EPL: Haaland shines, Iwobi nets his 23rd as Arsenal gain ground

Saturday’s matchday 2 in the 2024/25 EPL season delivered a flurry of goals as last season’s top two teams made strong statements, showing they are once again serious title contenders. From the Etihad, where champions Manchester City showcased their dominance, to Villa Park, where Arsenal avenged last season’s defeats that cost them the EPL title.

Erling Haaland, the EPL’s top scorer for the past two seasons, has hit the ground running, already netting four goals in the first two weeks of the 2024/25 season. The extraordinary Norwegian recorded his 23rd career hat-trick, bringing his tally to 67 goals in 68 EPL appearances.

Ipswich’s first visit to the Etihad started brightly, with Sammie Szmodics opening the scoring in the seventh minute, but the defending champions quickly responded with three goals in four minutes, aided by a mistake from Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.

Earlier in the day, Brighton secured their second win of the season thanks to a late goal from João Pedro. Former United striker Danny Welbeck opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, marking his 100th EPL goal, but United equalised through Amad Diallo on the hour. United thought they had taken the lead with a goal from Alejandro Garnacho 10 minutes later, but it was disallowed due to Joshua Zirkzee’s interference. Zirkzee was offside.

Pedro’s free header in the 95th minute sealed the three points, keeping Brighton joint-top with City.

On the banks of the Thames, Alex Iwobi scored his first goal of the season, leading Fulham to a 2-1 victory over a struggling Leicester City side featuring Wilfred Ndidi. New signing Emile Smith Rowe marked his official debut with an 18th-minute goal, but Leicester equalised just before halftime with a header from Wout Faes. Fulham secured the win with a counter-attacking goal from Iwobi in the 70th minute, earning their first season victory.

Iwobi, who now has 23 EPL goals in his 254th league appearance, will aim to surpass last season’s five goals. His Super Eagles teammate Calvin Bassey also played the full 90 minutes.

Joe Aribo’s Southampton continue to struggle after their promotion, falling 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. Aribo lost possession on the edge of the box, leading to Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal after a clearance fell to him. The Saints have lost two games despite playing well but have yet to earn any points. For Forest, Ola Aina started as the left-back, while Taiwo Awoniyi replaced Chris Wood in the 76th minute.

Arsenal’s title credentials were rigorously tested at Villa Park, but they emerged with all three points. Mikel Arteta will be grateful for both luck and goalkeeper David Raya.

Ollie Watkins missed two golden opportunities to give Villa the lead—first in the first half when he side-footed wide in a one-on-one with Raya, and then in the second half when Raya made an incredible save to keep the scoreline level.

Substitute Leandro Trossard broke the deadlock, and Thomas Partey added a second in the 77th minute, securing some revenge against the only team to defeat the Gunners twice in the league last season.

Elsewhere, Everton, another relegation candidate, suffered a 4-0 defeat at Tottenham, with Son Heung-Min scoring twice, bringing Everton’s total to seven goals conceded in their first two games. West Ham, meanwhile, earned their first points of the season with a 2-0 away win over Crystal Palace.