Mohamed Salah scored twice to take Liverpool nine points clear at the top of the Premier League by beating Bournemouth 2-0 on Saturday, while third-placed Nottingham Forest smashed Brighton 7-0. Salah’s double took him above Frank Lampard as the sixth highest goalscorer in Premier League history with 178 goals on another significant day in the Reds’ charge towards a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title. Bournemouth had not lost in 12 games in all competitions and beaten Arsenal and Manchester City at home earlier this season.

The Cherries can count themselves unfortunate not to have extended that run as they hit the woodwork either side of half-time through Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier.

Bournemouth were also furious over the awarding of a penalty that opened the scoring on the half hour mark as Cody Gakpo appeared to clip his own heels as he entered the box rather than being tripped by Lewis Cook.

VAR did not intervene to overturn referee Darren England’s original decision to point to the spot and Salah ruthlessly rifled home the resulting spot-kick for his 20th Premier League goal of the season.

Bournemouth pressed in vain for an equaliser after the break as the in-form Justin Kluivert missed two big chances either side of Tavernier’s strike off the post.

But one moment of magic from Salah sealed a massive three points in the title race when he cut inside onto his favoured left foot and curled into the top corner.

Second-placed Arsenal have a mountain to climb if they are to rein in Arne Slot’s men and host defending champions Manchester City on Sunday.

Forest land a punch

Forest moved level on points with the Gunners thanks to a scintillating performance that blew Brighton away at the City Ground.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men had been beaten 5-0 by Bournemouth last weekend but bounced back in style with Chris Wood netting a hat-trick.

Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams and Jota Silva were also on target for Forest after Lewis Dunk‘s own goal opened the floodgates.

“After what happened last week, the answer was good,” said Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo. “You get punched, you get up – fantastic!”

The two-time European champions are on course for a return to the Champions League for the first time since 1980 as they opened up a six-point cushion on fifth-placed Newcastle, who blew the lead to lose 2-1 at home to Fulham.

Jacob Murphy put the Magpies in front at St. James’ Park, but Fulham hit back thanks to goals from Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz to climb up to ninth and within four points of the top six.

Everton’s relegation fears in their final season at Goodison Park now appear over after thrashing Leicester 4-0.

Abdoulaye Doucoure opened the scoring after just 10 seconds as David Moyes enjoyed a third win in his first four games since returning as Everton boss.

Beto then took advantage of some woeful Leicester defending to score twice before half-time and Iliman Ndiaye rounded off a resounding win in stoppage time.

The Toffees are now 10 points clear of the bottom three.

By contrast, Ipswich look doomed after Southampton ended their wait for a league win since November with a 2-1 victory at Portman Road.

Paul Onuachu scored the winner three minutes from time for Saints, who are still eight points adrift of safety, but move to with seven of Ipswich.

Manchester City face the stiffest test of their recent revival when they travel to Arsenal this weekend as Bournemouth seek to take down Premier League leaders Liverpool. Third-placed Nottingham Forest host Brighton hoping to banish memories of last week’s 5-0 hammering at Bournemouth, while slumping Tottenham aim to stop the rot at Brentford. Let’s take a look at some of the major talking points ahead of the action.

Man City’s litmus test

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have won four of their past five Premier League games to climb back into the top four after a miserable run of results.

In midweek they survived a huge scare against Club Brugge to scrape into the Champions League play-off round, further evidence that they may have turned a corner at last.

So is it back to business as usual for the four-time defending Premier League champions?

The fixture list has been relatively kind in recent weeks but they now have a daunting run, with a trip to Arsenal followed by games against Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest.

Their prize for survival in the Champions League is a tough play-off against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

Mikel Arteta‘s Gunners are unbeaten in 14 league games at home since a 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa last April and cannot afford to drop points as they hunt down Liverpool.

Second-placed Arsenal have been pipped to the title by City in each of the past two seasons, but will kick off six points above their old rivals, determined to state their credentials as serious challengers.

Tottenham: Too good to go down?

Despite Tottenham’s plunge down the table, relegation talk has appeared fanciful, with an eight-point buffer between themselves and the bottom three.

But when will Ange Postecoglou’s injury-hit team turn their form around?

Fellow strugglers Everton and Leicester both closed the gap on Spurs last weekend.

The slide has been dramatic for Postecoglou’s men. In late November, Tottenham were sixth and just four points off second place. Since then, they have slumped to 15th, 23 points off second.

They have taken just four points from their past 10 games — only Southampton (one) have taken fewer.

It is still difficult to imagine that enough of the teams below Tottenham have the quality to reel them in but they are alarmingly fragile.

On Sunday, they travel across London to face mid-table Brentford, who boast an impressive home record and significant firepower.

If they do not start winning again soon, fans will start to think the unthinkable.

Bournemouth’s push for Europe

At the start of the season, a trip to Bournemouth’s modest Vitality Stadium would not have given Liverpool manager Arne Slot sleepless nights but it is a different story now.

Andoni Iraola‘s team are unbeaten in their past 11 Premier League games, their longest run without defeat in the competition. 

The Spaniard, in his second season at the club, has done a remarkable job despite missing a host of players through injury including Marcos Senesi, Marcus Tavernier, Luis Sinisterra, Evanilson and Enes Unal.

Iraola’s free-scoring side are seventh in the table but are just a single point behind fourth-placed Manchester City as their fans dream of European football next season.

Justin Kluivert, on 11 Premier League goals, is emerging from the shadow of his father, Netherlands star Patrick Kluivert, while Dango Ouattara scored a hat-trick in the 5-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Bournemouth have already beaten Arsenal and Manchester City this season but Liverpool, who have lost just once in the league, would be their biggest scalp so far.

Fixtures

Saturday (1500 GMT unless stated)

Nottingham Forest v Brighton (1230), Bournemouth v Liverpool, Everton v Leicester, Ipswich v Southampton, Newcastle v Fulham, Wolves v Aston Villa (1730)

Sunday (1400 unless stated)

Brentford v Tottenham, Manchester United v Crystal Palace, Arsenal v Manchester City (1630)

Monday 

Chelsea v West Ham (2000)

Darwin Nunez struck twice in stoppage time to earn Liverpool a 2-0 win at Brentford and open up a seven-point Premier League lead on Saturday after Bournemouth ran riot in a 4-1 win at Newcastle. The Reds looked set to drop points for the third consecutive league game until the much-maligned Uruguayan doubled his tally of Premier League goals for the season in the dying seconds in west London. Nunez swept home Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s cross before smashing in a second for a vital twist in the title race.

Instead of cutting the gap, Arsenal are now under pressure to keep pace when they host Aston Villa in the 1730GMT kick-off.

Liverpool had been wasteful in front of goal in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest in midweek and Arne Slot’s men nearly let another two points slip away.

Dominik Szoboszlai smashed a shot off the bar and Cody Gakpo failed to hit the target with a glorious chance to open the scoring before half-time.

On a rare quiet day for Mohamed Salah, Slot was forced to turn to Nunez to make an impact off the bench and he duly delivered.

The 25-year-old had not scored in the league since November but was in the right place to finish after a neat one-two between Harvey Elliott and Alexander-Arnold.

Substitute Elliott was the creator for the second, feeding Nunez to cut inside and fire past Mark Flekken.

Kluivert bursts Newcastle bubble

Bournemouth snapped Newcastle’s winning streak in stunning fashion as Justin Kluivert’s hat-trick fired the Cherries up to sixth.

The Magpies were looking to set a club record with a 10th consecutive victory in all competitions but were thoroughly outplayed by the visitors, who are themselves now on an 11-game unbeaten streak.

Kluivert, son of former Newcastle striker Patrick Kluivert, scored a hat-trick of penalties earlier this season at Wolves.

This time all three of his crisp finishes came from open play as Bournemouth were rampant at St. James’ Park.

Milos Kerkez added a fourth in stoppage time as Andoni Iraola‘s men closed to within one point of fourth-placed Newcastle.

Bournemouth have never qualified for European competition before and Kluivert said that is the goal for an ambitious squad.

“Why not dream big and let’s see where we can end up,” said the Dutch international.

Leicester have lost seven consecutive Premier League games as a 2-0 home defeat to Fulham edged Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men closer to a return to the Championship.

Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore were on target for the visitors, who move up to ninth.

Crystal Palace are up to 12th after a third win in four games thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s double in a 2-0 win at 10-man West Ham.

Mateta opened the scoring early in the second half before Konstantinos Mavropanos’ red card gave the Hammers a mountain to climb.

The Frenchman then sealed the points from the penalty spot late on.

Liverpool swept four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah‘s masterclass inspired a memorable 6-3 rout of Tottenham, while Manchester United crashed to a humiliating 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth on Sunday. Salah delivered a sublime performance featuring two goals and a pair of assists as Arne Slot’s side ran riot in north London. The 32-year-old is now Liverpool’s fourth top scorer ever with 229 goals. Salah’s brace took him past Billy Liddell, with only Ian Rush (346), Roger Hunt (285) and Gordon Hodgson (241) ahead of him.

The rampant Reds have won 21 of their 25 matches in all competitions under Slot and have a game in hand on Chelsea to strengthen their lead in the title race.

This was a remarkable display of Liverpool’s firepower as Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister scored to put them in command.

Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed Liverpool’s third and Egypt star Salah took over after the break before Diaz netted again.

“For 60 minutes we did everything we had to do, we were comfortable and good with the ball. The main thing is we worked very hard,” Slot said.

“But you have to be on top of your game for the whole game and we didn’t do that.”

Punished for Ange Postecoglou’s insistence on sticking to his high defensive line, it was the first time since 1997 that Tottenham had conceded six goals in a home league game.

James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored for Tottenham, but an eighth league defeat this season leaves them languishing in 11th place as the pressure mounts on Postecoglou.

“If you want to discount the fact we’re missing a goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back and that hasn’t coincided with how we’re doing… I don’t know what to say anymore,” Postecoglou said of his critics.

United boss Ruben Amorim, who once again left Marcus Rashford out of his squad, is set for a miserable Christmas following the worst result of his brief reign.

Languishing in 13th place, United have suffered four defeats in nine matches in all competitions since Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.

United’s second successive loss after their League Cup exit at Tottenham on Thursday underlined Amorim’s belief that their road back to the top will be long and arduous.

Man Utd ‘suffer’

United, who have conceded first in their last six games, were booed off at half-time, while the final whistle was greeted by more jeers from the few fans who stayed until the bitter end.

“This game was hard on us. We suffered again on set-pieces and we were a bit nervous. I felt it in the stadium,” Amorim said. 

“We have to suffer again but we will try to win.”

Amorim’s decision to play without Rashford for the third consecutive game will face fresh scrutiny after United’s wretched performance.

Again, United were exposed at set-pieces in the 29th minute when Bournemouth’s teenage defender Dean Huijsen punished poor marking at a free-kick to glance a header past goalkeeper Andre Onana.

There was even worse to come for Amorim in the second half as Justin Kluivert doubled fifth-placed Bournemouth’s advantage with a 61st minute penalty following Noussair Mazraoui’s foul on the forward.

Antoine Semenyo compounded United’s misery two minutes later with a cool finish from Dango Ouattara’s pass.

With Liverpool playing in Sunday’s late game, second-placed Chelsea would have gone top, for at least a few hours, if they had won at Everton.

But Enzo Maresca‘s side had to settle for a goalless stalemate that ended their five-match winning run in the league.

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira enjoyed a dream debut as his side won 3-0 at relegation rivals Leicester.

Replacing the sacked Gary O’Neil, Pereira made an immediate impact after leaving his role at Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab thanks to goals from Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha.

Third-bottom Wolves are within two points of fourth-bottom Leicester.

Bottom-of-the-table Southampton held on for a 0-0 draw at Fulham as new manager Ivan Juric watched from the stands before officially taking charge.

Manchester United crashed to a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, while Chelsea missed the chance to go top of the Premier League after a 0-0 draw at Everton on Sunday. United boss Ruben Amorim, who once again left Marcus Rashford out of his squad, is set for a miserable Christmas following the worst result of his brief reign. Languishing in 13th place, United have suffered four defeats in nine matches in all competitions since Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.

United’s second successive loss after their League Cup exit at Tottenham on Thursday underlined Amorim’s belief that their road back to the top will be long and arduous.

United, who have conceded first in their last six games, were booed off at half-time, while the final whistle was greeted by more jeers from the few fans who stayed until the bitter end.

While it is far too early to pass judge on Amorim, the Portuguese coach cannot afford many more results like this if he is to keep the players and fans on his side.

Amorim’s decision to play without Rashford for the third consecutive game will face fresh scrutiny after United’s wretched performance.

Amorim surprisingly omitted the 27-year-old England forward from the squad for United’s win at Manchester City last weekend, prompting Rashford to hint he was willing to leave the club for a “new challenge”.

Rashford was at Old Trafford wearing a United tracksuit amid his extended exile as Amorim made six changes from the line-up beaten 4-3 by Tottenham in the League Cup quarter-finals.

Again, United were exposed at set-pieces in the 29th minute when Bournemouth’s teenage defender Dean Huijsen punished poor marking at a free-kick to glance a header past Andre Onana.

There was even worse to come for Amorim in the second half as Justin Kluivert doubled fifth-placed Bournemouth’s advantage with a 61st minute penalty following Noussair Mazraoui’s foul on the forward.

Antoine Semenyo compounded United’s misery two minutes later with a cool finish from Dango Ouattara’s pass.

With leaders Liverpool playing at Tottenham in Sunday’s late game, second-placed Chelsea would have gone top, for at least a few hours, if they had won at Everton.

But Enzo Maresca‘s side had to settle for a goalless stalemate that ended their five-match winning run in the league.

Chelsea sit one point behind Liverpool who have two games in hand on the Blues, starting with their trip to Tottenham.

It was an encouraging start to a new era for Everton — four points clear of the relegation zone — under new owners the Friedkin Group, whose purchase brought an end to Farhad Moshiri’s tumultuous tenure.

Everton’s new executive chairman Marc Watts was in attendance at Goodison Park to see Chelsea come closest to winning when Nicolas Jackson’s first-half header hit the post.

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira enjoyed a dream debut as his side won 3-0 at relegation rivals Leicester.

Replacing the sacked Gary O’Neil, former Porto boss Pereira left his role at Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab to fulfil his dream of managing in England.

Goncalo Guedes started the Pereira era with a flourish as he met Nelson Semedo’s cross with an agile finish in the 19th minute.

As if that welcome gift from his fellow Portuguese wasn’t enough, Pereira received another present from a compatriot in the 36th minute when Rodrigo Gomes slid in to notch his first goal for Wolves.

Matheus Cunha’s 44th minute strike from Guedes’ pass ensured third-bottom Wolves would move within two points of fourth-bottom Leicester.

Bottom-of-the-table Southampton held on for a 0-0 draw at Fulham as new manager Ivan Juric watched from the stands.

Juric, axed by Roma in November after just 12 games, was not in charge on Sunday as he awaited a work permit to replace Russell Martin.

Southampton are eight points adrift of safety with only one win from 17 league games.

Bournemouth’s Enes Unal provided a dramatic climax to his side’s 1-1 draw with West Ham on Monday as the Turkey forward’s superb late free-kick cancelled out Lucas Paqueta’s penalty. Paqueta looked to have sealed West Ham’s second successive Premier League victory when he converted from the spot with just three minutes left at the Vitality Stadium. But Unal came to the Cherries’ rescue three minutes later with only his second goal this season. The 27-year-old’s moment of magic extended Bournemouth’s unbeaten run to four games as they climbed to sixth place.

Bournemouth have scored a league-high 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of games this season. 

Two of those goals came in a remarkable 2-1 win at Ipswich in their previous game, with Unal also scoring Bournemouth’s equaliser on that occasion.

“Enes scored an amazing goal. He’s a specialist. But it’s only one point. I’m very disappointed with the penalty,” Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said of the decision that went against his team for Tyler Adams’ handball.

“It is a play we analysed at a meeting before the season. They (refereeing chiefs) said players don’t need to defend with hands behind their back in an unnatural position.

“It didn’t affect the direction of the cross. I don’t care about the explanation now. It has cost us and I’m very disappointed.”

West Ham have gone two games without defeat to ease a little of the pressure on boss Julen Lopetegui.

They remain in 14th place and sit seven points clear of the relegation zone.

“We suffered a little bit and overcame this to score, but it was an incredible goal from Unal. It’s a pity,” Lopetegui said.

“There are positives. This is the first step to be strong and a better team.”

Sting in the tale

Bournemouth have beaten Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal at home this season, so the under-fire Lopetegui might have feared the worst when Iraola’s team made a strong start.

Antoine Semenyo was the catalyst for Bournemouth’s first threat as he won a towering header before sprinting into the area to meet Evanilson’s return pass with a low strike that glanced off the far post. 

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen scored the late winner when the sides last met in the League Cup in August and he nearly tormented Bournemouth again with a curler from the edge of the area that clanged off the crossbar.

Lopetegui’s men were a threat on the counter and Carlos Soler whipped a shot narrowly wide before Tomas Soucek dragged a close-range effort just past the post.

Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara looked certain to break the deadlock when the ball fell to him just five yards from goal, but Lukasz Fabianski threw himself across to make a superb save with his legs.

Ouattara almost bent a long-range effort past Fabianski soon after the interval, while Ryan Christie’s drive was tipped over by the Hammers ‘keeper.

After Fabianski denied Philip Billing and pushed away Christie’s follow-up, West Ham took the lead in the 87th minute.

Adams half-blocked Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross with his out-stretched arm and referee Chris Kavanagh gave the penalty after consulting the pitchside monitor.

Paqueta took the spot-kick and calmly sent Kepa Arrizabalaga the wrong way with his stutter-step run-up.

But there was a sting in the tale in the 90th minute as Unal bagged a brilliant equaliser, looping an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards.

Bournemouth’s record signing Evanilson scored his first goal for the club as the Cherries beat Southampton 3-1 on Monday. The Brazilian international sparked a three-goal blitz from the home side in the opening 39 minutes as Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo also struck. Taylor Harwood-Bellis pulled a goal back for Saints early in the second half, but they remain in the bottom three and without a win since their return to the Premier League. Bournemouth climb above Manchester United into 11th with their second win of the campaign.

Evanilson has big shoes to fill as the replacement for Dominic Solanke, who departed to Tottenham for a club record fee last month.

The 40 million pounds striker did not get off to a good start as he missed a penalty in a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in Bournemouth’s last home game.

However, he banished those memories by latching onto Marcus Tavernier’s quickly taken free-kick on 17 minutes.

“It is a goal we’ve been expecting of Evanilson,” said Bournemouth assistant manager Tommy Elphick, who was deputising for suspended boss Andoni Iraola.

“He is so intelligent and makes such cute runs. We haven’t been finding him enough so I’m pleased for him.”

Ouattara was then in the right place to deflect Lewis Cook’s shot past Aaron Ramsdale.

Semenyo has so far filled the void left by Solanke and his fierce drive found the bottom corner for his third goal in six Premier League appearances this season.

It was a familiar tale for Southampton as their dominance of possession counted for little in terms of points.

Russell Martin‘s men sit second bottom with just one point from their opening six games.

“I am so hurt by the first-half performance after the first goal. I didn’t recognise our team,” said Martin.

“There was no aggression or courage. They were looking around and in self-preservation mode on the pitch. I didn’t like it one bit. They showed fight in the second half, but it was too late.”

Last season all three promoted sides were relegated from the Premier League for the first time since 1997/98.

The early evidence of this season also suggests the gulf between the Championship and the top tier is becoming increasingly difficult to breach for teams coming up.

Ipswich and Leicester have also failed to register a win in their opening six league matches but do at least sit outside the bottom three.

Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League with a resounding 3-0 win over Bournemouth as Tottenham eased the pressure on Ange Postecoglou by beating Brentford 3-1 on Saturday. Nicolas Jackson scored twice as Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 win at West Ham, while Aston Villa are level on points at the top after coming from behind to beat Wolves 3-1. Liverpool suffered the first setback of Arne Slot’s early days in charge when Nottingham Forest shocked Anfield seven days ago.

But the Reds responded in style to blow Bournemouth away before half-time.

Luis Diaz was rested for an impressive 3-1 win at AC Milan to start Liverpool’s Champions League campaign in midweek.

Restored to the starting line-up, the Colombian struck twice inside two minutes.

Diaz pounced on a misjudgement from Kepa Arrizabalaga to latch onto Ibrahima Konate’s long ball and round the stranded Spanish goalkeeper before sweeping into an empty net.

Trent Alexander-Arnold then teed up Diaz to fire in his fifth goal of the season.

Darwin Nunez was making his first start of the season and ended his 14-game goal drought at club level in spectacular fashion by curling into the far corner.

A three-goal margin of victory takes Liverpool ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa, who also have 12 points, on goal difference.

Solanke off the mark

Spurs had won just one of their opening four league games to continue a downward trend in form spilling over from the end of last season.

Postecoglou’s men also had a narrow escape with two late goals to avoid a League Cup exit to second-tier Coventry in midweek and got off to a nightmare start against Brentford.

Bryan Mbeumo’s thumping volley after just 22 seconds put the Bees in front.

Yet, Spurs got the quick response they needed to stave off any revolt from the home fans.

Dominic Solanke opened his Tottenham account with a tap in after Mark Flekken parried James Maddison‘s effort.

Brennan Johnson then hit back at his critics with an accurate low finish.

Maddison secured the points five minutes from time with his first goal since March.

Villa also needed a turnaround for their fourth win in five games after Matheus Cunha blasted Wolves in front midway through the first half.

Ollie Watkins’ deflected effort equalised before a rare goal from Ezri Konsa put Villa in front.

Jhon Duran then continued his scintillating form as an impact substitute with his fourth goal this season off the bench.

– Chelsea cruise –

Chelsea continued their positive start under Enzo Maresca as Jackson’s double put a woeful West Ham to the sword at the London Stadium.

The Senegal striker now has four goals in five Premier League games this season after two cool finishes beyond Alphonse Areola as West Ham were opened up at will.

Jackson turned provider for Cole Palmer to round off the scoring inside the first two minutes of the second half.

West Ham have now lost their opening three home league games for the first time in their history to mark an inauspicious start for new manager Julen Lopetegui.

“The points are important, but in this moment the most important thing is the way we progress,” Maresca said after the Blues moved up to fourth in the table.

Newcastle had the chance to go top but the Magpies’ poor performances this season finally caught up with them in a 3-1 defeat at Fulham.

Raul Jimenez fired the home side in front before Nick Pope let Emile Smith-Rowe’s effort slip through his grasp.

Harvey Barnes cut Newcastle’s deficit just a minute into the second half.

But Bruno Guimaraes’ slack pass teed up Reiss Nelson to seal Newcastle’s fate in stoppage time.

Ipswich struck deep into added time to snatch a 1-1 draw in the battle of the newly-promoted sides at Southampton.

Everton and Leicester are both also still looking for their first win of the season after a 1-1 draw at the King Power.

Manchester United travel to Crystal Palace in the 1630GMT kick-off aiming to avenge their 4-0 humiliation at Selhurst Park back in May.

The blockbuster clash of the weekend takes place on Sunday when champions City host Arsenal, who have finished second to Pep Guardiola’s men for each of the past two seasons.

Christopher Nkunku came off the bench to score the winner four minutes from time as Chelsea ground out a 1-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday. The Blues rode their luck at the Vitality Stadium as Robert Sanchez saved a first-half penalty from Evanilson and Bournemouth twice hit the woodwork. But the strength in depth from Chelsea’s bloated squad, assembled for over 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in transfer fees, paid off late on. Jadon Sancho, introduced as a half-time substitute, impressed on his first appearance since joining from Manchester United on the final day of the transfer window.

Nkunku span onto Sanchez’s pass and produced a clinical low finish for his first Premier League goal of the season.

There was still time for a Premier League record to be set as referee Anthony Taylor dished out 14 yellow cards, surpassing the previous high of 12.

However, Chelsea will care little about the fractious nature of a scrappy game as victory lifts Enzo Maresca‘s men up to seventh with seven points from their opening four games.

“You cannot come here and win without getting your shirt dirty,” said Maresca on his side’s ability to battle through their lack of cohesion after another turbulent summer in the transfer market.

Sancho was one of 10 new signings after bringing to an end his disastrous spell at United.

However, the England international shone on loan at Borussia Dortmund in the second half of last season, helping the German giants reach the Champions League final.

“First of all it is amazing to make my debut for Chelsea. Just being back playing I’m very grateful,” said Sancho.

“I’ve been working hard for this moment and I’m just happy that I got my chance.”

It was a case of what might have been for Bournemouth as Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie hit the woodwork, either side of record signing Evanilson’s missed spot-kick.

“We had more everything, more shots, more corners but at the end what really matters is to score and they did it at the end,” said Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

Noni Madueke hit a hat-trick as Chelsea crushed Wolves 6-2 to give Enzo Maresca his first Premier League win as Blues boss, while Newcastle rescued a controversial 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Sunday. Maresca suffered a 2-0 loss against Manchester City last weekend in his first game since arriving from Leicester to replace Mauricio Pochettino in the close-season. Chelsea got off the mark under Maresca with a UEFA Conference League play-off victory against Servette on Thursday, but that low-key success was only the prelude to their goal spree at Molineux.

Maresca’s side made the perfect start after just 98 seconds when Matheus Cunha could only flick his attempted clearance from a corner towards Nicolas Jackson, who was left unmarked to head in from six yards.

Jackson’s goal infuriated Wolves fans already angry with Chelsea after Madueke posted and then deleted a critical review of Wolverhampton just hours before kick-off.

Madueke shared his location, which was Wolverhampton, in the post, which read “this place is s**t”.

He later shared: “Damn wrong Instagram account. You lot are too fast.”

Cunha hauled the hosts level in the 27th minute as the Brazilian forward tormented the Blues again after last season’s hat-trick at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo carelessly lost possession and Rayan Ait-Nouri drove forward before teeing up Cunha, whose fierce strike flashed past Robert Sanchez and sparked a samba-dancing goal celebration.

Cole Palmer restored Chelsea’s advantage in the 45th minute, the England forward taking Jackson’s flick and lobbing a sublime finish over Wolves keeper Jose Sa.

Chelsea run riot

The Blues made a hash of clearing Ait-Nouri’s free-kick seconds before the half-time whistle and Toti headed it across to Jorgen Strand Larsen, who poked home from close-range.

But the rollercoaster clash switched back in Chelsea’s favour in the 49th minute as Palmer found Madueke and his shot deflected in off Ait-Nouri.

Madueke struck again nine minutes later, slotting a composed finish through Sa’s legs after Palmer’s run unhinged the creaky Wolves defence.

The 22-year-old completed his treble with a carbon copy of his two previous goals, once again finishing off another Palmer assist to silence the Wolves boo-boys.

Joao Felix came off the bench to cap the rout in the 80th minute as the Portugal forward marked his debut for Chelsea following his permanent move from Atletico Madrid earlier in the week.

Felix, who spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea, blasted into the top corner after former Wolves forward Pedro Neto picked him out.

At the Vitality Stadium, Newcastle trailed when Joelinton carelessly lost possession and Antoine Semenyo’s low cross was touched in by Marcus Tavernier in the 37th minute.

Eddie Howe’s team equalised in the 76th minute as Harvey Barnes floated in a cross that Anthony Gordon slotted home from close-range.

Bournemouth were furious to be denied a stoppage-time winner when VAR ruled Dango Ouatarra had handled before heading in.

Arne Slot will take charge of his first Premier League home game as Liverpool boss against Brentford later on Sunday.

Slot was hired from Feyenoord to replace Jurgen Klopp after the German stepped down at the end of last term following nine successful years at Anfield.

The 45-year-old started his reign with a 2-0 win at Ipswich in Liverpool’s opening league match last weekend.