Haaland does the trick for 'perfect' City

MANCHESTER, September 2

Erling Haaland netted a second-half hat-trick as pacesetters Manchester City maintained their 100 per cent record in the Premier League with a 5-1 thrashing of Fulham today.

Julian Alvarez and Nathan Ake opened the scoring for the champions, who have beaten Fulham in their last 15 league meetings and now top the table with a perfect 12 points from four games. Haaland, who broke several scoring records last season, added another, becoming the fastest player to reach 50 goal involvements, with 42 goals and nine assists in just 39 Premier League appearances.

Son treble

Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick — his first goals of the season — as his side demolished Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor after the visitors had gone behind. Burnley, still without a point, got a dream start when Lyle Foster finished neatly in the fourth minute.

But Tottenham soon hit their stride and Son levelled in the 16th minute with a dinked finish before Cristian Romero’s rasping shot gave the Londoners the lead in first-half stoppage time.

James Maddison made it 3-1 with a delightful curled finish in the 54th minute before Son struck twice in quick succession just past the hour mark to complete an emphatic win that put Tottenham second in the table on 10 points from four games. Burnley grabbed a late consolation through Josh Brownhill.

Toothless Chelsea

Nottingham Forest substitute Anthony Elanga struck early in the second half to earn a 1-0 win at toothless Chelsea.

Brighton & Hove Albion’s teenage striker Evan Ferguson grabbed a hat-trick to secure a 3-1 win over lacklustre visitors Newcastle United. — Reuters