Manchester United Crash to Last-Gasp Defeat, Haaland Hat-Trick Fires City to Victory
Manchester United’s dismal start to the season continued as they suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium. Erik ten Hag’s side, who were looking to bounce back from their opening day loss to Brentford, were left shell-shocked by Joao Pedro’s last-gasp winner.
Brighton took the lead in the 32nd minute through Danny Welbeck, who tapped in Kaoru Mitoma’s cross. United equalized through Amad Diallo in the 60th minute, but their joy was short-lived as Joshua Zirkzee prevented Alejandro Garnacho from putting the visitors ahead in the closing stages.
With the game seemingly heading for a draw, Brighton struck a devastating blow in the 95th minute. Pedro, who had been left completely unmarked at the far post, headed home from Simon Adingra’s cross to secure all three points for the Seagulls.
The defeat leaves United with just one point from their opening two games, while Brighton have made a perfect start to the season under new manager Fabian Hurzeler.
Meanwhile, Manchester City continued their impressive start to the season with a 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town in the EFL Cup. Erling Haaland was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick to take his tally to four goals in two games.
City took the lead in the 12th minute through a penalty from Haaland, after Leif Davis fouled Savinho. Ipswich equalized through Sammie Szmodics in the 7th minute, but City restored their lead through Kevin De Bruyne in the 14th minute.
Haaland made it 3-1 in the 58th minute with a deft flick past Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, and completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute with a typically predatory finish.
Tottenham Hotspur also enjoyed a comfortable victory, thrashing Everton 4-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Yves Bissouma opened the scoring in the 14th minute, before Son Heung-min doubled Tottenham’s lead in the 25th minute. Cristian Romero and Son added further goals in the second half to seal a convincing win for Antonio Conte’s side.
West Ham United earned their first win of the season under new manager Julen Lopetegui, with a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace. Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen scored the goals for the Hammers, who had lost their opening two games.
Fulham secured a 2-1 win over Leicester City at Craven Cottage, with Alex Iwobi scoring the winning goal in the 70th minute. Nottingham Forest also picked up their first win of the season, with a 1-0 victory over Southampton thanks to Morgan Gibbs-White’s 70th-minute strike.