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Chelsea and Spurs maintain perfect start, Manchester United can only draw at Southampton

premier league southampton v manchester united
Manchester United's Paul Pogba attempts a shot on goal REUTERS/Peter Nicholls EDITORIAL

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2

A goal by Romelu Lukaku on his second Chelsea debut and a strike by defender Reece James earned the Blues a 2-0 win at London rivals Arsenal on Sunday, their second victory in as many games at the start of the Premier League season.

Lukaku needed only 15 minutes to get off the mark for the Blues after his reported 97.5 million pounds ($132.8 million)transfer from Inter Milan, tapping in a cross played into his path by James.

The wing-back scored Chelsea’s second goal himself 20 minutes later, taking his time to fire past goalkeeper Bernd Leno after being found in acres of space by Mason Mount.

Lukaku, who never scored a league goal for the Blues in his first spell, showed why Chelsea were prepared to break their spending record to bring him back to the club seven years after he left London.

The Belgian provided the Blues with the kind of muscular presence in attack they have lacked since the departure of Diego Costa in 2017, both when running at Arsenal‘s defence and holding the ball up with his back to goal.

Only a reflex save by Leno denied him a second goal when the German palmed Lukaku’s point-blank header onto the bar with 15 minutes to play.

Arsenal, lacking several key players through injury and illness, rarely threatened to disrupt Thomas Tuchel’s well-drilled side, who kept another of their trademark clean sheets and could afford to start with star names such as N’Golo Kante, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech on the bench.

Southampton 1 Manchester United 1

A second-half strike from Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood cancelled out an own goal from team mate Fred to earn a 1-1 draw at Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday.

United had a euphoric start to the season with a 5-1 home win over Leeds United but could not repeat that performance and were lucky not to lose to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s organised and dynamic side.

Southampton took the lead on the half-hour mark after a bright spell when Jack Stephens dispossessed Bruno Fernandes in the United half and the hosts swiftly moved the ball towards Che Adams, whose shot took a heavy deflection off Fred to squirm inside the near post and past David de Gea.

United defender Harry Maguire had hit the crossbar early on with a looping header while Anthony Martial’s rebound was scrambled off the line by Mohammed Salisu but the half had belonged to Southampton, who swarmed over United with an aggressive high press and caused havoc down the right hand side.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side levelled early in the 55th when Greenwood thumped a low shot under Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy after clever interplay between Fernandes and Paul Pogba, who added another assist to the five he notched against Leeds.

Southampton finished the game strongest though and Adam Armstrong missed two clear chances to win it, first being denied by a fine save from De Gea following another speedy transition and then failing to steer an Adams flick on towards goal following a corner.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Tottenham 1

premier league wolverhampton wanderers v tottenham hotspur
Dele Alli sends the Wolves goalkeeper Sa the wrong way for the only goal of the game
REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

Harry Kane came off the bench to make his first Tottenham Hotspur appearance of the season as Dele Alli’s penalty earned coach Nuno Espirito Santo a 1-0 win on his return to his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday.

Kane, who has been linked with a move to champions Manchester City all summer, came on in the second half and missed a great chance to immediately get on the scoresheet.

Alli’s ninth-minute penalty was enough for Spurs to pick up all three points, however, as Nuno’s first trip back to the club he brought up to the Premier League during a four-year spell between 2017 and 2021 ended successfully.

The results means Spurs have won two from two so far this season, both by a 1-0 scoreline.

Wolves remain without a single point after two defeats from their opening two league matches.

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