Second-half goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah have allowed new Liverpool coach Arne Slot to get off to a 2-0 winning start at newly-promoted Ipswich Town in the English Premier League.
Ipswich, cheered by their pop star superfan Ed Sheeran, went toe-to-toe with Liverpool in the first half but failed to take their chances.
Slot’s new side improved after the break, taking the through Jota, before a fine move was finished off by Egyptian forward Salah to kill off Ipswich, for whom former Australia star Massimo Luongo came on as a second-half substitute and current Socceroo Cameron Burgess was left on the bench.
Liverpool had a host of chances to make the result even more emphatic, but two goals were enough to navigate Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’s replacement Slot past a tricky first game of the campaign.
“When I started here there were many things and one of them was that Jirgen hated 12.30pm kick-offs and we showed we hate the 12.30pm kick-offs. The first half was not good enough, second half was a real good performance.
“It’s quite different for all of us (playing under Slot), we need to adapt,” Salah told TNT Sports.
“We just need to know his way of playing and enjoy the football. We don’t need to put more pressure on him, we just need to play football and enjoy our games.”
Salah, playing in his 350th appearance for the club in all competitions, now has more goals in the opening rounds of Premier League seasons than anyone else.
Arsenal eased to a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers as goals by Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka got their title challenge up and running.
It was far from a fluent display but Mikel Arteta’s side, once again regarded as the team most likely to halt champions Manchester City’s domination, deserved the points.
Havertz headed in from Saka’s cross in the 25th minute but the hosts never looked completely comfortable until Saka’s clinical finish doubled their advantage in the closing stages.
“I am really happy. With the first game you have some uncertainty in how you will respond,” Gunners boss Arteta said.
Joelinton’s goal earned Newcastle a 1-0 win over promoted Southampton at St James’ Park despite going down to 10 men in the first half when Fabian Schar was sent off on 28 minutes for retaliation.
Danny Welbeck scored one goal and set up another as Brighton eased to a 3-0 victory at 10-man Everton in a perfect start for Fabian Huerzeler who, at 31 is the Premier League’s youngest ever permanent manager.
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 Hurzeler.
Kaoru Mitoma netted after excellent work from Yankuba Minteh, before Welbeck profited from sloppy Evertyon play to add a second and Simon Adingra grabbed a late third. Ashley Young was sent off midway through the second half for the hosts.
Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo rescued a point for his side with a late equaliser as they drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forest.
Forest took the lead in the 23rd minute when Ryan Yates’ close-range shot was parried by goalkeeper Neto and Chris Wood reacted quickly to slot home but Bournemouth equalised in the 86th minute when Semenyo smashed the ball in from close range.
Afterwards, Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed Brazilian midfielder Danilo, 23, has suffered a broken ankle after he was carried off on a stretcher just 10 minutes.
“It was a horrible moment for everybody, he has broken his ankle,” Nuno told British media. “It’s serious, we are going to miss him, not only on the pitch.”
In Saturday’s late game, Amadou Onana scored four minutes into his Aston Villa debut and Jhon Duran netted the late winner as Unai Emery’s men kicked off their campaign season with a 2-1 victory at West Ham.
with AAP
The Roarhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2024/08/18/we-hate-12-30pm-kick-offs-liverpool-off-to-winning-start-but-new-manager-doesnt-like-timeslot-gunners-fire-first-up/‘We hate 12.30pm kick-offs’: Liverpool off to winning start but new manager doesn’t like timeslot, Gunners fire first up
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