Liverpool and Arsenal stars shine, but Ed Sheeran left disappointed as EPL kicks off

There were wins for Liverpool and Arsenal and records for the prolific Mohamed Salah and the enduring James Milner on the first Saturday of the Premier League season.

Liverpool’s new era under Arne Slot began with a 2-0 victory over promoted Ipswich, with Salah netting the second to take his tally of goals in the opening round of a Premier League season to nine — breaking a tie he had with English soccer greats Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer and Frank Lampard.

Arsenal, runner-up in the league for the past two seasons, also won 2-0 at home to Wolverhampton thanks to goals by Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.

Liverpool and Arsenal are widely expected to be the biggest threats to champion Manchester City in its bid for a record-extending fifth straight English top-flight title. City opens its title defense at Chelsea on Sunday, with the season having been launched Friday by Manchester United beating Fulham 1-0.

In other matches on Saturday, Newcastle overcame a 28th-minute red card to Fabian Schar for a headbutt to beat Southampton 1-0 through Joelinton’s goal and Everton also had a player sent off, Ashley Young, in its 3-0 loss at home to Brighton.

Brighton’s team featured James Milner, who — at 38 — was starting his 23rd season in the Premier League, beating the record of 22 he held jointly with Man United great Ryan Giggs. Milner is seven years older than his manager, Fabian Hurzeler, who had a winning start to English soccer after moving from German team St. Pauli.

Aston Villa beat West Ham 2-1 and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with Bournemouth in a match that saw Forest midfielder Danilo suffer a broken ankle after landing awkwardly in an aerial challenge. Screens were put up around the Brazilian while he received treatment.

DISAPPOINTMENT FOR ED SHEERAN

Ipswich’s most famous supporter, pop star Ed Sheeran, was cheering the team on against Liverpool from a VIP box at Portman Road, days after buying a small stake in the club.

This is Ipswich’s first season in the top flight since 2002 and the team looks sure to entertain, even if it might concede plenty of goals in the process with its open, expansive style.

Salah set up Diogo Jota for the first goal in the 60th and then poked home a finish from close range in the 65th as Liverpool improved following a slow first half in its first competitive game under Slot, who replaced longtime manager Jurgen Klopp during the offseason.

SAKA SHINES

Saka was one of a host of top stars quickly back into action after playing international tournaments during the summer at either Euro 2024 or the Copa America.

The England winger was quickly into his stride, crossing for Havertz to head home in the 25th before scoring himself by cutting inside and firing a shot inside the near post from the edge of the area in the 74th.

Arsenal was grateful to goalkeeper David Raya for pulling off three impressive saves to retain a clean sheet for the best defense in the league last season, while Havertz was at the center of an incident that saw Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera fall onto the Germany striker and land with his hand on Havertz’s throat. Mosquera avoided any sanction.

Arsenal finished last season two points behind Man City after taking the title race to the final round.

BRIGHTON CRUISES

Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck and Simon Adingra were the scorers for Brighton at Goodison Park, which is the home for Everton for one last season before the club moves to a new, bigger stadium across town.

Young was shown a straight red card in the 66th minute for hauling down Mitoma when he was the last defender. At 39, Young is the oldest player to receive a red card in the Premier League. Milner played for 82 minutes on his record-setting day.

SCHAR SEES RED

Newcastle didn’t end up paying for Schar’s rash reaction when he responded to a push from Ben Brereton Diaz by placing his forehead against that of the Chile striker, who fell to the ground. Schar received a straight red card.

The score was 0-0 at the time, but Newcastle earned all three points when Alexander Isak collected a misplaced pass by Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and set up Joelinton to score in the corner.

PAQUETA GOAL

Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta started for West Ham with a spot-fixing scandal hanging over him from the end of last season, and scored from the penalty spot against Villa.

Paqueta is alleged to have deliberately received yellow cards during Premier League matches to influence betting markets. He was charged with misconduct on May 23 and faces a long ban if found guilty by English soccer authorities. He denies the charges.

Colombia striker Jhon Durán scored the winner for Villa in the 79th after coming on as a substitute. Amadou Onana gave Villa the lead on his debut in the fourth minute before Paqueta equalized.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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