Evan Ferguson hit his first career hat-trick as Brighton capped a memorable week by inflicting a third successive Premier League defeat on Newcastle with a thumping 3-1 success at the Amex Stadium.

Teenage striker Ferguson curled home a superb second from range to add to a simple first-half finish before completing his treble with the aid of a hefty deflection off Fabian Schar.

The 18-year-old’s heroics came a day after Albion were drawn to face Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens in their maiden Europa League campaign.

Success for the Seagulls, who also pulled off a transfer coup on Friday by signing Ansu Fati on loan from Barcelona, was a third from four this season following last weekend’s loss to West Ham.

Newcastle were only beaten five times in the top flight during the whole of last term but were unable to halt their recent slide on the back of setbacks against Manchester City and Liverpool, despite Callum Wilson’s late consolation.

Striker Alexander Isak wasted two early opportunities before the Magpies were blown away to temper the excitement following their mouthwatering Champions League draw.

Eddie Howe’s men were on Thursday pitted against AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund in European football’s premier competition, while Brighton’s maiden continental campaign will also include heavyweight opposition.

Newcastle began brighter from an attacking perspective and Isak twice threatened during a shaky start from the Seagulls.

The Sweden striker was denied inside 55 seconds by Jan Paul van Hecke’s last-ditch tackle following Bruno Guimaraes’ fine through ball before shinning wastefully wide after Pervis Estupinan’s poor clearance led to Sandro Tonali cutting the ball back from the right.

Brighton, who paraded 20-year-old Spain forward Fati and fellow new signing Carlos Baleba ahead of kick-off, were dominating possession.

Yet Roberto De Zerbi’s hosts again escaped in the 16th minute when Miguel Almiron’s low cross from the right deflected off Lewis Dunk and was turned behind by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

Newcastle were then punished for mistakes of their own 11 minutes later.

Rushed clearances from keeper Nick Pope and midfielder Tonali led to the former spilling Billy Gilmour’s stinging effort and Ferguson was on hand to slot home the rebound.

With his team still awaiting their first attempt on target, Howe brought on England striker Wilson as part of a triple substitution in the 58th minute.

Isak’s pace remained a constant concern for the hosts but they soon secured breathing space courtesy of Ferguson’s magic.

The Republic of Ireland international was afforded time and space deep inside Newcastle’s half and duly dispatched a fine curling effort into the bottom right corner from distance.

Anthony Gordon wasted a golden opportunity to halve Newcastle’s deficit by sidefooting wide before Brighton put the result beyond doubt.

Ferguson, who made his professional debut for Irish club Bohemians aged just 14, again took aim from outside the box, only this time his bending effort benefited from a significant flick of Schar to fly beyond the stranded Pope.

The match-winner was withdrawn to a standing ovation nine minutes from time after making it 10 Premier League goal in just 12 starts.

In spite of the scoreline, Newcastle’s sold-out following continued to vocally back their side.

They were given scant reward on a punishing evening two minutes into added time when substitute Wilson burst forward and escaped Van Hecke to poke home.

Fulham manager Marco Silva claims it should have been “impossible” to allow Manchester City’s controversial second goal to stand in his side’s 5-1 loss to the champions.

The Cottagers had been holding their own against the treble winners at the Etihad Stadium when City went 2-1 ahead on the stroke of half-time with a Nathan Ake header.

Fulham argued long and hard that City defender Manuel Akanji, stood in an offside position, had played at the ball and impacted goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Despite a VAR review and further lengthy protests, the goal was given and City went on to win comfortably with a second-half hat-trick from the prolific Erling Haaland.

Silva said: “The second half was not at the level that it should be. I tried to tell the players not to lose focus from things that we cannot control but, of course, that moment made a huge impact on them.

“Even all the explanations that we listened to during that period didn’t make sense at all.

“What I can say? Everyone that plays football, everyone that has played football, everyone that has some knowledge about football – I’m 100 per cent sure – has to disallow that goal.

“Everyone has to be furious if a goal like that comes against you. For the linesman I believe that it can be difficult but, for the VAR, it is impossible not to disallow that goal. It is a clear offside.”

Silva admitted Joao Palhinha had not been in the right frame of mind to play after his proposed deadline day move to Bayern Munich collapsed.

Silva said: “It was a tough day for him, definitely, probably one of the toughest days of his life.

“He loves Fulham, he loves football, he loves to be with us. He had the fantastic season last season and he’s always a player that gives 100 per cent for the shirt but he had a big chance to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world and he was really close.

“You can imagine the impact that has on a football player when these type of things happen.”

City were not at their best in the first half and saw their opening goal from Julian Alvarez quickly cancelled out by Tim Ream.

Yet after the stormy end to the first half, they moved through the gears after the break with Haaland, scorer of 52 goals last season, coming to the fore.

Assistant boss Juanma Lillo, who has won both of his matches in charge since manager Pep Guardiola underwent back surgery, said of the Norway striker: “This guy was born scoring goals and he’ll go through his whole life scoring goals, so it’ll be no surprise if he manages to get those same figures as last time.

“But it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t as he’s great at providing play for the players. Today he made one assist and also put a ball through to another player. I’d always look at his intelligence as well as his goalscoring stats.”

City midfielder Jack Grealish missed the game with a thigh injury and is now doubtful for England’s upcoming internationals against Ukraine and Scotland.

Lillo said: “It would be difficult to be able to make it for the national team but I am not a doctor and it would be difficult for me to explain.”

Fulham manager Marco Silva claims it should have been “impossible” to allow Manchester City’s controversial second goal to stand in his side’s 5-1 loss to the champions.

The Cottagers had been holding their own against the treble winners at the Etihad Stadium when City went 2-1 ahead on the stroke of half-time with a Nathan Ake header.

Fulham argued long and hard that City defender Manuel Akanji, stood in an offside position, had played at the ball and impacted goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Despite a VAR review and further lengthy protests, the goal was given and City went on to win comfortably with a second-half hat-trick from the prolific Erling Haaland.

Silva said: “The second half was not at the level that it should be. I tried to tell the players not to lose focus from things that we cannot control but, of course, that moment made a huge impact on them.

“Even all the explanations that we listened to during that period didn’t make sense at all.

“What I can say? Everyone that plays football, everyone that has played football, everyone that has some knowledge about football – I’m 100 per cent sure – has to disallow that goal.

“Everyone has to be furious if a goal like that comes against you. For the linesman I believe that it can be difficult but, for the VAR, it is impossible not to disallow that goal. It is a clear offside.”

Silva admitted Joao Palhinha had not been in the right frame of mind to play after his proposed deadline day move to Bayern Munich collapsed.

Silva said: “It was a tough day for him, definitely, probably one of the toughest days of his life.

“He loves Fulham, he loves football, he loves to be with us. He had the fantastic season last season and he’s always a player that gives 100 per cent for the shirt but he had a big chance to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world and he was really close.

“You can imagine the impact that has on a football player when these type of things happen.”

City were not at their best in the first half and saw their opening goal from Julian Alvarez quickly cancelled out by Tim Ream.

Yet after the stormy end to the first half, they moved through the gears after the break with Haaland, scorer of 52 goals last season, coming to the fore.

Assistant boss Juanma Lillo, who has won both of his matches in charge since manager Pep Guardiola underwent back surgery, said of the Norway striker: “This guy was born scoring goals and he’ll go through his whole life scoring goals, so it’ll be no surprise if he manages to get those same figures as last time.

“But it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t as he’s great at providing play for the players. Today he made one assist and also put a ball through to another player. I’d always look at his intelligence as well as his goalscoring stats.”

City midfielder Jack Grealish missed the game with a thigh injury and is now doubtful for England’s upcoming internationals against Ukraine and Scotland.

Lillo said: “It would be difficult to be able to make it for the national team but I am not a doctor and it would be difficult for me to explain.”

Steve Cooper said his Nottingham Forest players used the “belief and frustration” from their narrow defeat at Old Trafford to steer them to a surprise win at Chelsea.

Anthony Elanga hit the only goal of the game early in the second half, making the most of Moises Caicedo losing possession as Forest secured a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Having already suffered close defeats at Arsenal and Manchester United in the opening weeks of the Premier League campaign, a win in west London would have pleased Cooper.

Asked if the belief from the performance at United had helped his players heading into the game at Chelsea, he replied: “Yes, I definitely think that – and also the frustration.

“We took that into the week and the guys spoke quite passionately in the dressing room after the (United) game and I reminded them of what some of them said in the build-up to this one and fair play to them, they took that into today.

“We knew it was going to be the type of game that it was – you don’t come here to plan to dominate possession and have chance after chance, but if you do certain things well you can create chances and keep a clean sheet. That is how it unfolded.”

Cooper reserved special praise for Joe Worrall, the Forest captain putting in a fine display just days after the death of his police officer uncle.

“He’s been incredible,” Cooper said of his skipper.

“I personally have known what was going on before it came to public (knowledge) and he’s put his family second for the football club.

“I think the club has helped them in terms of giving them a bit of a release and the guys just showed him a huge amount of respect in the dressing room after what he’s been through.

“I cannot speak highly enough of the man that he’s been over the last week or so. I know how important today will be for him and it will give him and his family some respite because nothing can really make what happened any better, but at least it gives them some nice feelings.”

Defeat for Chelsea means they have won just one of their first four league games under Mauricio Pochettino.

The head coach stuck with the same starting XI that beat Luton last time out in the Premier League but was also able to turn to Noni Madueke, new signing Cole Palmer, Ian Maatsen and Mykhailo Mudryk off the bench as Chelsea searched in vain for an equaliser.

“We were not clinical in both areas,” Pochettino said of the Chelsea performance.

“We made a mistake and then we created opportunities, but if you don’t score it is difficult to win games. This type of game I think will help us to be more mature, it is not only about having quality, it is also about competing in different ways.

“Of course we can’t say that we didn’t deserve more, but in football the stats sometimes reflect what you do and in that case we created but we didn’t score and we only had a few shots on target.

“We are building something and it is always up and down. We are unlucky because I think we deserved more against West Ham and today – but I have said before, it is only a matter of time.”

Ange Postecoglou promised there is still more to come from his Tottenham side after Son Heung-min’s hat-trick helped them demolish Burnley 5-2.

Coming off the disappointment of a midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham, there was more bad news for Spurs when they fell behind to Lyle Foster’s fourth-minute goal but Postecoglou was delighted with the way his side responded.

Son got the equaliser in the 16th minute and Spurs then punished mistakes at the back from Burnley as Cristian Romero and James Maddison put them in charge, before Son scored twice in four minutes just after the hour for his first hat-trick since September 17 last year.

Josh Brownhill’s late consolation goal did nothing to dent a victory which gives Spurs 10 points from their first four league games under Postecoglou, with the mood around the club changed markedly following the Australian’s arrival.

Asked if Son’s performance showed how Spurs can cope without the departed Harry Kane, Postecoglou said: “No, it’s not exactly why but it’s one of the reasons. I’ve got a picture in my head about what I want the team to look like and I keep saying we’re still at the beginning of it.

“We’re still building and there’s a lot to be done. It’s about putting all the pieces together. There are some really good footballers in this club and they have the ability to play in the way this team needs to set up.

“Sonny, whether he’s playing central or right, he’s got all the characteristics to play the way we want to play.”

While Son’s goals took the headlines, Maddison was also integral to their performance as he exploited every gap afforded him by Burnley, with his goal early in the second half heading off any threat of a comeback from the hosts.

“I thought today was a real testament to Sonny, Madders and Romero, the way they embraced that responsibility not just with words but with actions and not just on game day but on a daily basis,” Postecoglou said.

“That’s as encouraging for me as anything because as good as they are individually, they have that team spirit and that’s important for me. Madders is so creative and today he showed how clinical he is in front of goal and his preparedness to work hard for the team is a great example.”

Defeat leaves Burnley without a point after their opening three Premier League games, all at home with a total of 11 goals conceded to Manchester City, Aston Villa and Spurs combined.

But Vincent Kompany said it was not a reality check for him as he insisted he did not need one.

“I spent 11 years of my life in the Premier League and I have a pretty good understanding of what the level is,” he said. “I don’t think anyone is naive going into this division.

“We know it’s a challenge and if you look at the total amount of points the promoted teams have got this season (one, from a combined 10 games) you realise that every game is going to be tough.”

After a bright start, Burnley were guilty of giving the ball away too many times in their own final third, inviting pressure from Tottenham that soon told.

“It’s not something I’m happy about but I always think it’s easier to solve the defensive side than to solve a lack of chance in the team. I think we’re creating chances at a very high level against Villa and City and then today against Tottenham.

“It’s something we have to keep in our game. Obviously we need to become more solid but that’s something you can work on and our team still has a lot of improvement in it.”

Erling Haaland grabbed a second-half hat-trick as Champions Manchester City maintained their 100 per cent Premier League start with a stormy but ultimately comfortable 5-1 win over Fulham.

The prolific Norwegian came to the fore to wrap up victory after Fulham had left the field at the Etihad Stadium fuming at half-time over a highly-contentious goal from Nathan Ake.

Ake had put City back ahead after Tim Ream had quickly cancelled out Julian Alvarez’s opener.

Fulham complained vociferously that Ake’s goal was allowed to stand as Manuel Akanji, stood in an offside position, had appeared to play at the ball.

City, and notably Haaland, put those issues aside with a confident display after the break, securing another win for absent manager Pep Guardiola, who continues to recuperate following back surgery.

The game began in sedate fashion, with not a hint of the controversy that was to flare up later. City, missing Jack Grealish due to a thigh injury, were unusually sloppy in possession and Fulham were without the drive of Joao Palhinha following the collapse of his deadline day move to Bayern Munich.

The visitors suffered a further blow as captain Tom Cairney was forced off injured with just 16 minutes gone.

City came to life when Phil Foden, who started in Grealish’s berth on the left, switched flanks with debutant Jeremy Doku.

Foden opened up the defence by playing a one-two with Akanji and weaving his way into the area but his ball across goal was cleared by Issa Diop.

They claimed the lead just after the half-hour mark as Haaland raced onto a Mateo Kovacic pass and swiped the ball across the area for Alvarez to stab home.

The advantage lasted just two minutes as Fulham grabbed a quick equaliser.

Raul Jimenez lashed a shot at goal from a corner and, after a touch by Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Ederson could only parry. Ream pounced for a tap-in at the far post.

City regained the advantage in controversial circumstances in first-half injury time.

The hosts won a corner when Diop just managed to get a head to a delicate cross from Foden that seemed destined for Haaland.

The goal came from the resulting set-piece as Ake, stationed near the penalty spot, planted a firm header into the bottom corner.

Fulham argued that Akanji’s movements had impacted goalkeeper Bernd Leno and their protests were long and hard, even continuing after a VAR review had concluded the goal should stand.

Manager Marco Silva was furious on the touchline and the players were still disputing the decision after the ball had been placed in the centre circle for the restart. Referee Michael Oliver did not back down and, not for the first time this season, Silva was shown the yellow card.

The stormy end to the first half appeared to take its toll on Fulham as City moved through the gears in the second period.

Haaland made it 3-1 just before the hour with a clinical low finish after Alvarez put him through on goal with a quick flick from a long Rodri pass.

The striker was then given the chance to add another when City were awarded a penalty soon after for a clumsy challenge on Alvarez by Diop.

Haaland struck the post with his last spot-kick against Sheffield United last week but this time he made no mistake.

He completed his treble injury time as he turned home following good work by substitute Sergio Gomez.

Erling Haaland fired another hat-trick as Manchester City maintained their 100 per cent Premier League start with a 5-1 home victory over Fulham.

City, who made it four straight league wins, took a first-half lead through Julian Alvarez and although Tim Ream levelled for the Cottagers, Nathan Ake headed the defending champions into a half-time lead.

Haaland notched his first just before the hour-mark and converted from the penalty spot after Issa Diop’s push on Alvarez before adding his third – his sixth of the season – in time added on.

Former Manchester United forward Anthony Elanga’s first Premier League goal in 19 months secured Nottingham Forest a surprise 1-0 win at Chelsea.

Elanga scored the only goal early in the second half as Chelsea slipped to their second league defeat of the season.

Son Heung-min netted a hat-trick as Tottenham extended their unbeaten league start by thrashing Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor.

Lyle Foster gave Burnley an early lead before Son and Cristian Romero put Tottenham 2-1 up at the break.

James Maddison extended Tottenham’s lead with his second goal of the season and Son struck twice in three minutes just after the hour-mark. Josh Brownhill’s stoppage-time effort came too late for the Clarets.

Bryan Mbeumo’s stoppage-time equaliser clinched Brentford a 2-2 home draw against Bournemouth.

Dominic Solanke cancelled out Mathias Jensen’s early free-kick for the Bees and after David Brooks had fired the Cherries into a second-half lead, Mbeumo struck in the third minute of added time.

Sheffield United and Everton both notched their first point of the season after drawing 2-2 at Bramall Lane in the lunchtime kick-off.

Cameron Archer struck on his league debut for the Blades to cancel out Abdoulaye Doucoure’s first-half opener and after falling behind to Jordan Pickford’s own goal, Arnaut Danjuma levelled it up for Everton.

An added-time goal from Bryan Mbeumo gave Brentford a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in the Premier League.

An early goal from Mathias Jansen was cancelled out by the visitors’ Dominic Solanke and David Brooks, before Mbeumo struck at the end to give Thomas Frank’s men a point.

Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth picked up their first away point of the season but will feel hard done by after a positive display at Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford piled on the pressure early on and Cherries goalkeeper Neto rushed out of his box and brought down last week’s scorer Kevin Schade to give the hosts an opportunity from a free-kick.

And the hosts converted their opportunity and took a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute. Jensen looked set to cross the ball into the box but his quick thinking saw the Dane shoot at Neto’s near post, the Brazilian scrambled in an attempt to keep out the effort but VAR ruled the ball had crossed the line.

The Cherries sought a leveller through Ryan Christie in the 18th minute. The Scot slalomed his way through red and white shirts but his run was bizarrely intercepted by team-mate Solanke before he could test Mark Flekken from yards out.

And, testament to Frank’s fast-paced football, Brentford instantly responded through Vitaly Janelt who picked out  Schade, who was only prevented from doubling the lead by a post.

The end-to-end nature of the game continued in the 30th minute as the Cherries levelled through Solanke.

Marcos Senesi returned to Iraola’s starting XI and the Argentinian’s curved through-ball found the composed Solanke, who beat his marker before finishing in front of the away fans.

Frank’s decision to proceed with a back-four for a third consecutive league game paid dividends as midfielders Jensen, Janelt and Christian Norgaard held the lion’s share of first-half possession in a frantic match.

The hosts were quick out of the traps in the second half when Rico Henry gambled on the loose ball and expertly picked out the dangerous Mbeumo, who fluffed a golden chance to retake the lead when he shanked his effort wide.

Henry started a similar move in the 59th minute but Yoane Wissa’s missed shot was a reminder of how much Brentford needed the suspended Ivan Toney, on a day when they were starting to rue missed chances as Bournemouth gained momentum.

Flying full-back Henry’s 74th-minute corner found the head of Norgaard, who forced a stretched save from Neto.

Henry’s loose backpass was cruelly intercepted by the visitors three minutes later and, after some neat play in the area, Brooks scored for a second successive game to give Bournemouth a 2-1 advantage.

The home crowd demanded a response and they got it in added time through winger Mbeumo, who was the first to react to Nathan Collins’ long ball, earning the hosts a point.

Anthony Elanga came off the bench to score the only goal of the game as Nottingham Forest stunned Chelsea to win at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues stuck with the same side that had outclassed Luton last time out but Forest left with all three points after Elanga’s early second-half strike secured a 1-0 victory.

The visitors, who had already performed admirably in narrow defeats at Arsenal and Manchester United, finally got a result against a top-six club that their displays had deserved.

Despite nine new signings, Mauricio Pochettino has made just two changes to his starting line-up in their four Premier League games this season – but they have won only one of them.

It was club-record signing Moises Caicedo who was at fault for Elanga’s goal, while new signing Cole Palmer could not stamp his mark on proceedings as he made his debut off the bench.

Raheem Sterling, fresh off his brace against Luton, had a good chance in the opening moments but Ola Aina’s brave challenge kept the Chelsea man at bay.

As Sterling set about trying to prove he was worthy of a place in the England squad he was once again omitted from last week, it was Conor Gallagher – who did make Gareth Southgate’s cut – who bent a shot just wide of the target.

Sterling, the liveliest spark in Chelsea’s attack during a forgettable first half, crossed for Ben Chilwell but he could not turn home the low centre as a stop-start first half wore on.

Forest enjoyed some possession down their right and earned a free-kick in a dangerous area when Thiago Silva dragged Taiwo Awoniyi to the ground, with the in-form striker flashing a shot over the crossbar after the resulting set-piece dropped to him in the box.

Having already scored at the Emirates Stadium and Old Trafford this season, Awoniyi came close again with an acrobatic close-range effort that flashed just wide of a post.

The visitors were forced into a change in first-half stoppage time as Danilo limped off after chasing a ball over the top, with Elanga on in his place.

The Sweden forward – signed from Manchester United for a reported £15million – got off the mark for Forest shortly after the restart.

A heavy touch in midfield from Caicedo gifted possession to Forest with Chelsea’s defence out of position and the away side took full advantage.

Awoniyi threaded a pass through the legs of Thiago Silva and into the path of Elanga, who coolly slotted past Robert Sanchez to break the deadlock.

Chelsea toiled in their quest to draw level as Pochettino threw on Noni Madueke, Palmer, Ian Maatsen and Mykhailo Mudryk in search of a goal.

It should have come through Nicolas Jackson but the summer arrival from Villarreal turned over on the stretch from six yards after some good work from Sterling picked him out in a great position.

Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick as Tottenham came from behind to beat Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor and leave Vincent Kompany’s side pointless after three home games back in the Premier League.

Son cancelled out Lyle Foster’s early opener in the 16th minute and then, after goals from Cristian Romero and James Maddison had put Tottenham in control, he scored two in the space of four minutes just after the hour as Spurs made it 10 points from Ange Postecoglou’s first four league games in charge.

Spurs have boosted their attacking options with Friday’s signing of Brennan Johnson, not registered in time to make his debut here, but Son will carry much of the scoring burden after Harry Kane’s exit and his first goals since April will add to the sense of optimism amongst the travelling fans.

There was a stoppage-time consolation goal from Josh Brownhill but this was another chastening afternoon for Burnley.

There was no shyness in their play after opening defeats to Manchester City and Aston Villa and their positive early approach was rewarded by Foster’s goal just four minutes in, but their high-risk possession game was then ruthlessly punished by Spurs.

The opening 15 minutes offered much encouragement. Just four minutes in Burnley won the ball inside their own half and quickly shuffled it left, where the impressive Luca Koleosho beat Pedro Porro to a through-ball and played in Foster for his second goal in as many league appearances.

The mood inside Turf Moor was buoyant as Burnley bossed possession and kept Tottenham pegged back, but it all changed in the 16th minute with the help of a simple ball over the top from Porro.

Son sprang forward to beat Dara O’Shea to the ball, then exchanged passes with Manor Solomon before clipping the ball over the advancing James Trafford.

Tottenham were growing into the game, with Maddison pulling the strings and Burnley too often getting themselves in trouble with their attempts to play out from the back.

Pape Sarr saw a shot unconventionally blocked by Ameen Al-Dakhil, with the chance coming after Trafford’s clearance went straight to Dejan Kulusevski. Trafford then had to dive to his left to keep out a bending effort from Maddison before Porro sent an inviting chance wide.

The pressure told in first-half stoppage time as Burnley failed to clear a corner and the ball came for Romero to fire in from the edge of the area via the inside of the left-hand post, with the goal surviving a lengthy VAR check for offside.

Kompany made two changes at the break as Hannes Delcroix and Brownhill replaced Sander Berge and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, with Brownhill quickly bending a shot narrowly over, but more sloppy play at the back from the Clarets was soon punished.

The under-pressure Al-Dhakil gave the ball away on the right and it was all too easy for Spurs to find Maddison in space on the edge of the box, his curling finish leaving Trafford with no chance.

At the other end Foster raced on to a through-ball but Romero got a touch to his shot before Guglielmo Vicario touched it over.

Within minutes, Son put the game beyond Burnley. Solomon squared an inviting ball for him to fire in his second in the 63rd minute, and moments later he had the pace to get in behind the Burnley defence and collect Porro’s ball forward, beating Trafford to seal his hat-trick.

Brownhill slid in to get one back for Burnley in stoppage time but by then there was only half the Turf Moor crowd still on hand to see it.

Sean Dyche says Jordan Pickford answered his critics with a crucial double save in Everton’s 2-2 draw at Sheffield United.

Pickford recovered from scoring an unfortunate own goal earlier in the game to ensure his side left Bramall Lane with a point, miraculously denying Oli McBurnie twice at the death.

He tipped a header onto the underside of the crossbar and then recovered to turn the follow-up effort onto the post as Everton got their league season up and running after three successive defeats.

Pickford and his team-mates have come under the spotlight following their winless start to the season, but Dyche believes the England goalkeeper proved himself.

“Like everyone, he had some question marks recently because the team were conceding big moments,” Dyche said.

“Every player should be questioned because that’s the world we live in. Every top player gets questioned, that is part and parcel of being a top professional. It should be a stimulus if anything.

“But it shows again what a top keeper he is, I thought his all-round performance was very good.

“He was very unlucky with their second, quite obviously, and made two fantastic saves, when it is really important to do so. If that goes against you everyone is scratching their heads, but he made sure it doesn’t happen.

“The madness of football, we could have ended up losing it; Jordan makes those saves at the end and you think ‘how mad is football?’ – it would have been an injustice if it went against us but it didn’t.”

Abdoulaye Doucoure scored Everton’s first Premier League goal of the season as they went ahead early, but Cameron Archer’s first strike for the Blades levelled things up.

Archer was involved again soon after as his shot hit the post and rebounded off Pickford’s back and into the net as the Blades took a half-time lead, only for Arnaut Danjuma to level after the break.

Pickford then came up with his heroics and Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom knows his side need those moments to go in their favour this season.

“It’s an unreal save, the second one he doesn’t know too much, it hits his head and the post, but it’s a big moment,” Heckingbottom, who also saw his side earn their first point of the season, said.

“It’s another example of why we love the game and how fine the margins are.

“We are not stupid, we know that we are going to need a lot of those moments to go in our favour this season, of course we are. Today it didn’t.

“But I can’t grumble, I think it was a really good game and probably a fair result.”

Arnaut Danjuma’s second-half goal earned Everton a 2-2 draw at Sheffield United as both sides registered their first point of the Premier League season.

Cameron Archer’s first strike for the club and a Jordan Pickford own goal saw the Blades’ overturn Abdoulaye Doucoure’s early opener to lead 2-1 at half-time.

But Danjuma, a summer signing from Villarreal, levelled after the break and that is how it ended at Bramall Lane, thanks mainly to Pickford’s miraculous double save at the death, twice denying Oli McBurnie.

Having both lost their first three games of the campaign, this already had a big-game feel to it and while both sides will be pleased to be up and running, they might also see it as a missed opportunity to get their first win of the campaign.

Despite those early struggles, it was an entertaining match with chances at both ends.

John Egan put a free header straight at Everton goalkeeper Pickford before James Tarkowski produced a fine block to deny Archer.

The Toffees also looked a threat, with Beto’s shot from the edge of the area deflected just wide.

And it was from the resulting corner that they went ahead in the 14th minute, finally breaking their duck for the season.

Tarkowski climbed highest from the corner and the ball fell to Doucoure, whose first shot was parried by Wes Foderingham, but the midfielder was on hand to tap home the rebound from close range.

Everton had an excellent opportunity to immediately double their advantage as they had a four-on-two counter-attack, but Danjuma chose not to pass and his shot was blocked.

The Blades responded well and Pickford produced an excellent save to stop Gus Hamer’s low effort from sneaking in at the near post.

A deserved leveller came just after the half-hour as Archer scored his first goal for the club.

Hamer’s cross found McBurnie, who teed his strike partner up to arrow a shot into the corner from 12 yards.

They completed the turnaround deep into first-half injury time as Archer was again involved, with his 20-yard shot crashing off the post and on to Pickford’s back and into the net.

Everton’s response after the break was very good and they levelled 10 minutes after the restart.

The Toffees worked the ball down the right and Nathan Patterson sent in a devilish cross which Danjuma tapped in at the far post.

Again United came back and mounted a concerted spell of pressure as they searched to regain their lead.

Yasser Larouci skied a good chance at the back post before Luke Thomas fired an effort straight at Pickford’s body, with Hamer seeing the rebound blocked.

The Blades almost stole it at the death, but McBurnie’s free header was tipped onto the underside of crossbar by Pickford, with the goalkeeper then reacting to turn the striker’s second effort onto the post.

Liverpool are determined to rebuff further approaches from Al-Ittihad for Mohamed Salah but the next few days are likely to prove every bit of the challenge manager Jurgen Klopp predicted.

Mike Gordon, president of owners Fenway Sports Group, politely but firmly rejected the Saudi Pro League’s offer of a £150million deal for the Egypt international and declared the matter closed as far as the club were concerned.

However, with the Pro League’s transfer window open until Thursday, there is the very real prospect Al-Ittihad will return with an improved bid which will have even more of a destabilising effect.

Which is why Klopp again expressed his concern about the discrepancy as “nobody (in Europe) can react any more”.

When Saudi interest in the 31-year-old first reared its head last month, the Egyptian’s agent Ramy Abbas wrote on Twitter on August 7: “If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer. Mohamed remains committed to LFC.”

Abbas has not been as forthcoming this time around and although the Salah bid has undoubtedly loomed large over preparations for Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa, Klopp said he had seen “absolutely nothing” to worry about and that Salah was “super-committed”.

However, this week’s developments look like the start of a long goodbye for Salah, who will be 32 next summer and in the final year of his £350,000-a-week contract – which easily makes him the highest-paid player in the club’s history – with Liverpool more likely to be amenable to a sale at that point.

While the focus of Salah, who has scored scored 138 goals in 221 Premier League appearances, has never been in doubt, Klopp also believes fellow forward Darwin Nunez has a renewed drive following his match-winning two-goal appearance off the bench at Newcastle last week.

“Massive, massive, that’s clear. That’s what he wants, what we want,” Klopp said of the effect it would have on the Uruguay international, who started the season as fifth-choice forward.

“It’s exactly how it should have been – being a massive threat. You could, of course, see it the next day. But everybody could feel it.”

Villa have impressed under Unai Emery this season as, after an opening-day defeat at Newcastle, they have won four successive matches in all competitions.

“Aston Villa is a machine – counter-attack, good organised, everyone committed 100 per cent. When they defend deep then they defend with their all and from there they go,” said Klopp.

“It’s a massive game, no doubt about it. Yeah, we have to play a top game to get something out of it.

“After that it is the international break, so we could make a good start (and) turn it into a really good start to the season result-wise.

“But there are a massive 115 minutes in between now and then.”

Erik ten Hag says his players are up for the fight against Arsenal as Manchester United look forward to Sunday’s high-profile clash.

The Red Devils have six points from their opening three Premier League matches, but their performances to date have been far from convincing.

United rode their luck to edge past Wolves 1-0 in their Old Trafford opener and, having lost 2-0 at Tottenham, had to come from behind to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at Old Trafford last time out.

Ten Hag knows his side need to up their game at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday as last year’s Premier League runners-up host the side that finished third.

“It’s one of the biggest games in the Premier League and we are really looking forward, of course, to that fight,” the United boss said. “It’s really always interesting games, intense games.

“I think it is two teams who really play offensive football, the right intentions, I would say.

“The audience is always the big winner of that game, so really looking forward to have that game.”

United head to the capital with three new signings available to feature.

Fenerbahce goalkeeper Altay Bayindir arrived on Friday following Dean Henderson’s exit to Crystal Palace.

Tottenham left-back Sergio Reguilon followed on a season-long loan, before Jonny Evans’ return to the club on a one-year contract was announced.

The trio were registered in time to face the Gunners, but Sofyan Amrabat’s loan from Fiorentina with an obligation to buy was not.

The deadline day arrivals bolster a squad that will be fighting on four fronts this term, with United this week drawn against Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray in the Champions League group stage.

“We need the depth to go into the four competitions,” Ten Hag said.

“But also our players, most of them international players for their nations, so they will go all over the world.

“We have to cover that. We have to be prepared for that situation, that we always can put a competitive team on the pitch.”

Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane and Tyrell Malacia remain sidelined for the trip to Arsenal.

Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Tom Heaton are also injured, but summer signing Rasmus Hojlund has been given the green light to make his debut after a back issue.

“I think he is ready to start,” Ten Hag said of the Denmark striker, who arrived from Atalanta in a deal that could reach £72million.

“I think for every player there is a big spotlight. At United you have to perform, so in every position and with every player.”

The Premier League’s summer spending of £2.36billion demonstrates the “incredible pace of growth” in the league’s wealth, according to finance company Deloitte.

The £2bn milestone was surpassed for the first time in advance of Friday’s deadline with moves such as Manchester City’s £53million capture of Wolves’ Matheus Nunes then driving the total to new heights.

Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “It took 14 summer transfer windows to exceed £1bn and it’s only taken seven more to surpass £2bn, so that just reflects the incredible pace of growth that we’re seeing.”

Deloitte’s analysis showed the 2023 summer transfer window exceeded the previous record of £1.92bn, set only last summer, by almost £440m.

Chelsea’s spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group has continued with the £100m signing of midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton, £63m for forward Christopher Nkunku and Friday’s £40m capture of Cole Palmer from Manchester City.

With Newcastle beating the Blues, Tottenham and Liverpool to a place in this season’s Champions League and Brighton – who pulled off a deadline-day coup with a loan deal for Barcelona star Ansu Fati – also challenging, there are as many as eight teams with realistic top-four ambitions.

Arsenal signed West Ham captain Declan Rice for a similar fee to that for Caicedo and Manchester City spent £77m on Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol, while Spurs’ £47.5m move for Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson was another standout move on deadline day.

Ross said: “You’ve got that intensity of competition across the league. There are 10 clubs that have spent more than £100m so it’s not all those top clubs.

“I think at the moment, more than half of the clubs have spent more than they did last season.”

England’s top flight has spent almost as much as the other members of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues – LaLiga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, the French Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga – combined this summer.

But a new challenge has emerged with the Saudi Pro League attracting the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s January move to Al Nassr.

The fees and wages on offer in Saudi Arabia are eye-watering with Liverpool rejecting a £150m deadline-day bid from Al-Ittihad for attacking talisman Mohamed Salah.

Ross said: “This is the first time since the summer window of 2016 that one of the big five leagues, LaLiga, doesn’t appear in the top five spenders globally. The Saudi Pro League’s replaced them, I think they’re the second highest at the moment with over 850million euros (£728m).

“Also it’s another source of funding though – I think almost half of the transfer fees received by Premier League clubs came from the Saudi Pro League. So having that extra funding from Saudi Pro League clubs and other overseas markets is then providing them with additional funds to redistribute to their transfer targets.”

The Saudi window remains open until next Thursday and while clubs could be reluctant to sell with no opportunity to replace departed talent, Ross said: “There is still a chance over the next week or so that we will see further outgoings.

“Being able to operate in a financially sustainable manner, as well as complying with the relevant financial regulations, is a key part of their activity.

“It’s balancing that need for financial sustainability and profitability with the desire for on-pitch success.”