Alexis Sanchez scored twice as Arsenal reeled off a stunning 3-0 defeat of Manchester United that sent Arsene Wenger’s side up to second.
Sanchez scored with a sixth-minute back-heel and Mesut Ozil slotted home from Theo Walcott’s cut-back a minute later before Sanchez’s thunderbolt from the edge of the box completed the scoring in the 19th minute at a giddy Emirates Stadium.
Sanchez has now scored six goals in three games.
Photo: Reuters
“From Petr Cech to Theo Walcott, we only had superb performances,” Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said.
Victory took Arsenal into second in the English Premier League, above United on goal-difference and two points below leaders Manchester City.
United would have gone top with victory, but instead they were left to nurse their wounds following the joint-heaviest league defeat of Louis van Gaal’s tenure as manager.
Photo: Reuters
“I did not expect that,” Van Gaal said. “I was surprised — not performing our game plan, not the will to win. I did not see that.”
“When you give a team like Arsenal so much space to play football, then you know that you shall lose... It was amazing for me and I am very disappointed,” he added.
Liverpool sacked coach Brendan Rodgers following a 1-1 draw away at Everton.
Rodgers’ three-year Anfield tenure came to an end when Liverpool released a statement announcing his dismissal hours after a Merseyside derby draw that left his team 10th in the table.
“We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Brendan Rodgers for the significant contribution he has made to the club and express our gratitude for his hard work and commitment,” Liverpool’s American owners Fenway Sports Group said in a statement.
“Although this has been a difficult decision, we believe it provides us with the best opportunity for success on the pitch.”
Rodgers, 42, ultimately paid the price for failing to successfully rebuild a team that had come within three games of winning the Premier League title in the 2013-2014 season.
Liverpool finished sixth last season and despite a second consecutive close-season splurge on new players, they have made a slow start, winning only one of their last nine games inside 90 minutes.
In Rodgers’ final game, Liverpool shared the spoils with Everton after an occasionally ill-tempered 225th Merseyside derby finished 1-1 at Goodison Park — the sixth draw in seven meetings between the teams.
Danny Ings put Liverpool ahead in the 41st minute when he was left unmarked inside the Everton box, nodding home James Milner’s corner.
However, untidy defending by Liverpool allowed Everton to level in first-half stoppage-time, with Romelu Lukaku slamming home after Emre Can’s attempted clearance had cannoned against his teammate Martin Skrtel.
Rodgers was the second Premier League manager to part company with his club on Sunday after experienced Dutch coach Dick Advocaat stepped down at Sunderland following a return of three points from eight games that left the club second from bottom.
In Sunday’s other game, Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen scored with two fine long-range free-kicks as Tottenham Hotspur twice hit back to secure a 2-2 draw at Swansea City.
Swansea were twice in front, courtesy of a 16th-minute Andre Ayew header and a 31st-minute own-goal by Harry Kane, but Eriksen replied on each occasion to extend Spurs’ unbeaten run to seven league games.
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