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LONDON: Manchester City staged a thrilling fightback as the Premier League champions rescued a 3-3 draw against Newcastle United, while Edouard Mendy’s embarrassing blunder condemned Chelsea to a 3-0 defeat at Leeds United on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s side were in danger of a first league defeat since February after falling 3-1 behind in the second half at St James’ Park.
But Erling Haaland sparked City’s revival with his third goal for the club before Bernardo Silva’s equaliser completed the escape act.
Second-placed City remain unbeaten with seven points from their first three games, leaving them two points behind leaders Arsenal.
While Guardiola will be concerned with the way City were carved open by Newcastle, the spirited comeback underlined why they have won the title four times in the last five seasons.
City needed just five minutes to take the lead as Silva cleverly worked space to cross towards the unmarked Ilkay Gundogan, who fired home from eight yards.
Newcastle equalised in the 28th minute when Allan Saint-Maximin’s pin-point cross was bundled in by Miguel Almiron, with the goal awarded by VAR after an initial offside flag.
Having conceded for the first time in the league this season, City’s defence was breached again in the 39th minute.
Saint-Maximin was City’s tormentor again with a brilliant run and pass to Callum Wilson, who timed his run perfectly to slot past Ederson.
Kieran Trippier grabbed Newcastle’s third goal with a stunning free-kick that whistled into the top corner after 54 minutes.
But Haaland reduced the deficit with a close-range strike from Rodri’s flick on the hour.
From the depths of despair, City had a lifeline and Silva seized it four minutes later with a deft finish from Kevin De Bruyne’s pass.
Trippier escaped a red card when the right-back was sent off for chopping down De Bruyne, with VAR persuading referee Jarred Gillett to overturn the decision.
At Elland Road, Mendy’s costly 33rd-minute mistake was the catalyst for Chelsea’s shocking implosion as Brenden Aaronson netted after catching the goalkeeper taking too long in possession.
Rodrigo’s fourth goal in three games this season doubled Leeds’ advantage in the 37th minute.
Jack Harrison’s 69th-minute goal completed Leeds’ first win over Chelsea since 2002 and their biggest against their old rivals since 1995.
Adding to Chelsea’s misery, their Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off for a second booking after tripping Joe Gelhardt in the 84th minute.
Chelsea find themselves in the unusual position of sitting below their less glamorous west London neighbours Fulham and Brentford in the table.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have taken four points from their first three games and the German was alarmed at the way his expensively rebuilt team faded after Mendy’s howler.
“Everything that can go wrong, did go wrong. It started yesterday. We had no plane to arrive so we came on the bus. The players could fly but for the coaching staff it was a long ride on the bus. It continued today. We lost the game in the first 20 minutes, where we were clearly better and had huge chances,” Tuchel said.
At the London Stadium, Brighton added to West Ham’s woes with an impressive 2-0 victory.
Alexis Mac Allister put Brighton ahead in the 22nd minute after Danny Welbeck was fouled by West Ham’s debutant defender Thilo Kehrer.
Kehrer claimed the foul had taken place outside the penalty area, but a VAR check decided it was just inside and Mac Allister calmly converted the spot-kick.
Leandro Trossard raced through to bag Brighton’s second goal with a composed finish past Lukasz Fabianski in the 66th minute.
Brighton are in fourth place with seven points from their first three games, while West Ham slumped below Manchester United to the bottom of the table.
ARSENAL ROUT BOURNEMOUTH
Martin Odegaard scored twice in the opening 11 minutes as Arsenal outclassed newly-promoted Bournemouth for a 3-0 victory to move top of the Premier League on Saturday at the Vitality Stadium.
The former Real Madrid player, Arsenal’s captain, opened the scoring after five minutes following good work by Gabriel Jesus and doubled their lead from Ben White’s pull back.
Bournemouth failed to have a shot or touch in Arsenal’s penalty area in a one-sided first half and they were only marginally better in the second period.
French defender William Saliba curled an unstoppable effort into the top corner to make it 3-0 in the 54th minute and put Arsenal in to cruise control in the south coast sunshine.
Jesus, outstanding again for Arsenal, had a goal ruled out for offside as the visitors made it three successive wins — a contrast to last season when they lost their opening three. It is the first time they have won their first three Premier League games in 18 years.
Arsenal are on the top of the table with nine points from three matches, two more than north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and champions City.
Bournemouth have suffered back-to-back defeats after beating Aston Villa on the opening day of the season.
While Arsenal will face sterner tests than a below-par Bournemouth, the ruthless way they tore Scott Parker’s side apart showed how far they have come from last season.