Premier League: Burnley stuns Liverpool; Hull wins again; Chelsea, Costa win late
BURNLEY, England (AP) — Liverpool's defensive shortcomings were exposed in a 2-0 loss at promoted Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, puncturing the optimism generated from the team's opening-weekend win at Arsenal.
Sam Vokes put Burnley ahead with a shot from the edge of the area in the second minute, having been set up by Andre Gray after Liverpool right back Nathaniel Clyne gave the ball away.
Gray turned scorer in the 37th when he finished off a length-of-the-field break by Burnley sparked by Daniel Sturridge getting dispossessed, which allowed new signing Steven Defour to break forward.
Inconsistency and defensive weakness were Liverpool's biggest problems last season under Jurgen Klopp and the same trait has returned early in this campaign. Last weekend, Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-3, leaving some pundits to predict Klopp's side as potential title contenders.
"The season is still pretty young," Klopp said. "It doesn't look like we are 100 percent fine-tuned. But it's only the start of the season and I can see a lot of good things.
"The lesson here is don't give the ball away like we did twice today. We will work on it 100%."
Aguero, Nolito score twice in Manchester City's rout of Stoke City
Sturridge was back from injury to start up front but Liverpool missed the pace and energy of injured new signing Sadio Mane, one of the scorers against Arsenal.
Boosted by scoring an early goal, Burnley was happy to concede possession, defend stoutly and hit Liverpool on the counter-attack at Turf Moor. It was the home side's first win back in the Premier League, after losing 1-0 to Swansea on the opening weekend.
"The first goal came early and settled us down," Vokes said. "The crowd was bouncing. It was good to settle those nerves. Second half, we knew we had to dig in and defend for our lives. That's what we did."
SWANSEA CITY 0, HULL CITY 2
SWANSEA, Wales (AP) — Two late goals gave Hull an unexpected 2-0 victory over Swansea on Saturday.
Hull spent much of the match inside its own half before substitute Shaun Maloney was able to force the ball over the line in the 79th minute.
The visitors doubled their lead in second-half stoppage time with Abel Hernandez sealing the points for his side.
It could have been an even more convincing result for Hull, as it appeared to have a clear penalty turned down in the first half at Liberty Stadium.
WATFORD 1, CHELSEA 2
WATFORD, England (AP) — Diego Costa scored a late winner for the second time this week as Chelsea came from behind to beat Watford 2-1 Saturday and complete back-to-back Premier League victories under new coach Antonio Conte.
Costa clinched three points in the 87th minute after running onto a through-ball from Cesc Fabregas and shooting past goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
Gomes was partially at fault for Chelsea's equalizer in the 80th, failing to hold Eden Hazard's long-range shot and allowing Michy Batshuayi—one of Chelsea's two offseason signings—to score from the rebound.
Costa's winning goal against West Ham on Monday came in the 89th.
Watford looked on course for its first Premier League win over Chelsea since 1999 when Etienne Capoue smashed a left-footed shot into the top corner in the 55th.
WEST BROM 1, EVERTON 2
WEST BROMWICH, England (AP) — Gareth Barry was the unlikely match-winner as Everton came from behind to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 in the English Premier League on Saturday.
On a day when Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie made their debuts for Everton, defensive midfielder Barry scored his first goal since 2014 when he headed home in the 60th.
Gareth McAuley capitalized on a mistake by Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg to head West Brom ahead in the ninth minute.
Everton struck back with a lovely team goal that was finished off by Kevin Mirallas in first-half stoppage time.
It was Everton's first win under new manager Ronald Koeman, after a 1-1 draw against Tottenham last weekend.
Williams and Bolasie came on as second-half substitutes.
TOTTENHAM 1, CRYSTAL PALACE 0
LONDON (AP) — Victor Wanyama headed in a late goal as Tottenham unconvincingly beat Crystal Palace 1-0 Saturday in the English Premier League.
The Spurs midfielder got his first goal for his new side, scoring from close range on his home debut following Harry Kane's header from a corner in the 82nd minute.
Palace is still without a point—or a goal—this season, having lost both of its opening games 1-0.
Earlier, Palace announced it had signed Belgium striker Christian Benteke from Liverpool on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. British media reported the fee was 27 million pounds ($35 million), which would be a record for the south London club.
