LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season ended Saturday with a startling 2-1 defeat at last-place Wolverhampton.
The upset came on the highest-scoring day in Premier League history, with 41 goals from eight games.
United had been unbeaten in 29 Premier League matches since April, equaling a club record partly set in its triple championship season of 1998-99 season.
Nani put league-leading United ahead in the third minute but George Elokobi and Kevin Doyle scored before halftime for the Wolves.
“We didn’t get going really in the second half today,” United manager Alex Ferguson said.
Manchester United’s Rafael Da Silva (left) and Wolverhampton’s Matt Jarvis vie for the ball. (AFP-Yonhap News)
Second-place Arsenal was unable to take full advantage of United’s defeat, squandering a 4-0 halftime lead to draw 4-4 at Newcastle. United is four points ahead of Arsenal.
Carlos Tevez scored all of Manchester City’s goals in a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, and Louis Saha hit four as Everton beat Blackpool 5-3.
U.S. star Clint Dempsey scored his 10th goal of the season, a header in the 78th minute in Fulham’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa; Niko Kranjcar’s injury-time winner gave Tottenham a 2-1 win over Bolton; Stoke topped Sunderland 3-2; and Wigan beat Blackburn 4-3 to climb out of the relegation zone.
Tottenham is even on points with fourth-place Chelsea, which hosts Liverpool in one of two games Sunday.
Spain
Barcelona earned a record 16th straight win in the Spanish league by beating Atletico Madrid 3-0 with a Lionel Messi hat trick on Saturday.
The historic win provisionally lifted Barcelona 10 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table ahead of its fierce rival’s match against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Messi decided the contest with two goals before the half-hour mark and added a third in the second half.
Barcelona’s streak surpassed the 15 wins by Alfredo Di Stefano’s Real Madrid 50 years ago. “It is an honor for this team to have surpassed a record that had stood for so long,” Messi said.
Pep Guardiola’s team has outscored its opponents 60-6 during the winning run that is the 10th longest in European history.
Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores left striker Diego Forlan out of the starting 11 and reinforced his midfield with former Barcelona youth academy product Fran Merida.
