LONDON: Arne Slot extended his perfect start as Liverpool manager with a 2-0 win against Brentford on his Anfield debut, while Noni Madueke hit a hat-trick and then apologised for a social media slur as Chelsea crushed Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-2 on Sunday.

Slot was serenaded by Liverpool fans before kick-off and goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah ensured the mood remained upbeat as Liverpool made it two successive victories under their new boss.

The 45-year-old was taking charge of his first Premier League home game after opening his reign with a 2-0 win at Ipswich last weekend.

In front of an Anfield league record crowd of 60,107, Liverpool took the lead in the 13th minute with a blistering break that climaxed with Diaz taking Diogo Jota’s pass and firing high into the net.

Salah put the result beyond doubt in the 70th minute, cleverly adjusting his body position to dink his shot into the far corner from 12 yards after Dominik Szoboszlai tenaciously won possession in midfield.

Slot will get his first taste of a Liverpool grudge match next weekend when his team travel to bitter rivals Manchester United.

At Molineux, Chelsea 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 was more diplomatic after the match, saying: “I just want to apologise to everyone that I might have offended. It is just a human mistake, an accident.

“It wasn’t meant to be out on my socials like that. I’m sure Wolverhampton is a nice town and I’m sorry.”

Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo carelessly lost possession in the 27th minute 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 but 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.

After a 2-0 loss against Manchester City last weekend in his first game since arriving from Leicester, this was Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League win with the Blues.

At the Vitality Stadium, Newcastle rescued a controversial 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.

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.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola said: “It’s very difficult to digest. It’s obvious what happened. We should have won the game. The ball touched his shoulder. The referee could not do anything else, someone call him and said he have to disallow it. No-one will remember this in two weeks. I’m very frustrated.”

In Saturday’s late match, second-half goals by Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey earned Arsenal earn a hard-fought 2-0 win at Aston Villa as Mikel Arteta’s side continued their perfect start to the season.

Villa did the double over Arsenal last season, defeats that ultimately cost the Gunners the title, and had plenty of chances to make it three successive wins at Villa Park, striker Ollie Watkins missing two gilt-edged openings.

However, Arsenal weathered the storm, taking the lead in the 67th minute through substitute Trossard, before Partey made sure of the three points 10 minutes later.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024