10/05/24 12:10:00
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10/05 12:09 CDT Liverpool leads the way in the Premier League and gives Slot
club record
Liverpool leads the way in the Premier League and gives Slot club record
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
Arne Slot earned a Liverpool record of nine wins from his first 10 games in
charge after the club stayed on the top of the English Premier League on
Saturday.
Diogo Jota's ninth-minute goal at Selhurst Park held up to beat Crystal Palace
1-0 and ensure Slot would be looking down on rival managers Pep Guardiola of
Manchester City and Mikel Arteta of Arsenal heading into the international
break.
Four-time defending champion City is second after beating Fulham 3-2 and
third-placed Arsenal won against Southampton 3-1. Both trail Liverpool by a
point.
Slot is making light work of filling the void left by Anfield great Jurgen
Klopp, with no other manager in the club's history winning so many of his
opening games in all competitions.
"It definitely is (very satisfying). And it's actually also quite special if
you know how many great managers Liverpool had," Slot said. "But I also said
last week I think that I hope they don't only remember me in one, two, three,
four, five years only for this. We are hoping to do more special things than
this."
Liverpool's only defeat under the Dutchman was a shock 1-0 home loss against
Nottingham Forest. Otherwise, it has been a perfect start for a man who had the
ominous task of replacing Klopp, who won a full set of major honors including
the Premier League and Champions League.
Slot looks likely to be the main challenger to City and Arsenal, who have been
first and second respectively in the last two seasons.
Both of those teams survived scares to come from behind to win at home.
Alisson injury
It wasn't all good news for Liverpool after goalkeeper Alisson sustained a
suspected hamstring injury and was substituted in the second half at Palace.
The Brazil international, who has only recently returned from a muscle injury,
was holding the back of his right leg after limping off Selhurst Park and is
likely to miss Brazil's World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Peru.
Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister also went off with a groin issue that
makes him a doubt for his country's qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia.
Home rule
City extended its unbeaten home run to 50 games in all competitions with
victory against Fulham.
The sequence dates to November 2022 when Brentford won 2-1 at the Etihad
Stadium through Ivan Toney's last-minute strike. City was knocked out of the
Champions League quarterfinals by Real Madrid last season after losing a
penalty shootout, but the game ended 1-1 after extra time and does not
officially count as a defeat.
It took John Stones' stoppage-time goal to preserve the record in a 2-2 draw
against Arsenal last month and on Saturday two goals from Mateo Kovacic saw
City fight back after Andreas Pereira fired Fulham into a 26th-minute lead.
Kovacic's deflected strike leveled the score in the 32nd and he made it 2-1 in
the 47th.
Jeremy Doku extended City's lead in the 82nd before substitute Rodrigo Muniz
set up a tense finish with Fulham's second in the 88th.
Had Adama Traore been more clinical with chances in each half, City's proud
record might have been broken.
Arsenal's run
Arsenal's 400th home win in the Premier League era was secured only after being
given a fright by second-from-bottom Southampton, which took the lead at
Emirates Stadium through Cameron Archer 10 minutes into the second half.
Bukayo Saka set up goals for Kai Havertz in the 58th and Gabriel Martinelli in
the 68th before Southampton twice hit the frame of the goal in search of an
equalizer.
Saka then put the game beyond doubt with his third goal of the season in the
88th.
Flying starters
After becoming the first team in Premier League history to score in the opening
minute in three consecutive games, Brentford is slowing down.
The west London club's fans had to wait until the second minute to cheer its
first goal against Wolves on Saturday when Nathan Collins found the back of the
net on the way to a wild 5-3 win.
Matheus Cunha equalized for Wolves two minutes later and Bryan Mbeumo restored
Brentford's advantage from the penalty spot in the 20th.
It was all square again when Jorgen Strand Larsen leveled in the 26th, then
Christian Norgaard put the home team in front for the third time in the 28th.
Ethan Pinnock made it 4-2 in first half stoppage time.
A frantic finish saw Fabio Carvalho score a fifth for Brentford in the 90th and
Rayan Ait-Nouri grab a consolation for last-placed Wolves three minutes later.
First win
Leicester won for the first time since being promoted back to the top flight by
beating Bournemouth 1-0.
Facundo Buonanotte struck the winner in the 16th at King Power Stadium.
Also, West Ham beat Ipswich 4-1 at London Stadium.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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