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Sheffield United 1 Leicester City 2
Harvey Barnes’ spectacular second-half thunderbolt clinched Leicester a 2-1 win at Sheffield United and their first victory of the season.
Barnes, who signed a new five-year deal with the Foxes in June, crashed home a brilliant winner six minutes after stepping off the bench.
It was tough on Chris Wilder’s side, for whom substitute Oli McBurnie had headed a deserved equaliser after Jamie Vardy fired the Foxes ahead with his first goal of the campaign just before half-time.
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The Blades gave another good account of themselves, roared on again by a partisan Bramall Lane crowd as they poured forward in search of a second equaliser.
But Leicester were the classier side and they held on for all three points after drawing their first two matches, while the Blades tasted defeat for the first time since winning promotion back to the Premier League.
The Blades started well, full of intent and well-organised, but Leicester’s added composure gave them the edge and they looked more likely to break the deadlock.
Headers from James Maddison and Vardy were both off target, while it took the home side 21 minutes to fashion their first chance, with John Lundstram’s fierce drive clearing the crossbar.
United defender George Baldock arrowed a well-struck volley straight at Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel as the Blades enjoyed their best spell either side of the half-hour mark.
But after Maddison’s free-kick had struck the wall, all of United’s good work was undone in an instant when defender Chris Basham was caught dithering on the halfway line.
He was dispossessed by Ayoze Perez and Maddison pounced on the loose ball to clip a beautifully-weighted pass through for Vardy, who took aim without breaking stride and lashed the ball home.
Jack O’Connell squandered a golden chance to send the Blades in level at the break as he got his free header all wrong at the far post from Oliver Norwood’s deep corner.
The introduction of Blades pair Billy Sharp and McBurnie, for David McGoldrick and Callum Robinson, was met with raucous applause from the home end nine minutes into the second half.
The double substitution gave the Blades a lift and, after a spell of concerted pressure, they struck a deserved equaliser when McBurnie climbed highest to head home Baldock’s fine cross from the right.
But parity was short-lived. Christian Fuchs’ ball into the area was half-cleared and Barnes, who had replaced recent signing Dennis Praet six minutes earlier, crashed home an unstoppable half-volley from the edge of the area.
Lundstram thought he had fired another Blades equaliser from Sharp’s knockdown, but Schmeichel showed lightning reflexes to keep it out before the linesman flagged for offside.
Ravel Morrison made his Blades debut when he replaced Basham in the 78th minute and he had a late shot blocked as the home side laid siege to the visitors’ goal.
But the mercurial former Manchester United forward had little time to influence the outcome.
United forced several late corners before Norwood’s stoppage-time free-kick was deflected and the Foxes held firm.
Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Southampton 2
Moussa Djenepo’s stunning first Premier League goal set Southampton on course for their first points of the season as they won 2-0 at 10-man Brighton.
Substitute Djenepo, a £14million summer signing from Standard Liege, had only been on the pitch for 78 seconds when he cut in from the left to bury the ball into the top-right corner from the edge of the box.
Nathan Redmond tapped home a cross from Sofiane Boufal to seal the points in time added on.
Albion played a man light for an hour after Florin Andone was sent off for a reckless tackle on Yan Valery, while Lewis Dunk had a first-half header ruled out by VAR.
Prior to Redmond’s strike, the Seagulls pushed hard for an equaliser and struck the woodwork through substitute Jurgen Locadia before falling to a first defeat under Graham Potter.
New Seagulls boss Potter had begun his tenure in impressive fashion with four points from a possible six but predicted this would be his team’s toughest fixture to date.
The hosts had the better of the limited early chances, with Neal Maupay and Martin Montoya each going close with headers.
But their task became more difficult with just 30 minutes on the clock.
Seagulls forward Andone miscontrolled the ball near the halfway line and, in his efforts to retrieve it, raked his studs down the leg of Valery.
Referee Kevin Friend was quick to pull out the red card, with replays showing the Romania international could have no complaints.
Albion goalkeeper Mat Ryan then had to be alert to save from Redmond and prevent his side falling immediately behind.
The home supporters, still feeling aggrieved at Andone’s early departure, were left further frustrated seven minutes before the break when VAR disallowed a Brighton goal for the second successive week.
Captain Dunk powered home a header following a right-wing corner, but celebrations were cut short by a review which ruled that fellow defender Dan Burn was in an offside position as he challenged Saints keeper Angus Gunn.
Most inside the stadium, who last week saw Leandro Trossard denied a goal against West Ham in similar circumstances, were left baffled by the decision, with a tweet from the Premier League finally clearing up the confusion.
The away side made their numerical advantage count in fine style 10 minutes after the restart.
Mali winger Djenepo, who had just replaced Valery, collected the ball wide on the left during a Saints counter-attack and advanced to whip home in front of a sold-out away end bathed in sunshine.
Potter, whose only Premier League experience as a player came with Saints under Graeme Souness in 1996, introduced Locadia and Glenn Murray from the bench in the hope of prolonging his unbeaten start.
Dutch forward Locadia had a golden chance to snatch a point with five minutes remaining but he smashed against the outside of the right post from six yards after Murray nodded down a corner.
Saints twice won 1-0 on this ground last season, with their only clean sheet in their last 12 matches coming here in March.
And they dug in resolutely and won by a bigger margin on this occasion thanks to Redmond’s late second.
Winger Boufal, who spent last season on loan at Spanish side Celta Vigo, worked space on the left before squaring across goal for Redmond to tap home and secure the points following successive defeats to Burnley and Liverpool.
Watford 1 West Ham United 3
West Ham’s record signing Sebastien Haller scored a brace to secure a 3-1 win and condemn Watford to a third-successive Premier League defeat this season.
Captain Mark Noble converted from the penalty spot inside the opening minutes before Andre Gray hauled the hosts level with 17 minutes gone.
But Watford were made to pay for spurning a number of chances as Haller, the £45million summer arrival from Frankfurt, scored twice in nine second-half minutes to heap the pressure on manager Javi Gracia, whose side have now lost their last seven matches in all competitions.
Despite missing the opening two games through injury, Noble was thrown back into Manuel Pellegrini’s starting line-up and — on the 15th anniversary of his debut — the West Ham skipper put his side ahead.
With just 59 seconds on the clock at Vicarage Road, Manuel Lanzini fell in the box following a clumsy challenge from Abdoulaye Doucoure. Referee Chris Kavanagh did not hesitate in pointing to the spot.
In his 468th West Ham appearance, Noble then made no mistake, sending goalkeeper Ben Foster the wrong way, to score the 25th penalty of his career.
Only Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have scored more times from the spot in the Premier League than the 32-year-old midfielder.
It was just the start Gracia would have been dreading, with Watford heading into Saturday’s sun-bathed fixture without a victory since winning at Huddersfield on April 20.
But, to their credit, the Hornets were soon on the front foot, and probably should have been on level terms after six minutes, only for Gerard Deulofeu to graze the crossbar from a tight angle.
Moments later, the former Barcelona and Everton midfielder was through on goal but dithered, allowing Hammers centre-back Issa Diop to divert his shot for a corner following a fine sliding tackle.
The home side were on top, and they got their just rewards when Will Hughes’ cute through ball was thrashed home by Gray, deputising for the injured Troy Deeney.
The game was wide open, with chances for both sides — the opening period concluding as Felipe Anderson’s header from a corner struck the Watford woodwork.
The second half began as the first ended, with some fine attacking play, and some rather questionable defending.
Deulofeu, whose influence on the match was growing, played in Gray. His cross fell to Hughes at the far post, and the midfielder looked certain to double the hosts’ tally for the campaign, yet he fired inexplicably wide.
At the other end, Michail Antonio — fresh from coming off the bench — was through on goal, only to be denied by an on-rushing Foster, who then leapt to his feet to disposes Anderson and clear the ball to safety.
The former England international, however, could do nothing about Haller’s ensuing strike.
Anderson popped up on the left-hand side and his perfect cut back found Haller, who could not miss from six yards.
West Ham’s tails were up, and the hosts had Foster to thank for a fine point-blank save from Antonio’s header.
From the resulting corner, Foster was called into action again, tipping Antonio’s header on to the bar.
But to the Watford stopper’s dismay, the ball dropped off the woodwork to Haller, whose expert bicycle kick sealed all three points for Pellegrini’s men to leave Gracia facing further questions over his Watford future.
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