Champions Liverpool suffered a humiliating 7-2 defeat at Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho savored a 6-1 win over his former club Manchester United in one of the most astonishing days in English Premier League history.
Bitter rivals Liverpool and United were joined in misery on Sunday after chastening defeats that rank among the worst that English soccer’s two most successful clubs have ever suffered.
Historians were reaching for the record books as the goals flowed, first at Old Trafford as United conceded six in a match for only the third time in the Premier League era, then at Villa Park as Liverpool surrendered seven goals for the first time since 1963.
Photo: EPA-EFE
For the first time since 1986, United have lost their opening two home league games of the season and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer labeled their heaviest home defeat since 2011 as “my worst day ever.”
“It’s very embarrassing, it hurt all the players. It hurts me as the manager,” Solskjaer said. “I’ll hold my hands up, I’m responsible for this. I promise we’ll do everything we can to turn this around.”
Juergen Klopp was so taken by surprise at Liverpool’s collapse that he actually wore a bemused grin at times as his team fell to the biggest defeat of the German’s career.
“We lost balls in the wrong area and did not protect properly. It looked like we lost the plot after it went to 1-0,” Klopp said. “We created, but did not protect ourselves properly, so each ball we lost was a massive counterattack. There is nobody to blame apart from me and us.”
Liverpool’s chief tormentor was Ollie Watkins, who became the first Villa player to score a hat-trick against the Reds for 88 years.
Watkins bagged Villa’s first after a mistake by Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian in the fourth minute.
He netted again in the 22nd minute before Mohamed Salah got one back.
John McGinn’s deflected effort made it three and Watkins scored Villa’s fourth before halftime.
Ross Barkley, on his debut after joining on loan from Chelsea, scored Villa’s fifth after the break with the aid of a deflection.
Salah reduced the deficit, but Jack Grealish netted No. 6 and then ran clear to cap the rout.
Second-placed Villa have won all three league games this season, while Liverpool’s first defeat of the season left Klopp wondering how to fix a leaky defense that has shipped 11 goals in four matches.
Just hours before Liverpool’s epic meltdown, Spurs boss Mourinho, sacked by United in 2018, inflicted a huge blow to Solskjaer’s own job security.
Despite taking the lead through Bruno Fernandes’ second-minute penalty, United collapsed as they conceded four goals in the first half of a league match for the first time since 1957.
Tanguy Ndombele equalized in the fourth minute after dismal defending from Harry Maguire and South Korea forward Son Heung-min made it two from Harry Kane’s quick seventh-minute free-kick.
United were reduced to 10 men when Anthony Martial was sent off in the 28th minute for his reaction to a push from Erik Lamela.
That opened the floodgates as United surrendered, with Kane grabbing Tottenham’s third in the 31st minute after stealing Eric Bailly’s weak pass.
United were in disarray and Serge Aurier crossed for Son’s close-range finish in the 37th minute.
Aurier drilled home in the 51st minute and Kane made it six with a 79th-minute penalty.
“To win 6-1 against Manchester United at Old Trafford is an honor for all of us, considering the dimension of Manchester United and Old Trafford,” Mourinho said.
Elsewhere, Arsenal beat Sheffield United 2-1 to make it three wins from four games, Leicester City’s perfect start came to a shuddering halt with a 3-0 defeat at home to West Ham United, Southampton beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 and Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Fulham 1-0.
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