Naismith rocks Chelsea, City edge Palace
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Jose Mourinho refused to condemn his Chelsea side after their English Premier League title defence was plunged into turmoil as Steven Naismith's hat-trick gave Everton a 3-1 win on Saturday. Mourinho's side made a miserable start at Goodison Park as Scotland forward Naismith came off the bench to score twice in the space of five minutes mid-way through the first half.
Nemanja Matic pulled one back for Chelsea before the interval, but Naismith completed his treble in the closing stages to condemn the Blues - with three defeats and only four points from their five matches - to their worst start to a season since 1988.
Mourinho's mood will have worsened after early-season pace-setters Manchester City won 1-0 at Palace courtesy of a last-minute goal by substitute Kelechi Iheanacho. City had earlier lost Sergio Aguero through injury, but prevailed when 18-year-old Nigerian striker Iheanacho poked in the rebound from a Samir Nasri shot to preserve the visitors' 100 per cent record. Aguero was forced off in the 24th minute after a heavy challenge by Scott Dann, which saw Kevin De Bruyne come on for his City debut following his £54m switch from Wolfsburg.
The result left Alan Pardew's Palace third, six points below City and a point behind Arsenal, who won 2-0 at home to Stoke City. After Alexis Sanchez had twice hit the post, Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead from Mesut Ozil's pass in the 31st minute and Olivier Giroud sealed victory with a header five minutes from time.
Anthony Martial scored a memorable debut goal as Manchester United beat old enemies Liverpool 3-1 at Old Trafford to claim second place in the Premier League table. The 19-year-old French striker signed from Monaco on transfer deadline day for a reported initial fee of £36m, making him the world's most expensive teenager, and he was quick to make his mark after coming on as a substitute for Juan Mata.
Christian Benteke had just halved United's two-goal lead with a sensational overhead bicycle kick when Martial picked the ball up wide on the left, tip-toed between three defenders and tucked a shot into the bottom-right corner in front of the Stretford End. Second-half goals from Daley Blind and Ander Herrera had put United in control and Martial's strike provided the perfect finale to an evening that had begun with David de Gea returning to the United goal following the collapse of his move to Real Madrid.
Elsewhere, Swansea City saw their unbeaten start to the season ended in a 1-0 defeat at promoted Watford. Odion Ighalo put Watford ahead from Troy Deeney's knock-down shortly before the hour and the hosts held on for victory despite the dismissal of Valon Behrami for an ugly foul on Andre Ayew.
Norwich City beat fellow promoted side Bournemouth 3-1 to claim their first home win of the campaign. Cameron Jerome, Wes Hoolahan and debutant Matt Jarvis found the net for Alex Neil's side, with Steve Cook replying for Bournemouth. The day's other game saw Southampton draw 0-0 at West Bromwich Albion.