needed people to link up with and it makes a mass difference when he helps out.

“I feel like we have had a threat but the difference now is that we keep the ball from the back and build and make our chances. We are exploiting our talent.”

The visitors took a shock lead when Gallagher dispossessed Laporte to play in Zaha to score his 50th Premier League goal for Palace.

Following the opener, Palace defended well and City failed to create many clear-cut chances throughout the first half.

Just before the break, the hosts were reduced to 10 men after Laporte brought down Zaha and was shown a straight red card for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Palace should have doubled their lead five minutes into the second half but Marc Guehi failed to hit the target with a close-range header.

Within the space of two minutes, both sides had goals ruled out for offside. Zaha thought he scored his second of the day but his strike was disallowed.

Moments later, Gabriel Jesus put the ball in the back of the net but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out as Phil Foden was offside in the build up.

With two minutes remaining, Gallagher sealed an impressive win for Palace with a curling finish past City goalkeeper Ederson.

“They have good players. I knew it would be a real tough game,” Guardiola said. “I saw the Brighton and Arsenal games. I knew how difficult they would be. They showed it today.”

When asked about Laporte’s sending off, Guardiola added: “Could be yellow card, could be red it depends on the decision of the boss, the referee.. unfortunately today, many, many things went wrong and we lost the game.”

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WESTHAM THRASH 10-MAN ASTONVILLA

West Ham won 4-1 at Aston Villa to move into the top four in the Premier League and round off a wonderful week for David Moyes’ side.

The Hammers defeated London rivals Tottenham last weekend and reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a penalty shoot-out victory against holders Manchester City, before putting 10-man Villa to the sword.

Villa boss Dean Smith will feel everything that could go wrong did go wrong as his team slipped to a fourth successive Premier League defeat.

Long-range strikes from Ben Johnson and Declan Rice saw Moyes’ men head into half-time in front, after Ollie Watkins had equalised for the hosts.

Ezri Konsa’s red card shortly after the break gave Villa an uphill task and further goals from Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen inside the final 10 minutes settled the contest.

Leon Bailey was handed his first Premier League start as Smith made four changes, with Jacob Ramsey, Kortney Hause and Marvelous Nakamba also coming in.

On the cusp of making his 100th Premier League appearance, Tyrone Mings was the highest-profile casualty of Villa’s change of shape following three successive defeats, reverting to a 4-3-3 with Hause partnering Konsa at the heart of the defence.

West Ham boss Moyes named the same team that started the win against Tottenham, meaning there were eight changes from the side that defeated City in the cup on Wednesday night.

The change of shape saw Villa make a nervy start and Said Benrahma had already had a sight of goal before West Ham went ahead with just seven minutes on the clock.

Rice sprayed a pass out to the right flank for Johnson, who was in all sorts of space and cut inside on to his left foot before curling a low shot into the far corner of the net.

Villa were dealt another setback when Ramsey hobbled off injured just a quarter of an hour in, although the resulting free-kick brought the hosts’ first chance as Bailey watched a cross all the way onto his foot at the far post before volleying into the midriff of Lukasz Fabianski.

Some superb defending from Matty Cash denied West Ham a second goal as he twice blocked driven efforts by Bowen, bravely heading clear the second attempt from just in front of his goal line, before Watkins levelled things up in the 34th minute.

John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia combined down the right, with Buendia turning Fornals to get to the byline inside the penalty area where his low cross was steered home by Watkins from around the penalty spot.

Villa’s delight was short-lived, however, as Rice restored the visitors’ lead with a 25-yard shot that bobbled its way into the back of the net via a touch off the post just four minutes later.

Things got worse for Villa at the start of the second half with Konsa’s red card. A mess defensively for Dean Smith’s side, Hause caught Fornals in the face on the run before Konsa was then booked for knocking Bowen to the ground right on the edge of the box.

VAR took a look at both incidents and decided that Hause had no case to answer, while Konsa saw his yellow card upgraded to red after referee Chris Kavanagh had been to look at the monitor.

Mings was introduced for his milestone appearance, with Buendia sacrificed.

Against the odds, Villa were almost level again just before the hour when Watkins’ shot brushed the fingertips of Fabianski and crashed against the crossbar.

That was Villa’s big chance to get something from the game and Martinez made a couple of fine saves either side of the midway point of the second half, pushing away a Rice free-kick and a shot from Bowen on the angle.

Villa were still in the match entering the final 10 minutes but the Hammers gave themselves some breathing space when Fornals tapped in the rebound from close range after Martinez had done well to save Bowen’s initial shot.

Bowen added a fourth goal after 84 minutes with another simple finish after being unselfishly set up by substitute Manuel Lanzini.

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NORWICH MISERY CONTINUES AS RAPHINHA AND RODRIGO HIT LEEDS TO VICTORY

Raphinha and Rodrigo grabbed second-half goals to earn Leeds a 2-1 win that continued Norwich’s nightmare return to the Premier League.

A crazy four-minute spell after the break settled the game as Marcelo Bielsa’s men picked up a second top-flight victory of the season.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 56th minute before Irish defender Andrew Omobamidele levelled, but the Canaries succumbed to Rodrigo’s long-range effort that slipped through Tim Krul’s grasp as their winless run in the Premier League extended to 20 matches.

Daniel Farke reacted to the 7-0 horror show at Chelsea by ditching the five at the back formation which had been used in the last four games and handed opportunities to Omobamidele and Kieran Dowell, who were both making only their second league starts this season.

While Leeds created the first chance, it was largely the Sky Bet Championship winners who dominated the opening exchanges.

Daniel James, minutes after he survived some half-hearted penalty appeals for handball, came close to a first goal for Bielsa’s side since a summer switch from Manchester United..

Stuart Dallas played the Welshman through in the eighth minute and James rounded Krul before he fired towards goal from a tight angle but Norwich captain Grant Hanley got back on the line to clear.

It was not a sign of things to come, with Teemu Pukki firing wide after a poor clearance by James while Max Aarons and Mathias Normann tried their luck but did not trouble Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

For all the Canaries’ huffing and puffing, the visitors were slowly beginning to click into gear with Diego Llorente heading over before Rodrigo shot straight at Krul.

There was still time for Milot Rashica to test Meslier with a long-range shot which had been going wide and Normann drilled off target from the resulting corner to ensure it was goalless at half-time.

After a lack of clear-cut opportunities during the opening 45, that all changed at the beginning of the second period.

First Raphinha produced the type of quality which had been lacking throughout when he rifled home for his fourth goal of the season.

James passed out to the Brazilian on the right and Leeds’ number 10 cut inside Omobamidele and Hanley before he fired back across goal into the bottom corner.

Norwich responded two minutes later after Meslier passed the ball out for a corner, which Rashica whipped in for Omobamidele to head home for his first professional goal.

It would not last long however with Leeds retaking the lead on the hour mark following a critical error.

Kalvin Phillips passed into the path of Rodrigo, who was given too much time and let fly from 30-yards with a swirling left-footed drive which slipped through Krul and found the net.

Bielsa’s internal delight was briefly interrupted when Raphinha clattered into his manager after trying to keep the ball in play but his side were able to hold out for an important three points.

Rashica’s free-kick into the wall was the closest Norwich came to an equaliser despite a flurry of substitutions by Farke as the Canaries suffered an eighth league defeat of the term and were booed off.

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REECE JAMES BAGS BRACE AS PREMIER LEAGUE LEADERS EASE PAST NEWCASTLE

Reece James crashed home a second-half double as Chelsea beat Newcastle 3-0 at St James’ Park to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

England defender James produced a brilliant finish midway through the second period and then made it 2-0 by driving home a rebound before Jorginho sealed victory by converting a late penalty.

The Blues moved three points clear at the top with their fourth-successive Premier League win.

Defeat for managerless Newcastle saw them equal their longest winless run at the beginning of a top-flight season of 10 games, which was set in 1898 and 2018.

It was not the way interim-boss Graeme Jones wanted to hand over the reins, with Newcastle expected to appoint a permanent replacement for Steve Bruce before next week’s trip to Brighton.

Jones’ side made life difficult for Thomas Tuchel’s European champions, but they ran out of gas as Chelsea extended their unbeaten league run on the road this season to five matches.

Newcastle’s game-plan initially proved effective as they stifled the life out of Chelsea in a goalless, uneventful first half.

The Magpies were happy to let Chelsea have the ball, sitting deep and looking to hit them on the counter and were penned in for most of the first 45 minutes.

The home side’s best first-half chance came in the second minute when Ryan Fraser fired the ball across the face of goal, but nobody was close enough to get on the end of it.

Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech thought he had scored with the game’s first shot on target in the 29th minute, but his effort was quickly ruled out for offside.

Ziyech should have given Chelsea the lead soon after when left unopposed on the left edge of the six-yard box, but he skied James’ ball over the crossbar.

Newcastle did all they could to slow the game down. Goalkeeper Karl Darlow was told to get a move on and Matt Ritchie was booked by referee Paul Tierney for delaying a throw-in, both before the interval.

The away side went close to breaking the deadlock early in the second half when Ziyech’s shot deflected off Jamaal Lascelles on to a post.

Jorginho then fired over and Chelsea’s frustrations were clear when N’Golo Kante – making his 200th Premier League appearance – and Ziyech were booked for rash challenges within the space of a few minutes.

But the visitors broke the deadlock in emphatic style in the 65th minute. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross fell to Reece on the right edge of the area and he slammed home a left-footed finish from a tight angle.

Chelsea began to find pockets of space as Newcastle legs tired and when Blues substitute Hudson-Odoi’s fierce drive struck Ciaran Clark, James thumped home his second in the 77th minute.

The visitors’ relentless approach was further rewarded three minutes later when Jorginho converted from the spot after Kai Havertz was tripped by Darlow.

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MICHAIL ANTONIO FIRES WESTHAM TO VICTORY OVER TOTTENHAM

Michail Antonio continued to make Tottenham his favourite opponent as he fired West Ham to a 1-0 win at the London Stadium.

The Hammers striker enjoys playing against Spurs more than any other club and bagged his sixth goal against their capital rivals late in the second half to earn a derby-day win.

Antonio got the better of his marker Harry Kane at a corner and poked home his seventh of the campaign in all competitions.

The win moves David Moyes’ side above Tottenham in the table and continues their solid start to the season.

It was a fourth London derby defeat of the season for Spurs, who have also lost to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal, and their battle for consistency is undermining any credible attempt to crack the top four.

They had chances in the first half but did not have a single shot on goal after the break.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo clearly prioritised this game by leaving the entire starting XI at home while a second string travelled to Holland for a Europa Conference League game with Vitesse Arnhem.

Five of West Ham’s side were in Europa League action, but it was the hosts who started the brightest and forced Hugo Lloris into an early save as the Frenchman got down to keep out Pablo Fornals’ acrobatic effort.

Spurs thought they should have had a penalty as Kane played in Tanguy Ndombele, who was clattered into by Kurt Zouma, with VAR ruling no offence had taken place.

That helped bring the visitors to life and they fashioned two chances in quick succession.

First Kane’s brilliant through-ball set Son Heung-min free, he squared to Lucas Moura, but the Brazilian got his feet in a muddle and could not keep his shot on the turn down.

Soon after Son was in on goal after Ndombele’s pass had played him in, but his first-time shot was easy for Lukasz Fabianski to save.

West Ham were still in the game and enjoyed a good spell, which saw Tomas Soucek fire a good chance at the far post over and Antonio curl an effort wide after he overpowered Cristian Romero.

But Spurs could have gone in at half-time in front, but for a fine save by Fabianski.

The visitors worked the ball well down the left and Sergio Reguilon’s cross was met at the far post by Kane but the Poland goalkeeper did well to tip the ball over.

Tottenham started the second half brightly as they regularly threatened down the flanks but there was no quality at the vital moment as Reguilon, Ndombele and Kane all wasted opportunities to tee up team-mates.

West Ham were more streetwise than their opponents and the decisive moment came with 18 minutes remaining.

Reguilon was caught in possession by Fornals, whose shot was deflected over. And from the resulting corner, Antonio got in front of a statuesque Kane to poke home at the near post.

Spurs had nothing in the way of a response and West Ham held on to make it three wins in the last five against Spurs.

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PHIL FODEN SCORES TWICE AS MANCHESTER CITY BEAT BRIGHTON AT THE AMEX

A first-half masterclass from Manchester City saw them win at Brighton and move back up to second in the Premier League.

The reigning champions were untouchable for 45 minutes as Phil Foden scored twice after the recalled Ilkay Gundogan had opened the scoring.

Brighton were much better after the interval and arguably deserved more than the consolation given to them from the penalty spot by Alexis Mac Allister, with Riyad Mahrez striking late on as City left the south coast with a 4-1 win.

Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick here two seasons ago but, with his City future unclear, he was not involved as Pep Guardiola pointed to a lack of fitness.

City’s players warmed up in shirts which carried the message “We’re with you Guido” in support of supporter Guido De Pauw, who was attacked following the Champions League win over Club Brugge on Tuesday night.

The travelling fans also unfurled a banner with the same slogan of support as the teams emerged ahead of kick-off.

Joao Cancelo, sent off here after 10 minutes last season, forced a fine low save out of Robert Sanchez having collected a pass from Jack Grealish, who had made a lively start to the evening.

Gabriel Jesus came within inches of opening the scoring moments later but his effort was acrobatically cleared away from under his own crossbar by Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk.

Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick here two seasons ago but, with his City future unclear, he was not involved as Pep Guardiola pointed to a lack of fitness.

City’s players warmed up in shirts which carried the message “We’re with you Guido” in support of supporter Guido De Pauw, who was attacked following the Champions League win over Club Brugge on Tuesday night

The travelling fans also unfurled a banner with the same slogan of support as the teams emerged ahead of kick-off.

Joao Cancelo, sent off here after 10 minutes last season, forced a fine low save out of Robert Sanchez having collected a pass from Jack Grealish, who had made a lively start to the evening.

Gabriel Jesus came within inches of opening the scoring moments later but his effort was acrobatically cleared away from under his own crossbar by Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk.

Unfortunately for Dunk, City would open the scoring from their next attack as Sanchez spilled a Foden cross under pressure from Jesus and Bernardo Silva hooked the ball to Gundogan, who finished into an empty net.

A short VAR check for a foul on Sanchez saw the goal stand and was just reward for a dominant start.

The lead was doubled before the half hour, Bernardo starting a swift counter-attack and feeding Grealish whose low cross was turned home by England team-mate Foden.

Two would become three shortly afterwards as a Grealish shot was blocked into the path of Jesus, whose own strike deflected off a seemingly unwitting Foden and past Sanchez.

Brighton were not at the races but almost pulled one back before half-time as Ederson let a Solly March shot squirm through his grip before recovering in time to prevent a calamitous goal.

City had been superb in the first half but, unlike league leaders Chelsea who had thrashed Norwich 7-0 earlier in the day, they could not continue their form throughout the evening.

Ederson had a similar experience at the start of the second half having to recover from a spill from Pascal Gross’ shot to keep the ball out of the reach of Neal Maupay.

Leandro Trossard was next to test Ederson, who was much the busier of the two goalkeepers since the interval.

Guardiola responded by bringing on Fernandinho in place of Gundogan for the final 17 minutes but Brighton remained on top as the City boss prowled the touchline, irked with a number of his players.

Referee Kevin Friend pointed to the spot with nine minutes to go after adjudging Ederson had fouled Enock Mwepu, with fellow substitute Mac Allister making no mistake from the resulting penalty before Mahrez added the finishing touch to City’s display.

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JOSHUA KING NETS HAT-TRICK AGAINST FORMER CLUB AS FIVE-STAR WATFORD STUN EVERTON

Joshua King’s hat-trick powered Watford to a stunning 5-2 victory at Everton as Claudio Ranieri got his first win in charge of the Hornets in some style.

King played 11 games without a goal for Everton last season but was in devastating form on his return to Goodison Park, where Watford scored four times in the last 12 minutes to come from behind against Rafael Benitez’s men and record their first victory at the famous old ground.

Everton had looked to be on for the victory after Richarlison came off the bench to head them 2-1 up in the 63rd minute but after Juraj Kucka headed Watford level, King struck twice before Emmanuel Dennis added a final flourish.

King’s first had come 13 minutes in to cancel out an early Tom Davies strike.

It was a stunning finish to the match, all the more so given Ranieri’s men were humbled 5-0 by Liverpool just a week ago in the Italian’s first game in charge.

But while they celebrated what they will hope is the start of a turnaround to their fortunes, Ranieri’s old friend Benitez was left to ponder a second consecutive home defeat and their ninth of 2021 – one shy of the club’s record in a calendar year.

The early signs had been good for the hosts.

With Richarlison deemed fit enough only for the bench after six weeks out with a knee injury, Benitez made two changes to the side beaten 1-0 at home by West Ham last week and both players to come in – Davies and Anthony Gordon – were involved as they struck just three minutes in.

Benitez had said he needed to find someone with the right energy to replace the injured Abdoulaye Doucoure and it soon became apparent why Gordon got the nod as he drove Everton forward, playing in Demarai Gray whose low cross was turned in by Davies for his first goal of the season.

But a set-piece offered Watford a route back into the game as Craig Cathcart flicked on Ozan Tufan’s free-kick for King to turn in at the far post and though the flag initially went up for offside, VAR would overturn the decision and level the scores.

Encouraged, Watford continued to create chances – Moussa Sissoko drilled a shot wide from the edge of the area after good link-up from Adam Masina and Cucho Hernandez, with the latter then seeing a bending shot deflected narrowly wide.

Richarlison was sent out to warm up as the second half got under way, with Everton seeking a spark as Watford threatened again – Jordan Pickford making a superb save to deny King at close range.

Benitez responded by sending on Richarlison on the hour mark but his decision to replace Gordon was greeted with boos from the stands.

They turned to cheers three minutes later, however, as Richarlison beat Ben Foster to Michael Keane’s ball to head into an open net.

Watford responded well. Kucka drew a good save from Pickford with a shot from the edge of the area before some calamitous defending almost gifted openings to King and substitute Joao Pedro.

They were warnings which went unheeded. Kucka headed level from Hernandez’s corner and then two minutes later Watford hit Everton on the break as Dennis played in King to fire beyond Pickford.

Having lost their lead, Everton lost their way entirely.

Terrible defending saw them pass up opportunities to clear the ball before it fell for King to finish his hat-trick in the 86th minute.

As the home fans streamed for the exits, Dennis added an exclamation mark in stoppage time.

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LEEDS DENY WOLVES AS RODRIGO’S LATE PENALTY EARNS DRAMATIC DRAW

LEEDS, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 03: Rodrigo Moreno of Leeds United during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Manchester City at Elland Road on October 3, 2020 in Leeds, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Rodrigo’s stoppage-time penalty rescued Leeds a deserved point in a pulsating 1-1 Premier League draw against Wolves.

The Spain forward held his nerve in the fourth minute of added time to convert his first goal of the season after Leeds substitute Joe Gelhardt had gone down under Wolves defender Nelson Semedo’s challenge.

Marcelo Bielsa’s depleted Leeds had laid seige on Wolves’ goal for much of the match after Hwang Hee-chan had given the visitors a 10th-minute lead.

Wolves appeared to have held on for their fourth straight win with a battling backs-to-the-wall display in another highly-charged encounter at Elland Road, but Rodrigo’s last-gasp spot-kick denied them.

Leeds barely deserved to trail 1-0 at half-time after a much-improved display in which their renowned energy levels were restored.

Rodrigo headed Raphinha’s corner wide after Bielsa’s side had burst out of the blocks, clearly intent on putting last week’s no-show in a 1-0 defeat at Southampton behind them.

But Wolves delivered a thumping body blow out of nowhere in the 10th minute to snatch the lead from their first attack.

Semedo mugged Jack Harrison on the right edge of the area and Raul Jimenez’s scuffed shot hit Hwang and fell kindly for the South Korean forward to turn the ball home from close range.

Prompted by the rangy brilliance of Brazil winger Raphinha, Leeds made most of the running but save for Mateusz Klich’s curled effort, easily snaffled by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa, they had little to show for their efforts.

Leeds coped more comfortably without midfield linchpin Kalvin Phillips – the England international returned to the bench after a calf strain – but Patrick Bamford’s continued absence leaves a gaping hole up front.

Harrison blazed high and wide and Raphinha curled his shot off target after cutting inside.

Leeds were dealt another hefty blow early in the second half when Raphinha was caught late by Wolves defender Romain Saiss and hobbled off. He was replaced by Crysencio Summerville.

Bielsa sent on young striker Joe Gelhardt for Klich in the 63rd minute as Leeds regained some momentum.

Saiss just got his head to Daniel James’ cross as it appeared destined for Summerville at the far post and Roberts’ glancing header drifted wide.

Pascal Struijk headed Stuart Dallas’ free-kick straight at Sa and the home faithful cranked up the volume in their bid to lift their side.

Leeds appealed in vain for a penalty when Rodrigo went down under Max Kilman’s challenge and Gelhardt’s thumping drive was tipped over by Sa.

Gelhardt snatched at another chance, blasting over, but in the dying moments the former Wigan starlet tumbled in the area under Semedo’s challenge and Rodrigo coolly converted after referee Robert Jones had pointed to the spot.

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MOHAMED SALAH NETS HATRICK AS RAMPANT LIVERPOOL CLAIM RECORD WIN AT MAN UNITED

Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick as Manchester United were ripped apart by relentless rivals Liverpool to leave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under the most intense scrutiny of his near three years in charge.

The 202nd meeting of two of English football’s biggest rivals will live long in the memory after Jurgen Klopp’s men ran amok and recorded the club’s biggest ever win at Old Trafford.

Liverpool were as impressive as United were poor, with scintillating Salah’s treble complementing early goals from Naby Keita and Diogo Jota in a 5-0 rout in which substitute Paul Pogba was sent off.

Sir Alex Ferguson was seen shaking his head in disbelief after the fifth goal, with the visiting fans chanting Solskjaer’s name during an embarrassing display that will test the Old Trafford hierarchy’s support of their manager.

Never before in Premier League history had United gone into half-time four goals behind, but their consistently poor defence was punished by Liverpool as Keita and Jota scored before two Salah strikes.

A cacophony of boos met the half-time whistle and the Egyptian magician completed his hat-trick five minutes after the restart, with Pogba’s red card for a poor tackle on Keita compounding matters.

Liverpool were unable to add anymore and Cristiano Ronaldo saw a goal ruled out for offside in a second half that ended with empty seats and jeers, 10 years and a day since the 6-1 home loss to Manchester City.