LONDON: Martin Odegaard scored his first goal since his permanent switch to Arsenal on Saturday to further ease the pressure on Mikel Arteta as Sadio Mane helped fire Liverpool to the top of the Premier League.
Defending champions Manchester City dropped two points at home to Southampton after a 0-0 stalemate while struggling Wolves lost their fourth match in five against 10-man Brentford.
Arsenal were rock bottom of the table before last week’s fixtures but wins against Norwich and now Burnley lifted them to the relative comfort of 12th spot before the late kick-off between Aston Villa and Everton.
Odegaard, who signed from Real Madrid last month after spending part of last season at the Emirates on loan, broke the deadlock in the 30th minute, curling home a free-kick to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at Turf Moor.
Arsenal breathed a sigh of relief when VAR overturned a penalty awarded to Burnley in the second half after Matej Vydra tumbled to the turf following a challenge by goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Liverpool forward Mane continued his eye-catching run against Crystal Palace, netting in his ninth league match in a row against the London side to send Jurgen Klopp’s men top of the table with a 3-0 win.
Mohamed Salah’s glancing header from Konstantinos Tsimikas’ corner was kept out by goalkeeper Vicente Guaita but Mane pounced to lash home his 100th goal for Liverpool in all competitions.
Salah doubled the Reds’ lead in the 78th minute before Naby Keita sealed the win with a sweetly struck volley.
Liverpool, champions in 2020, have made an impressive start to the season, scoring 12 goals in their opening five games and conceding just once.
Manchester City will rue their inability to beat Southampton at the Etihad after consecutive 5-0 home wins.
It could have been worse for them after referee Jon Moss pointed to the spot when Kyle Walker bundled into the back of Adam Armstrong in the area, showing the England international a red card.
But the incident was reviewed by VAR and Moss eventually decided to overturn both decisions.
The build-up to City’s match was dominated by a row over attendance levels at the Etihad, with manager Pep Guardiola urging fans to fill empty seats in comments that irritated some supporters.
But fans were frustrated by battling Southampton, who kept City’s attackers at bay despite relentless pressure.
The home side thought they had snatched victory in the dying minutes after goalkeeper Alex McCarthy saved a Phil Foden header and Raheem Sterling tucked in the rebound but the flag was raised.
Watford beat Norwich 3-1 to condemn the newly promoted Canaries to their fifth consecutive defeat.
Watford took the lead in the 17th minute through Emmanuel Dennis but Teemu Pukki equalized before half time. Ismaila Sarr put the visitors back in front in the 63rd minute and scored again with 10 minutes to go.
In the early kick-off, Ivan Toney scored a goal and created another as 10-man Brentford beat Wolves 2-0 to maintain their impressive start to their first Premier League campaign.
The 25-year-old striker won and converted a penalty before setting up Bryan Mbeumo as the Bees prevailed at Molineux despite Shandon Baptiste’s red card in the second half.
Tottenham host Chelsea on Sunday while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United travel to West Ham.
Salah strike helps Liverpool to top of the table with Palace win
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Salah strike helps Liverpool to top of the table with Palace win
- Defending champions Manchester City drop two points at home to Southampton
- Arsenal beat Burnley and continue climb up table
Scotland shake up team for Six Nations opener
- Kinghorn is replaced by Tom Jordan at fullback for their opening match of the tournament
- Townsend selected Jamie Dobie, who also plays at scrum-half, and Kyle Steyn on the wings instead
EDINBURGH: Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has shaken up his starting line-up to take on Italy in the Six Nations in Rome on Saturday, leaving out regular fullback Blair Kinghorn and their two top try scorers when he named the team on Thursday.
Kinghorn is replaced by Tom Jordan at fullback for their opening match of the tournament, while Darcy Graham was relegated to the bench and Duhan van der Merwe left out.
Van der Merwe has a record 35 tries for Scotland, with Graham one behind him, but Townsend selected Jamie Dobie, who also plays at scrum-half, and Kyle Steyn on the wings instead. Left wing Dobie gets his first Six Nations start.
“Blair, Duhan and Darcy have had some terrific games for us and they’re very proud of playing for Scotland,” Townsend said at a press conference.
“But there’s competition in that back-three area like there is in other positions and we feel Jamie, Kyle and Tom deserve their starts given how well they’ve been playing.
Townsend praised the three who were dropped as “quality players.”
“If or when they get back into the squad or they get an opportunity off the bench, like Darcy will on Saturday, we know we’re going to have hungry players desperate to get back in the starting team,” the Scotland coach added.
“But for now, we’re really pleased with that back three, how they’ve been playing but also how they’ve been combining in training.”
The injured trio of Ewan Ashman, Jack Dempsey, and Jamie Dobie have all recovered in time to make the line-up after being injury doubts last weekend.
Huw Jones, who played for the British & Irish Lions in Australia last year, is returning to the Scotland set-up after missing the November tests as he recovered from surgery on his Achilles tendon. He will partner captain Sione Tuipulotu in what will be the 18th test match the pair have played together, including for the Lions.
There is also a return for prop forward Zander Fagerson while Scott Cummings, who missed last year’s championship through injury, returns to Six Nations action alongside Grant Gilchrist in the second row.
Nine of the players in the starting line-up come from Glasgow Warriors with another five on the bench, reflecting the stellar season Scotland’s top team are having.
Team: 15-Tom Jordan, 14-Kyle Steyn, 13-Huw Jones, 12-Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11-Jamie Dobie, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Ben White, 8-Jack Dempsey, 7-Rory Darge, 6-Matt Fagerson, 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Scott Cummings, 3-Zander Fagerson, 2-Ewan Ashman, 1-Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16-George Turner, 17-Nathan McBeth, 18-Elliot Millar Mills, 19-Max Williamson, 20-Gregor Brown, 21-George Horne, 22-Adam Hastings, 23-Darcy Graham.
