By Canadian Press

Liverpool wins again despite Adrian mistake; Pukki hat trick

Aug 17, 2019 | 10:03 AM

An embarrassing mistake by goalkeeper Adrian failed to stop Liverpool racking up a second straight win to open the Premier League, and Norwich hat-trick star Teemu Pukki enhanced his reputation as a potential sensation of the new English season.

Liverpool beat Southampton 2-1 Saturday but was forced to hang on for victory following Adrian’s 83rd-minute mistake, when he kicked a clearance straight at Danny Ings and saw the ball rebound into the net.

Less than three days earlier, Adrian had been Liverpool’s penalty-shootout saviour as the team beat Chelsea to win the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul. He was injured by a fan in the post-shootout celebrations but was declared fit to play against Southampton.

Liverpool, which had goals through Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino at St. Mary’s Stadium, recorded a club-record 11th straight Premier League win after opening the season with a 4-1 triumph over Norwich, which made amends a week later thanks to Pukki.

The Finland striker had impressed against Liverpool with his movement, even scoring a late consolation at Anfield, and added three more goals in the 3-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday to rise atop the early scoring charts. He scored 29 goals in the second-tier League Championship last season and is already looking like he could reach that number at the highest level.

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another player to have scored in each of the first two Premier League rounds, having grabbed the winner in Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Burnley.

Arsenal joined Liverpool on a maximum six points.

Everton beat Watford 1-0 through Bernard’s first-half goal, while Bournemouth won 2-1 at Aston Villa. Brighton and West Ham drew 1-1.

Champion Manchester City hosts Tottenham in the late game.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press