Man City fought back from 2 goals down to claim victory over Crystal Palace

Liverpool matched the record for the biggest ever Premier League win with a 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth on Saturday while Erling Haaland got his first Manchester City hat-trick and Manchester United ended a run of seven straight away league defeats.

Liverpool had failed to win in their opening three games, including Monday's 2-1 defeat at United, but talk of a sluggish start to the season was soon forgotten as they took a 2-0 lead within six minutes and added three more before the break.

Six different Liverpool players were on the scoresheet but remarkably Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah was not one of them.

Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool became the fourth Premier League team to win by a 9-0 margin.

Full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold said the win was cathartic after the poor performance against their rivals at Old Trafford.

"That’s what we needed to do after Monday. Our aim was to come out of the blocks. We played on the atmosphere here today. We were on the front foot from the first kick. It was an outstanding game, an exceptional performance," he said.

"It wasn't the start to the season we hoped for. Three disappointing results. We had a point to prove. We needed to win and we did in a special way," he added as the Reds moved up to ninth with five points from four games.

Champions City were 2-0 down inside 21 minutes at home to Crystal Palace but after some tactical adjustments from Pep Guardiola early in the second half they roared to a 4-2 win with new signing Haaland providing a reminder of his goal threat.

The Norwegian's glancing header from a Phil Foden cross had brought City level at 2-2 after a deflected Bernardo Silva effort pulled them back into the game.

Haaland then turned in a John Stones effort from close range and his third goal showcased his power and strength as he latched on to an Ilkay Gundogan pass, held off Joel Ward and blasted the ball into the bottom corner.

The former Borussia Dortmund forward now has six goals from his opening four league games and Guardiola, whose side are top on 10 points, said he was simply showing his ability.

"What he has done today he has done all his career. It is nothing special (for him)," said the Spaniard.

Reuters

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