Soccer-Fernandes spares Man United blushes, Chelsea top, Spurs sunk by Bournemouth


Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Burnley - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - August 30, 2025 Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo celebrates scoring their second goal with teammate Bruno Fernandes REUTERS/Peter Powell

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Bruno Fernandes eased the pressure on Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim with a stoppage-time penalty to earn his side a 3-2 victory over Burnley after Chelsea moved top of the Premier League table with 2-0 home win over Fulham on Saturday.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered their first major setback under new manager Thomas Frank as they lost 1-0 at home to Bournemouth while Everton picked up their second win as they defeated pointless Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2.

Sunderland's bright start to life back in the top flight continued as they beat Brentford 2-1 at home.

Manchester United's humiliating League Cup defeat by fourth-tier Grimsby Town had seen the dark clouds descend again over Old Trafford after big-money signings had sparked optimism.

With only one point from their opening two games in the league, however, it felt like a must-win game against Burnley, especially as they had not lost any of their past 23 games against promoted clubs in the Premier League.

Amorim, whose Premier League win percentage from his first 29 games is less than 25%, apologised again to the fans for the Grimsby debacle in his brief programme notes.

His side dominated early on and took a deserved lead through a Josh Cullen own goal in the 27th minute.

But United's wastefulness in front of goal proved costly as Burnley levelled early in the second half through Lyle Foster. New signing Bryan Mbeumo restored the home side's lead less than two minutes later but a goalkeeping error by Altay Bayındır allowed Jaidon Anthony to equalise again.

Anthony then pulled the shirt of Amad Diallo in the area and four minutes of VAR deliberation eventually awarded a spot-kick which Fernandes dispatched.

"I was frustrated like any Man United fan, we had chances to score more goals, create more chances. Today, the football was fair -- we were the better team," Amorim said.

Opening with two wins, including last week's victory at Manchester City, had offered hope of a bright new dawn for Tottenham under former Brentford boss Frank.

IMPRESSIVE BOURNEMOUTH

But they were outplayed by an impressive Bournemouth side who should have won by a much larger margin than the one goal scored by Evanilson in the fifth minute -- a shot that deflected off Cristian Romero past Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Predictably, Tottenham were booed at fulltime.

"I prefer them not to boo but I understand it was not a good performance today," Frank said. "They have high expectations which I understand. The players put their heart out there but didn't hit our football levels today."

Chelsea rode their luck against Fulham but moved on to seven points with a 2-0 win. Joao Pedro scored his fifth goal in his last five competitive matches to put the hosts ahead and Enzo Fernandez's penalty secured the points in the second half.

Fulham, however, were left seething after teenaged midfielder Joshua King's opener was ruled out after a long VAR check for a supposed foul by Rodrigo Muniz in the build-up.

"How you disallow a goal like that one is unbelievable. Unbelievable," manager Marco Silva told TNT Sports.

"We can talk about many things but I'd prefer to say nothing more, because I'll be punished."

Everton moved to six points as loan signing Jack Grealish made two assists in his side's win at Molineux.

Grealish's headed cross allowed Beto to score after seven minutes before Hwang Hee-chan equalised in the 21st minute.

Everton went back in front when Grealish's reverse pass allowed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to pick out Iliman Ndiaye who celebrated his goal with a wolf pose.

Another Grealish pass saw Dewsbury-Hall make it 3-1 with a shot off the post before Rodrigo Gomes scored a consolation for the hosts who have now lost three from three.

Sunderland, back in the top flight after an eight-year absence, joined Everton on six points as Wilson Isidor headed a stoppage-time winner to defeat Brentford.

Leeds United host Newcastle United later on Saturday and champions Liverpool entertain title rivals Arsenal on Sunday.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)

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