By Canadian Press

Chelsea tops Arsenal in EPL thriller, Kane ends August curse

Aug 18, 2018 | 12:58 PM

Chelsea and Arsenal served up a feast of goals in a thrilling London derby in the Premier League.

Across the capital, Harry Kane was happy with just the one goal to end his August hoodoo in England’s top division.

Chelsea scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, conceded twice before halftime and had a late winner through Marcos Alonso in a 3-2 victory over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

In a game between teams with newly hired managers, Maurizio Sarri will be delighted with the attacking spark his Chelsea team has shown in the opening two games of the Premier League. It also scored three times in a win against Huddersfield last week.

But it’s two straight losses for Arsenal manager Unai Emery, whose side is showing the same defensive frailties as it did in the final seasons of predecessor Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign.

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After 15 games and more than 1,000 minutes, Kane finally scored a top-flight goal in August to seal Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Fulham at Wembley Stadium.

Spurs have also won their first two games after an off-season when they didn’t buy a single player.

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SARRI-BALL

Sarri arrived at Chelsea promising to bring some fun after a difficult end to the tenure of previous manager, Antonio Conte. He is doing just that.

Leaving gaps at the back but attacking in waves, Chelsea has been a thrill to watch in the opening two weekends — much different to the often cagey approach of fellow Italian Conte.

Pedro Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata exploited Arsenal’s high line to put Chelsea 2-0 up against Arsenal, which wasted a string of great chances at the other end before scoring twice in a five-minute span through Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi.

Alonso swept in a cut-back from substitute Eden Hazard for the winner.

KANE CURSE OVER

Kane was fully aware of his August woes — he made reference to it in a Twitter post last season after scoring in his first game in September — and the England international failed to score in the 2-1 win at Newcastle last week in Tottenham’s opening game.

With only one more game left this August, at Manchester United, it looked like the curse might continue after Kane volleyed a shot against the post in the 71st minute against Fulham.

His goal came six minutes later when he took a pass from Erik Lamela on the left of the penalty area, cut inside, and bent a low shot into the corner.

Brazilian winger Lucas Moura and Kieran Trippier, off a shot from a free kick, had already scored for Tottenham, with Aleksandar Mitrovic making it 1-1 for Fulham just after halftime while sitting on the ground.

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VARDY RED CARD

Jamie Vardy was sent off on his first start of the season for Leicester but the team still eased early-season pressure on manager Claude Puel with a 2-0 victory over newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The England striker was handed a straight red card for a strong tackle on Wolves right back Matt Doherty, who had earlier scored an own-goal to give Leicester the lead.

Leicester doubled the lead through James Maddison, leaving Wolves without a win so far.

RAMPANT RICHARLISON

Paying up to $65 million for a 21-year-old Brazilian with one inconsistent season in the Premier League behind him seemed a gamble by Everton.

Two games in, however, and Richarlison is looking a bargain.

He scored his third goal of the season to help Everton beat Southampton 2-1 for its first win of the season. Richarlison netted twice against Wolves on the opening weekend.

Theo Walcott set up Richarlison for his headed goal and also scored himself for Everton at Goodison Park. Offseason signing Danny Ings pulled a goal back for Southampton.

OTHER GAMES

An off-season of heavy spending and the recruitment of Premier League-winning manager Manuel Pellegrini hasn’t done much to improve West Ham’s fortunes.

The London club lost for the second straight game, beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth after taking the lead through Marko Arnautovic’s penalty. Callum Wilson, after a mazy dribble, and Steve Cook replied for Bournemouth, which has maximum points after defeating promoted side Cardiff last week.

Kenedy missed an injury-time penalty for Newcastle in a 0-0 draw at Cardiff in the other game Saturday.

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More AP Premier League coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/PremierLeague

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press