Brighton crush Leicester; United beat Arsenal
Brighton extended their superb start to the Premier League season with a 5-2 victory that left bottom of the table Leicester in turmoil, while Manchester United ended Arsenal's perfect start to the season. Graham Potter's fourth placed side made it four wins from their first six games thanks to a second half surge at the Amex Stadium. Kelechi Iheanacho put Leicester ahead in the first minute, but a Luke Thomas own goal and Moises Caicedo's strike gave Brighton the advantage. Patson Daka equalised for Leicester, but the struggling visitors collapsed after half-time as Leandro Trossard put Brighton in front before Alexis Mac Allister's double sealed the rout. Leicester have taken just one point from their first six games, losing five in a row to leave boss Brendan Rodgers under severe pressure. In a damning assessment of Leicester's predicament, Rodgers admitted after Thursday's defeat against Manchester United that the Foxes, who twice narrowly failed to qualify for the Champions League under his leadership, are not the same club they were two years ago. Rodgers, who led Leicester to their first ever FA Cup triumph in 2021, also publicly aired his frustration at a lack of backing from the club's owners in the transfer market, with Wout Faes the only outfield player signed since the end of last season. Rodgers hopes the transfer window closing will refocus an unsettled squad that lost key defender Wesley Fofana to Chelsea, while James Maddison and Youri Tielemans missed out on moves. But there was no sign of any improvement as Leicester slumped to another dismal defeat in the south-coast sunshine. Rodgers responded to Leicester's woes by dropping star striker Jamie Vardy and recalling Zambia striker Daka. The gamble paid off inside 60 seconds as Daka raced onto Harvey Barnes' pass and sent over a low cross that allowed Iheanacho to tap into the empty net. But Leicester's lead lasted just nine minutes as Trossard picked out Solly March at the back post for a header that deflected in off the unlucky Thomas. Leicester's insecurities came rushing back to the surface after that blow and they were breached again in the 15th minute. Maddison conceded possession close to the halfway line, allowing Enock Mwepu to stride forward and slip in Caicedo, who finished emphatically into the bottom corner. Daka dragged Rodgers' men level in the 33rd minute. Brighton defender Adam Webster gave away possession and, after Lewis Dunk was caught out by Tielemans' lofted pass, Daka ran through to slot past Robert Sanchez. Albion remained the dominant force and Trossard scored their third from a Pascal Gross pass in the 64th minute. Mac Allister killed off Leicester, converting a 71st minute penalty after Wilfred Ndidi fouled Trossard, then curling a free-kick past Danny Ward in the final seconds. Meanwhile, Antony scored on his dream debut for Manchester United as the Brazilian's clinical strike and Marcus Rashford's double inspired a 3-1 win that ended Arsenal's perfect start to the Premier League season on Sunday. Antony was making his first appearance after signing from United manager Erik ten Hag's former club Ajax in an 82 million pound deal on Thursday. The 22-year-old forward took just 35 minutes to get on the scoresheet in a dazzling introduction to his new fans at Old Trafford. Arsenal hit back to equalise through Bukayo Saka, but Rashford blew the leaders away with two goals in the space of nine second-half minutes after Antony was replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo. Thanks to Antony and Rashford, United were able to celebrate a fourth successive victory that lifted them to fifth place. Opening his reign with consecutive losses against Brighton and Brentford was a humbling experience for Ten Hag. But since then, the Dutch coach has started to put his imprint on a United side that look far more organised than the shambolic unit that finished sixth in the Premier League last season. Arsenal's first defeat this term after five successive wins was cruel on Mikel Arteta's men, who contributed plenty to an engrossing encounter but paid the price for some naive defending. Arsenal thought they had snatched the lead in the 12th minute as Gabriel Martinelli raced away from Diogo Dalot to clip a fine finish over David de Gea. But VAR intervened to ask Paul Tierney to check for a foul in the build-up and the referee ruled Martin Odegaard pushed Christian Eriksen to steal possession. Antony put United ahead in the 35th minute when Rashford's deft pass reached the forward, who took advantage of Arsenal's sloppy marking to sweep a composed finish into the far corner from eight yards. Antony kissed his badge and posed for the television cameras in a flamboyant celebration that sent Old Trafford into raptures, earning a ticking off from Tierney for sticking the ball up his shirt in front of the Arsenal fans. Antony departed to a standing ovation after 58 minutes to be replaced by Ronaldo. Saka silenced Old Trafford two minutes later as Arsenal grabbed a deserved equaliser. Odegaard's pass unhinged the United defence and when Dalot's tackle on Gabriel Jesus diverted the ball to Saka, the England winger slotted home with ease. But United caught Arsenal with a brilliant counter in the 66th minute. Playing through the Arsenal press, Eriksen found Bruno Fernandes and his superb pass sent Rashford galloping clear to fire past Ramsdale. United wrapped up the points with a replica of their second goal as Arsenal once again left themselves open at the back and this time Eriksen fed Rashford to slot home. (AFP)