EPL Saturday round up: Arsenal and Liverpool win as Manchester United go top
Machester United beat Sunderland 3-0 to go top of the Premier League table on a day that saw 31 goals being scored in just seven matches with the latter being the only team not to score a goal. Arsenal put up a great show as they beat in-form Leicester City by 5 goals to 2 while Liverpool won a game for the first time since the second game week.
Liverpool took an early lead through a rocket of a shot from James Milner as early as the 55th second of the match. The game opened up in the second half as Daniel Sturridge scored on his first League start this season. Rudy Gestede pulled one back in the 66th minute, but Daniel Sturridge restored the two-goal cushion in the very next minute. Rudy Gestede scored again in four minutes, but Liverpool were able to hold on for their first win in five league games.
Leicester started the match on the front foot as they took the lead through Jamie Vardy. Arsenal replied with a goal of their own within five minutes as Walcott ran onto a Sani Cazorla through ball and came up with an exquisite finish to level the scores. Arsenal then scored another in the 33rd minute when Bellerin crossed the ball in and the deflection off Ritchie de Laet landed at the feet of Alexis Sanchez.
The Alexis Sanchez show
The Chilean placed the ball into the open net to hand Arsenal the lead for the first time in the match. Sanchez was at it again as Arsenal tightened their grip on the game with another goal in the 58th minute. The 26-year-old then completed his hat-trick nine minutes from time to give Arsenal a three-goal cushion in the second half. Jamie Vardy scored a consolation goal, but an Olivier Giroud goal helped lift Arsenal over Leicester to fourth on the table.
Norwich City stunned third placed West Ham at the Boleyn ground when they took the lead in the 9th minute through Robbie Brady. West Ham, however, came back strong through Diafra Sakho off a Dimitri Payet cross. The latter now has three assists to go with his three goals in seven matches.
Norwich might have thought they would be able to leave London with all three points when Nathan Redmond scored for the Canaries seven minutes from time, but a Cheikhou Kouyate goal in the 90th minute ensured they held on to third place in the Premier League.
Manchester United started the match having the chance of going on top of the table for the first time since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. After a good defensive display by Sunderland, United broke the deadlock late into injury time in the first half when Memphis Depay scored his first league goal of the season
Rooney finally scores
In the early minutes of the second half, Rooney scored his first goal after going more than a thousand minutes without scoring the goal. Juan Mata scored in the 90th minute as United scored three goals for the fourth domestic game in a row
At the Britannia stadium, Bournemouth suffered a huge blow as star striker Callum Wilson had to be stretchered off due to an ankle injury in the 16th minute. Their misery was compounded in the 33rd minute when Marko Arnautovic danced past the Bournemouth defense and put the ball on the plate for Johnathan Walters two yards from goal.
In the second half, Bournemouth equalized through former Everton midfielder Dan Gosling but former United striker Mame Biram Diouf restored the Potteries’ lead with just six minutes left on the clock.
Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring in the 11th minute for Southampton against Swansea City before Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane made the scoreline very comfortable for the Saints. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a goal in the 83rd minute, but it proved no more than a consolation goal.
Full-time scores
Leicester 2-5 Arsenal, Liverpool 3-2 Villa, Man Utd 3-0 Sunderland, Southampton 3-1 Swansea, Stoke 2-1 Bournemouth and West Ham 2-2 Norwich.