England’s football champions Manchester City did not cope well with their early exit from the League Cup. After six league successes, star coach Pep Guardiola’s team lost 1:2 (0:1) at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday (September 30, 2023). However, City remained at the top of the table because their first pursuer FC Liverpool with team manager Jürgen Klopp had to admit defeat 1:2 (1:1) at Tottenham Hotspur after being outnumbered for a long time.
Ruben Dias’ own goal (13th minute) gave City the worst possible start to the game. The Argentine world champion Julian Alvarez (58th) equalized, but the former Hamburg and Leipzig player Hee-Chan Hwang (66th) scored for the “Wolves” to win.
Matip misses his own goal
Liverpool were handicapped early on in terms of personnel due to the red card against Curtis Jones (6th), but fought their way back into the game after falling behind due to former Bundesliga star Heung-Min Son (36th) because Cody Gakpo (45th + 4th) was practically with them hit the half-time whistle. After yellow-red against Diogo Jota (70th), Liverpool were only down to nine – and received a late blow in the neck after an own goal from former Schalke player Joel Matip (90th + 6).
Havertz scores for Arsenal for the first time
Meanwhile, national player Kai Havertz scored for his new team for the first time in the league in Arsenal FC’s 4-0 (2-0) win at AFC Bournemouth. The offensive player made it 3-0 for the runner-up with a penalty kick in the 53rd minute. The other goals for the “Gunners” were scored by Bukayo Saka (17th), Martin Odegaard (44th) and Ben White (90th + 3). Arsenal were able to reduce the gap to Manchester City to one point.
Meanwhile, record champions Manchester United remain in crisis. Bayern Munich’s group opponents in the Champions League lost 0-1 (0-1) to Crystal Palace and are only in midfield. Without national player Pascal Groß, who is still ailing, Brighton & Hove Albion lost clearly 1:6 (0:3) at Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins scored three times (14th/21st/65th).
