EPL PIX: Liverpool stay atop table; City down Fulham

IMAGES from the Premier League matches played across England, on Saturday.

Diogo Jota's early goal was enough to give Liverpool a tight 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday and ensure the Reds go into the international break top of the Premier League, though goalkeeper Alisson was forced off injured late on.

Palace had the ball in the net inside 30 seconds after Ismaila Sarr got in behind Kostas Tsimikas and centred to Eddie Nketiah, who finished deftly but had strayed offside.

The hosts started the game sharply but Liverpool took the lead with their first real attack in the ninth minute when Cody Gakpo ran on to Tsimikas' through ball down the left.

He centred for Jota, who breezed past Palace debutant Trevor Chalobah to poke home from close range and record his fourth goal of the season in all competitions.

Jota should have doubled his tally in the 34th minute after good work by Mohamed Salah and the impressive Ryan Gravenberch, whose ball from the right found Jota unmarked but he scuffed his effort well wide.

Liverpool enjoyed almost 75% possession in the first half but without creating many clear-cut chances and Palace almost made them pay on the stroke of half-time.

Maxence Lacroix's quick pass played Ismaila Sarr in behind, but his low effort was well saved by Alisson.

The second half began quietly before the visitors began to move through the gears and Salah drew a smart block from Palace keeper Dean Henderson after cushioning down a wonderful pass from Virgil van Dijk.

Jota missed another good chance just after the hour when Trent Alexander-Arnold found him in space from a free kick, but the Portugal forward mistimed his header.

Liverpool's failure to kill the game almost cost them as Eddie Nketiah and Eberechi Eze drew good saves from Alisson, who went off injured after he was forced into a hasty clearance.

That brought Vitezslav Jaros on for his Liverpool debut with the Palace fans sensing a shift in momentum, but Eze shot straight at Jaros who also stopped substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta in his tracks in added time.

Liverpool stay top with 18 points from seven games and open up a four-point lead on Manchester City and Arsenal, who play later on Saturday.

"I think it's always hard to come here. The results over the years have all been very tight and close," said man of the match Van Dijk. "We could have played a bit better in the second half. Overall, it's a big three points and we go into the international break on a high."

Palace remain winless with three points from seven league games.

City scrape to win over Fulham

Mateo Kovacic scored either side of halftime to fire Manchester City to an entertaining 3-2 victory over Fulham at a sun-drenched Etihad Stadium on Saturday, as the hosts kept their grip on second place in the Premier League standings.

Pep Guardiola's men have 17 points after seven games, a point behind leaders Liverpool, while Marco Silva's Fulham are sixth with 11 points.

While City dominated possession early on, Fulham grew into the game and were first on the scoresheet when Andreas Pereira stabbed it home in the 26th minute after a crafty back heel from Mexican Raul Jimenez.

City equalised six minutes later when Fulham struggled to clear a corner and the ball fell to Kovacic, who took one touch before firing it in.

"We always say that there are no easy games," Kovacic said.

"We dominated in the beginning and couldn't score, conceded the goal and then came back quickly.

"In the end we won it and it was a tough game against an opponent in good form, so for us it is good to continue winning."

Thousands of fans had not yet returned to their seats from halftime when the midfielder grabbed his second -- and third league goal this season -- in the 47th minute when he latched onto a pass from Jack Grealish and rifled home another terrific finish from the edge of the area.

Jeremy Doku gave City a two-goal lead in the 82nd minute with a rocket into the top corner for the Belgian's first goal of the season.

Rodrigo Muniz pulled one back for the visitors in the 88th minute with a shot from 15 yards out that deflected off John Stones and into the roof of the net. However, City held on to win against a Fulham side that will have been disappointed to leave without a point.

City had 20 shots to Fulham's 11, but Adama Traore squandered a couple of terrific chances when he twice found himself one on one with Ederson then fired straight at the goalkeeper.

It was a quiet afternoon for the league's top scorer Erling Haaland, whose best chance was a shot early in the game that Bernd Leno dove to his right to save. Ilkay Gundogan blasted a long shot just wide of the net in the first half.

City fans unfurled a banner before kickoff written in Guardiola's native Catalan asking him to stay as manager. The coach's contract expires at the end of the season and he was non-committal on Friday about his future -- except to say the fans should send him a bill for the banner.

Sublime Saka steers Arsenal to 3-1 comeback win over Southampton

Arsenal bounced back from conceding a goal to lowly Southampton to win 3-1 after a pulsating second half in their Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with winger Bukayo Saka instrumental in the Gunners' victory.

Southampton were much-improved compared to their 3-1 drubbing against Bournemouth last Monday, but they had no answer to Saka's boundless creativity as he created two goals and scored a third in an electric individual display.

After a dull first half, the visiting Saints, who came into the game in 19th place in the league with a single point to their name, took a surprising lead through Cameron Archer in the 55th minute as Arsenal were caught flat-footed by a rare counter-attack.

That lead turned out to be short-lived as Saka, who had looked lively from the opening tiip-off, teed up Kai Havertz to equalise less than four minutes later, making him the first Gunner since Robin van Persie to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions.

With Southampton struggling to play through Arsenal's press, coach Mikel Arteta rang the changes up front and it did not take long before his side took the lead.

Brought on on the hour mark, substitute Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead nine minutes later with a brilliant first-time finish from close range after Saka picked him out at the back post with a superb cross.

All that was missing from Saka's stellar performance was a goal of his own, and he duly got on the scoresheet himself in the 88th minute, capping off his fine individual display with a deft right-foot finish to put the game out of reach.

The win means Arsenal head into the international break in third spot in the table on 17 points, level with second-placed Manchester City and one behind leaders Liverpool.

Brentford score early yet again in frenzied 5-3 win over Wolves

Brentford scored an early goal for the fourth straight Premier League game as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-3 on Saturday in an enthralling end-to-end encounter that had six goals scored in a chaotic first half.

Brentford took the lead three times in the first half as both teams suffered from defensive lapses around their box, with six different goal scorers netting in the first 45 minutes.

As Wolves attempted a comeback in the second half but got nowhere, the home crowd gave Wolves manager Gary O'Neil a hard time as chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" echoed around the Community Stadium.

Wolves are bottom of the league standings with one point and the worst goal difference (-12) while Brentford's victory moved them up to ninth with 10 points.

Having scored in the first minute in their last three games, Brentford netted in the second minute this time when Mikkel Damsgaard went down the right and crossed the ball for Nathan Collins to score with an uncontested header 76 seconds in.

Wolves equalised quickly in the fourth minute when Nelson Semedo slipped in behind Brentford's defence and cut the ball back for Matheus Cunha who fired home from near the penalty spot.

However, Wolves shot themselves in the foot when Mario Lemina dragged Collins down in the box on a set-piece. The referee awarded a penalty after a second look at the replay and Bryan Mbeumo stepped up to score his sixth of the season.

But once again, Brentford's lead did not last long when a botched clearance allowed Rayan Ait-Nouri to put a cross in and Jorgen Larsen stuck his leg out to stab the ball past Mark Flekken in goal.

Wolves then gave the ball away near their box and Brentford took the lead for the third time in the 28th minute when some quick passing saw Vitaly Janelt set up Christian Norgaard, who took a touch and fired low into the far bottom corner.

Brentford gave themselves a two-goal cushion going into the break when they scored from another set-piece where Ethan Pinnock directed a header to the far post to make it 4-2.

Both teams improved defensively in the second half where the goalkeepers came to their rescue, with Wolves' Sam Johnstone ensuring they did not suffer a heavier defeat after he made seven saves in the game.

But he could do nothing in the 90th minute when he parried a shot straight into the path of substitute Fabio Carvalho, who tapped in for his first league goal in a Brentford shirt.

Ait-Nouri grabbed another for Wolves when he dribbled into the box and unleashed a venomous shot that went through Flekken's legs but it was too little, too late as Brentford sealed victory to pile more pressure on O'Neil.

Leicester beat Bournemouth 1-0 for first win of season

A stunning first-half goal by attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte lifted Leicester City to their first win of the Premier League season as the hosts beat Bournemouth 1-0 at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

A moment of individual brilliance from Buonanotte put Leicester ahead in the 16th minute to the delight of the home fans after the Argentine received a lofted pass from full back James Justin before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner.

Defensive midfielder Lewis Cook thought he had put Bournemouth on level terms after scoring from a direct free-kick in the 65th minute, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Leicester moved to 15th place in the Premier League standings, while Bournemouth dropped to 13th ahead of the remaining weekend fixtures.