Szoboszlai’s ‘moment of magic’ secures Liverpool win over Arsenal - Man City collapse to another loss

LIVERPOOL, England:

Full time was approaching at Anfield and it was clear something special was needed to separate Liverpool and Arsenal as they slugged out an early-season heavyweight contest in the English Premier League yesterday.

Enter Dominik Szoboszlai.

With a long-range free kick that flew in off the post in the 83rd minute, Szoboszlai earned Liverpool a hard-fought 1-0 win over the opponents likely to be the biggest challenger to their title.

"The game needed a moment of magic for either team to win it," Liverpool manager Arne Slot said. "And it was Dominik who did so."

Many thought Manchester City would be back in the title race this season, but perhaps not.

Collapsing to a 2-1 loss at Brighton, for a second straight loss, was another sign that Pep Guardiola's once dominant team has lost its aura.

"This is the reality -- we are not at the level from a long time (ago)," City midfielder Rodri said.

TRENT WHO?

Szoboszlai is popular among Liverpool fans for his work ethic and versatility, and the Hungary midfielder was filling in at right back -- for so long the position of the now-departed Trent Alexander-Arnold -- because of injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.

Szoboszlai did his best impression of Alexander-Arnold with a top quality dead-ball strike that was out of keeping with the rest of the game.

"Until now Trent was taking them," Szoboszlai said of his former teammate who now plays for Real Madrid. "Now I could finally take one."

It secured a third straight win for Liverpool, with the defending champions the only team on a maximum nine points after three rounds of the Premier League. They've already beaten two tough rivals in Newcastle and Arsenal, too.

As for Arsenal, it was a first loss this season -- extending their winless record at Anfield dating back to 2012 -- and a first league goal conceded by a defence that was without centre back William Saliba from the fifth minute at Anfield because of a leg injury.

"When you play against this kind of team and at a high level where the margins are minimal, they can be decided by a magic moment," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. "We needed that moment for us and we didn't have it."SAME ISSUES

The defeat at Brighton followed a 2-0 home loss to Tottenham last weekend for City, who are demonstrating the same vulnerabilities and brittleness they showed last season when surrendering the title to Liverpool after four consecutive years as champions.

Brajan Gruda surged through an open defence, rounded goalkeeper James Trafford and slotted into an empty net for the 89th-minute winner for Brighton, which trailed to Erling Haaland's first-half strike -- his 88th goal in 100 Premier League appearances since moving to England in 2022.

City conceded an equaliser in the 67th minute after Matheus Nunes raised his arm in the area to block a shot.

James Milner converted the penalty for Brighton, to become -- at age 39 years and 239 days -- the second-oldest scorer in Premier League history. He is also the second youngest, having netted as a 16-year-old for Leeds.

"We forgot to play," Guardiola said.

City's only points so far this season have come from a 4-0 opening-round win at Wolverhampton, after which pundits were saying Guardiola's team was back. Now, they have fewer points than Manchester United.

SURPRISE WIN

West Ham eased the pressure on manager Graham Potter with a 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest, secured by goals from the 84th minute by Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta -- from the penalty spot -- and Callum Wilson.

West Ham lost their first two games in the league, conceding eight goals in the process, and were also eliminated from the English League Cup in midweek.

World Cup-winning Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez was left out of Aston Villa's team for the 3-0 home loss to Crystal Palace amid speculation about his future.

Reports have linked Martinez with a move to Manchester United ahead of the transfer window closing today, and Villa manager Unai Emery chose to play Marco Bizot in goal instead.

- AP