Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/871892
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2017 49 Sport FOOTBALL Wins for Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea as Man United held CITY went ahead in the lunchtime kick-off in the 25th minute through Sergio Aguero before Mane clat- tered into goalkeeper Ederson with a high challenge at the edge of the penalty area. Referee Jon Moss brandished the red card to the Liv- erpool forward, with Ederson taken off on a stretcher and replaced by Claudio Bravo. City made the most of their ad- vantage, as Gabriel Jesus nodded in a second before the break. The Brazilian tapped in the third goal in the 53rd minute after being set up by Aguero, before substitute Leroy Sane added a fourth from close range in the 77th minute and then curled a superb 20-yard effort into the top-left corner during stoppage time. Maxim Choupo-Moting's double ended Manchester United's win- ning start to the Premier League as Stoke emerged with a creditable 2-2 draw against Jose Mourinho's men. Three wins, 10 goals and a hat- trick of clean sheets had given the Old Trafford giants a strong start to the season, yet City boss Mark Hughes spoke of weaknesses in his former club's armoury ahead of Sat- urday evening's encounter. Choupo-Moting gave credence to his manager's claim during an en- tertaining 2-2 draw at the bet365 Stadium, where Stoke's summer signing opened the scoring and would later secure a point after Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lu- kaku scored for table-topping Unit- ed. Arsenal eased the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger with a 3-0 win at the Emirates Stadium over Bournemouth, who suffered a fourth straight Premier League defeat. Danny Welbeck bundled the Gunners ahead after six min- utes, before a fine finish from club- record signing Alexandre Lacazette doubled the lead after 27 minutes. Five minutes into the second half, England forward Welbeck slotted a low shot into the far corner as Ar- senal bounced back from their 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool before the international break, with Alexis Sanchez, who looked to be leav- ing ahead of the transfer deadline, coming on for the closing stages. Brighton secured their first win in the Premier League, beating West Brom 3-1 at the Amex Stadium. Pascal Gross hooked the ball in at the far post to put the Seagulls in front on the stroke of half-time for what was their first goal since being promoted. The German, signed from Ingol- stadt in the summer, added a sec- ond on 48 minutes, before turning provider for Tomer Hemed to head in a third just after the hour. James Morrison pulled a goal back for the Baggies with 13 minutes left. Tottenham won 3-0 at Ever- ton, where Blues forward Wayne Rooney started having last week made headlines for the wrong rea- sons with his drink-driving charge. Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 28th minute when he curled a looping shot from wide on the right over goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. It was the striker's 100th goal for the club in just his 169th appearance. Christian Eriksen added a sec- ond in the 41st minute after Ever- ton failed to clear their lines. Kane, who scored twice for England in the World Cup qualifying win over Malta, settled matters with a third goal for Spurs when slotting in from close range just a minute into the second half. Champions Chelsea won 2-1 at Leicester, where summer signing Alvaro Morata again found the tar- get. The £60million capture from Real Madrid broke the deadlock four minutes before half-time with a header, before former Foxes mid- fielder Ngolo Kante netted a long- range effort in the 50th minute. Leicester reduced the deficit through a penalty from Jamie Vardy just after the hour, but Anto- nio Conte's men closed out a third straight league victory since los- ing on the opening day at home to Burnley. Watford won 2-0 at Southamp- ton to end the Saints' unbeaten start. Abdoulaye Doucoure put the visitors ahead with a low, 20-yard strike seven minutes before half- time and Dutch defender Daryl Janmaat curled in the second after 66 minutes. Leroy Sane celebrates in style Wasteful Real frustrated with home draw against Levante LA Liga champions Real Madrid dropped points at home for the sec- ond game running when they drew 1-1 with Levante yesterday, with Gareth Bale squandering a series of chances and Marcelo getting sent off late on. Ivan 'Ivi' Lopez gave the visitors, who won promotion back to the top flight last season, a shock lead in the 12th minute, flicking the ball into the air over Dani Carvajal as he tried to control a long throw-in and volleying into the near corner. The Spanish forward came close to doubling the lead from a free kick which whistled past the near post but Real pulled themselves level in the 36th minute when Lucas Vazquez tapped in from close range after Levante goalkeeper Raul Fer- nandez could only parry a header from Sergio Ramos. Zinedine Zidane's side have taken five points from their first three league games. Saturday's result followed a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia before the international break, making it the first time in 12 months that they had drawn two consecutive league games. "This is something we didn't want to happen, we have to learn from our errors and move on," said Real's goalscorer Vazquez. "We lacked a bit of freshness to create chances, Levante closed up very well at the back and caused us problems." The champions were still with- out talisman Cristiano Ronaldo through suspension and Zidane heavily rotated his side following the international break, leaving the in-form Isco, goalkeeper Keylor Navas and Luka Modric out of the starting line-up. Zidane was forced to bring on Bale in the first half when Karim Ben- zema went off injured, giving the recently maligned Wales forward a chance to prove his critics wrong, but he spurned two great chances at the end of each half. Fernandez denied Bale on the stroke of half-time after the for- mer Tottenham forward had raced through on goal unchallenged, and he also kept out another effort by Bale and strikes from Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio. The goalkeeper's best save came from a low-struck effort from Mar- celo, who in frustration rolled to the floor, kicking Levante's Jefferson Lerma in the process and earning a straight red card in the 89th minute. Bale had headed wide of goal moments earlier with his clearest chance of the game and Real had one final chance to snatch a win when Kroos went for goal from the edge of the area but saw his shot bounce off the outside of the far post. Levante's Jefferson Lerma in action with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema