Chelsea had to settle for a 1-1 home draw against Crystal Palace after a second-half equaliser by Eberechi Eze gave the visitors their first point of the Premier League season on Sunday as they bounced back from a poor start in a much-improved second half.

The hosts broke the deadlock in the 25th minute after Palace defender Marc Guehi made an ill-advised raid forward and lost the ball, quickly exposing the visitors’ defensive frailties.

Winger Noni Madueke surged down the right before picking out Cole Palmer, whose deft pass found Nicolas Jackson steaming through the centre to score with ease from close range.

After slumping to successive defeats in their opening games against Brentford and West Ham United and starting badly at Stamford Bridge, the Eagles finally got lift-off after the break.

After the influential Palmer almost scored from a direct free kick, Palace found their mojo as Eze equalised in the 53rd, picking up the rebound from Cheick Doucoure’s blocked shot and curling the ball beautifully into the net from outside the box.

Both sides continued to chase a winner, with Levi Colwill going close for Chelsea and Palace’s Daichi Kamada forcing a fine save from Robert Sanchez as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes.

Eze had a shot from the edge of the box blocked but his team seemed to tire in stoppage time and Jackson had two great opportunities to snatch a winner for the Blues.

First, he drove a shot into the side netting to the right of Dean Henderson's goal and a minute later was played in behind the defence only for the keeper to quickly leave his line to avert the danger.

Despite just over eight minutes of added time, neither side could find another goal and the game ended in a stalemate.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was not overly disappointed with his team’s display, however.

“I feel a bit of shame for the result but not the performance. The direction is the correct one,” the 44-year-old Italian said.

Isak hands Newcastle 2-1 victory over wasteful Tottenham

Newcastle United’s striker Alexander Isak secured a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur with a simple tap-in as they weathered a second-half storm from the visitors to secure the points in an entertaining Premier League clash at St James’ Park on Sunday.

Harvey Barnes’ first-half opener for Newcastle was cancelled out by a Dan Burn own goal after the break as Spurs dominated the chances in the second period but spurned numerous openings and were beaten by a lightning-quick break from the hosts.

Joelinton’s defence-splitting pass was perfect for Jacob Murphy who, after drawing out keeper Guglielmo Vicario, laid the ball on a plate for Isak to secure the three points for manager Eddie Howe’s side, who remain unbeaten at home since January.

Adding to Newcastle’s delight, their Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali made his first league appearance since being handed a 10-month ban for a breach of betting rules and received a rapturous reception from the home supporters.

Newcastle now have seven points from their first three games, while Tottenham remain on four.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou was left to rue the scoreline but not the performance as his side had complete control of the contest for long periods.

Isak struck the woodwork with an early chance before Newcastle took the lead against the run of play after 37 minutes.

A quick throw-in allowed Lloyd Kelly to fire in a low cross from the left which was superbly guided into the far corner by Barnes.

The visitors levelled when Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope failed to deal with a James Maddison shot and pushed the ball to Brennan Johnson, whose effort was cleared into his own net by Burn.

Tottenham continued to pepper the Newcastle goal but it was the hosts who found the winner thanks to the vision of Joelinton and the composure of Murphy to set up Sweden international Isak.

Man Utd humbled as Diaz double helps Liverpool humiliate rivals

Two goals from Luis Diaz and one from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool stroll to a 3-0 victory at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, with Erik ten Hag’s side humbled by their fierce rivals.

Liverpool dominated a United team who could not keep pace with them in the first half, the visitors taking the lead in the 35th minute through a back-post header from Diaz after United midfielder Casemiro had given the ball away.

Casemiro was again at fault for Diaz and Liverpool’s second, again supplied by Mohamed Salah, with the Colombia international sweeping home three minutes before the break, sending United supporters off for their halftime refreshments early.

With United on the ropes, Liverpool smelled blood after the break, Salah adding a third 11 minutes into the second half, but the visitors settled for three as they maintained their 100% record this season under new coach Arne Slot.

“The goals are always self-inflicted,” United captain Bruno Fernandes told Sky Sports. “When you concede a goal you can't just point at one mistake. We don’t have to look at the past. We just have to make it different. We lost the game, congratulations to Liverpool, they were more clinical. I don't look at the stats but the game was tight.”

After a positive summer in the transfer market and fresh faces in the boardroom, last week’s last-gasp defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion gave United supporters a stark reminder of the improvements still needed on the pitch.

Sunday’s visit of a Liverpool side who had lost just one of their previous 12 Premier League meetings with United will have caused a great deal of concern pre-match.

Those more pessimistic fans were fearing the worst as Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared to have fired Liverpool into an early lead at Old Trafford, only for VAR to step in and save the hosts, adjudging Salah to be offside earlier in the move.

United settled into the contest without troubling Liverpool down the other end of the pitch, allowing the visitors to pick their moments when they came.

Casemiro’s wayward pass ensured the Slot's side did not have to try too hard to unlock their rivals, Diaz applying the finishing touch to get Liverpool up and running.

Diaz’s third of the season was another fine finish, but another Casemiro will want to forget. The flying Liverpool forward has now scored more Premier League goals against United than any other opponent.

Yet another mistake in midfield, this time from Kobbie Mainoo, was ruthlessly punished by Salah in the second half, the Egyptian cementing his pace as the highest-scoring opposition player at Old Trafford in Premier League history — seven strikes.

The visitors thereafter cruised to a victory that means Slot is the first Liverpool manager to win his first meeting with United since Bob Paisley in November 1975, and just the second to do so away from home after George Kay in November 1936.