Mohamed Salah rescued Liverpool as the Egypt star’s late equaliser earned a pulsating 2-2 draw against Premier League title rivals Arsenal while West Ham United piled more pressure on beleaguered Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag with a dramatic 2-1 win on Sunday.

Cole Palmer inspi­red Chelsea to a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 1-0 at Crystal Palace, who picked up their first win of the season.

Arne Slot’s side were on the brink of only their second defeat this season until Salah netted with nine minutes left at the Emirates Stadium.

Liverpool had fallen behind to Bukayo Saka’s early opener and, although Virgil van Dijk equalised, Mikel Merino put Arsenal back in front before half-time.

Salah’s eighth goal in 13 games in all competitions this season was aided by Arsenal’s latest rash of injuries, with defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber both forced off in the second half.

Manchester City were the real winners on Sunday as the draw in north London ensured they finished the weekend on top of the Premier League.

Unbeaten City, who beat South­ampton 1-0 on Saturday, are one point ahead of second-placed Live­r­pool, with third-placed Arsenal sitting five points adrift of top spot.

It was only the second time Liverpool had failed to win since Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp in the close-season, starting his Anfield reign with 12 victories from 13 games in all competitions.

Even so, Liverpool will be happier with the point after showing impressive resolve to twice come from behind against a fellow title contender.

Arsenal were left to lick their wounds after the defensive injuries that left them fatally exposed.

They were already without Ricc­ardo Calafiori, sidelined by an injury suffered against Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek, while William Saliba served a suspension following his dismissal in last weekend’s loss at Bournemouth.

Mikel Arteta’s side have now gone two league games without a win, leaving them with only three victories in their last seven top-flight matches in a major setback to their hopes of a first title since 2004.

Earlier on Sunday, Ten Hag was left to rue a familiar lack of ruthlessness as United’s fourth league defeat in nine games will spark further speculation on how long he will be given to turn the Red Devils’ fortunes around.

The visitors should have been out of sight by half-time at the London Stadium.

Alejandro Garnacho hit the woodwork inside two minutes and Edson Alvarez also headed off his own crossbar.

But it was Diogo Dalot who mis­sed the biggest chance when the Portuguese international somehow fired over with the goal gaping after rounding Lukasz Fabianski.

Under-fire West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui showed his disgust with the Hammers’ first-half display by making three substitutions at the break.

Crysencio Summerville was one of those introduced and he slid in to open the scoring against the run of play on 74 minutes.

Casemiro brought United level nine minutes from time with a header from point-blank range.

But there was late drama when VAR intervened for a foul on Danny Ings by Matthijs de Ligt.

Jarrod Bowen smashed in the resulting spot-kick to take West Ham above United, who sink to 14th in the table.

Meanwhile, Chelsea got back to winning ways with Palmer at the heart of their best work.

Man Utd have held talks with former Barcelona boss Xavi as Erik ten Hag is increasingly close to being sacked at Old Trafford, according to reports.

The Red Devils have made a terrible start to the new Premier League season with Ten Hag’s side currently 12th after eight matches.

Man Utd have won just three of those eight games and that has piled pressure on the Dutchman to turn around their fortunes.

Ten Hag’s side did win their first match back after the international break in a 2-1 victory over Brentford on Saturday, which slightly eased the heat on the Man Utd boss.

But now the Daily Mail claim that the Man Utd hierarchy have been holding talks with former Barcelona boss Xavi as they line up a replacement for Ten Hag.

The Daily Mail reports:

‘Mail Sport understands that intermediaries have made contact with the former Barcelona star twice in the last few months.

‘A four-man delegation led by chief executive Omar Berrada flew out to Barcelona last Thursday, although United sources say that a number of high-level meetings have taken place in the Catalan capital recently because co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been there to support Ineos Britannia sailing team in their battle with New Zealand for the America’s Cup.

‘But it has also fuelled speculation that Xavi could be a contender if Ten Hag is axed after two-and-half years in charge.

‘Ten Hag’s assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy would be an obvious short-term replacement – and Xavi has also made it clear that he doesn’t want to coach in Spain again.

‘United sources maintain that Ten Hag remains their manager and the club have no plans to make a change as he prepares to face Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday.

‘United declined to comment on Tuesday, saying they refuse to engage in speculation over the manager’s future ‘

And former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown – who remains well-connected at Old Trafford – insists that Ten Hag is “always one defeat away” from being sacked.

Brown told Football Insider: “Just winning a few games won’t be enough and he’ll know that.

“You can win three games on the bounce, but one shock defeat and that pressure will be back.

“Every time you lose a game at Manchester United, you’re under the kosh. That’s always been the case. You’re always one defeat away.

“So it’s good to win games, and he needs to win games, that’s the only way he’ll be able to keep his job, but even that might not be enough.

“They’ve got a good run of games coming up, but that only increases the pressure.

“We’ve been in this position before where they get all three points from a game and look like they can push on, but then they lose again.

“All it takes is one loss for the crowd to turn and all of a sudden a decision has to be made.”

Crystal Palace may attempt to make a significant statement of intent by enticing Gareth Southgate into the Selhurst Park hot-seat if they decide to sack Oliver Glasner after an underwhelming start to the season has seen them involved in a relegation battle, GIVEMESPORT sources have revealed.

A 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday, courtesy of Chris Wood’s long-range effort at the City Ground, resulted in the Eagles equalling their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign and it has led to chairman Steve Parish seriously considering whether to make an alteration in the dugout.

Palace’s struggles have come after losing key men Joachim Andersen and Michael Olise during the summer transfer window, with the latter completing a £50million switch to Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich, and Austrian tactician Glasner is desperately seeking an upturn in results as he aims to save his job.

Eagles May Pursue Southgate if Glasner Axed

Palace could try to persuade Southgate to make a return to management if they part ways with Glasner, according to GMS sources, despite there being an awareness that he is not planning to embark on a fresh challenge for a year after resigning as England’s boss following the Euro 2024 final defeat at the hands of Spain.

The 54-year-old already has an existing relationship with the Eagles’ fanbase, thanks to making 117 appearances and chalking up a further 11 goal contributions along the way during his playing career, and Parish has refused to rule out the possibility of attempting to turn his head in the coming weeks.

The former Middlesbrough chief walked away from the England job in July, having been on a contract which allowed him to pocket £5million-per-year, and has been working as a technical observer at UEFA as he carefully plots his next managerial move instead of rushing back into the limelight.

Palace are desperate for Glasner to oversee an improved run of form and remain in his current position instead of being forced to wield the axe, GMS sources have learned, but it is likely that he needs to show progress between now and the next international break after Parish has become increasingly concerned thanks to the winless run and lack of goals.