Late Liverpool drama denies Newcastle; Manchester City win it late; Aston Villa hammered
Deepa Krishnaswamy August 24, 2026 10:47 PM

Welcome to our live coverage of Sunday’s Premier League action. Three more matches were on the schedule, and we brought you all the major moments as they unfolded.

First up were meetings involving new and familiar managers, with Manchester City and Bournemouth beginning life under Enzo Maresca and Marco Rose respectively, while on the south coast Brighton and Aston Villa continued with no change in the dugout.

MAN CITY V BOURNEMOUTH

BRIGHTON V ASTON VILLA

Team news for both matches dropped, and this was how the respective line-ups were shaping up.

Savinho was a notable absentee from the hosts’ matchday squad at the Etihad Stadium, but intriguingly Omar Marmoush was named on the bench despite also being linked with a move to Tottenham.

Enzo Maresca’s selection decisions were not the only thing drawing attention for City, as Erling Haaland unveiled a striking new look ahead of kick-off.

KICK OFF

We were under way in the afternoon’s first two matches.

CHANCE! Man City 0-0 Bournemouth

A slick move from the home side saw Phil Foden produce a clever backheel for Rico Lewis, who tried to beat Đorđe Petrović at his near post, but the goalkeeper narrowed the angle well.

GOAL! BRIGHTON 1-0 ASTON VILLA

The first goal of the afternoon arrived at the Amex, where the hosts went ahead after a defensive mix-up ended with Victor Lindelöf turning the ball into his own net.

CHANCE! Man City 0-0 Bournemouth

Back at the Etihad, the hosts really should have been in front after O’Reilly made an excellent run and delivered a cross from the left for Haaland in the box, but the striker completely misjudged the angle.

GOAL! BRIGHTON 2-0 ASTON VILLA

Things went from bad to worse for Unai Emery’s side as Maxim De Cuyper added to their problems with a tap-in.

GOAL! MAN CITY 0-1 BOURNEMOUTH

The visitors took the lead at the Etihad. Marcus Tavernier applied a clinical finish to hand the Cherries their first-ever advantage at City’s home ground.

GOAL! BRIGHTON 3-0 ASTON VILLA

There was another on the south coast as Jack Hinshelwood made it three for the Seagulls.

GOAL! BRIGHTON 4-0 ASTON VILLA

What was happening at the Amex? Hinshelwood struck again to complete his brace for Brighton.

RED CARD! BRIGHTON 4-0 ASTON VILLA

João Gomes’ Aston Villa debut had already been a difficult one, and it got worse as he was shown a straight red card. Unai Emery embraced the player as he made his way down the tunnel.

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

City looked more threatening as Haaland’s flicked header went close, but Petrović was able to palm it away.

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

The visitors came again, with Tavernier afforded the freedom to hit a long-range effort that flew just past Gianluigi Donnarumma’s right-hand post. City were once more finding themselves under pressure.

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

Bournemouth were beginning to make it look easy as Justin Kluivert drove a low effort from the left side of the box which Donnarumma punched clear, taking the ball away from the lurking Evanilson.

HALF TIME

Boos rang around the Etihad, while matters were far brighter for the home side on the south coast. Two thoroughly unpredictable first halves. It was so good to have the Premier League back.

It was not an ideal beginning for City’s new midfield maestro, but he was not the only one struggling.

SECOND HALF

Would there be more drama in the next 45 minutes?

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

City really should have been level as Petrović was caught in no man’s land from a corner, but Marc Guéhi somehow headed wide.

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

City were showing more purpose now, and although Semenyo went close, he was still denied by Petrović.

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

Haaland tried to create an equaliser but was crowded out in the box. Bournemouth’s defensive shape continued to hold impressively firm, but for how much longer?

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

Guéhi whipped in a cross from the byline which Haaland struggled to connect with cleanly, but Petrović kept it out.

CHANCE! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

At the other end, Daniel Jebbison produced a very good header which Donnarumma could only push behind for a corner.

GOAL! MAN CITY 1-1 BOURNEMOUTH

All square at the Etihad. Guéhi made amends for his earlier miss by heading home unmarked from Rayan Cherki’s corner. The ball appeared to take a slight deflection off Adrien Truffert on its way into the net, but the City man would surely still claim it.

GOAL! MAN CITY 2-1 BOURNEMOUTH

The comeback was complete. Joško Gvardiol’s low finish was initially ruled out for offside, but a VAR review confirmed the City player was onside before he pulled the trigger.

FULL TIME

It was all over at the Etihad and the Amex, where the hosts recorded memorable victories for very different reasons.

Next, attention turned to the North East for the final match of the day.

These were the line-ups for both teams ahead of the showdown at St James’ Park.

Emotional scenes unfolded before kick-off as both clubs remembered the legendary Kevin Keegan following his untimely passing earlier this summer.

KICK OFF

Boos rang out as Alexander Isak got the game started.

GOAL! NEWCASTLE 1-0 LIVERPOOL

What a start for the hosts. Anthony Elanga rolled in the opener beyond Alisson after William Osula set him up on a counterattack.

The bad news just kept coming for the Reds.

CHANCE!

Milos Kerkez sent in a cross that was only blocked inside the box, allowing Florian Wirtz to get a shot away, but Adam Horníček was equal to it.

CHANCE!

Alisson had to stand tall to deny Osula as he charged through on goal.

HALF TIME

The Magpies went into the break in front, and deservedly so. They had kept Liverpool at bay extremely well up to that point. There was plenty for Andoni Iraola to work on with his side before the second half.

SECOND HALF

Who would come out on top in this one?

CHANCE!

Horníček made a vital block to deny Liverpool from a corner during a scramble in front of goal.

CHANCE!

Cody Gakpo let fly from the edge of the area, but his effort was off target.

GOAL! NEWCASTLE 1-1 LIVERPOOL

Second time proved lucky for Gakpo. The Netherlands international pulled the trigger and sent a right-footed effort into the bottom corner of Horníček’s net.

GOAL! NEWCASTLE 2-1 LIVERPOOL

Newcastle were back in front. Another superb counterattack ended with Joe Willock firing into the Gallowgate End after shrugging off Jeremie Frimpong.

CHANCE!

Willock floated a cross in from the right that Alisson punched clear, but only as far as Jacob Ramsey, who dragged his effort wide.

CHANCE!

Newcastle looked to finish it with another counterattack that saw Yoane Wissa threaten Alisson’s goal, but the Brazilian did well to stop him.

We had entered five minutes of added time. Would there be another twist?

PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL!

There might yet be one final turn in the tale. Lewis Hall brought down Munoz in the area. It was as clear-cut a penalty as you will see.

Szoboszlai would take the penalty for Liverpool. The entire match came down to this moment.

GOAL! NEWCASTLE 2-2 LIVERPOOL

Right at the death, Dominik Szoboszlai earned a point for the visitors with a clinical strike into the top corner.

For the third season in a row, these sides served up late drama at St James’ Park. Newcastle could argue they deserved more, but Hall’s moment of madness shifted the balance.

FULL TIME

It has been a remarkable opening week in the Premier League. There is really nothing else quite like it.

The Premier League has given its official reason for the penalty decision.

Dominik Szoboszlai spoke to Sky Sports after the game:

“It’s always a tough place to come, especially for the first game of the season when you’re going to Newcastle - everyone knows that. The fans are incredible, they’ve got a great squad, and a good manager - he’s new, sure, but he’s already proven himself at plenty of clubs. We came prepared, too. Under the new manager, we need to stay even closer together and really read what’s happening on the pitch. But coming back from 2-1 down to rescue a point is a great step forward, and now we focus on getting ready for next week.”

That’s all from us for today. Thanks for joining us for another incredible afternoon of Premier League action.

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