Sunday briefing: Liverpool lose again and Lionesses fail to roar against Brazil

Liverpool’s title defence appears to be in jeopardy after a fourth Premier League defeat of the season, 3-2 at Brentford, left them in sixth place.

Sunderland maintained their remarkable start to the season following promotion as Chemsdine Talbi’s stoppage-time winner stunned Chelsea 2-1 and Manchester United made it three straight league wins by beating bogey team Brighton 4-2 at Old Trafford.

England Women’s first match since their Euro 2025 triumph ended in defeat to 10-player Brazil at the Etihad Stadium.

Liverpool’s title defence takes another hit after Brentford loss

Liverpool’s Premier League title defence already appears in tatters after a damaging 3-2 defeat at Brentford.

Goals from Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago inflicted a fourth straight loss on Arne Slot’s increasingly rattled Reds.

Milos Kerkez pulled one back and Mohamed Salah ended his recent goal drought, but the champions are still in the doldrums with summer signings Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike quiet again.

Liverpool are now down in sixth place, behind Bournemouth, Manchester United and Sunderland among others, and could find themselves seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal by the end of the weekend.

Chemsdine Talbi’s late strike stuns Chelsea

Chemsdine Talbi struck a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Sunderland stunned Chelsea with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge to climb up to second in the Premier League.

The 20-year-old Morocco international strode unmarked into the box to sweep home after Brian Brobbey had held the ball up all on his own against two defenders, sparking delirious scenes amongst away supporters in the Shed End.

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has now led his team to the best start made by a newly-promoted team for 17 years, after a fifth win in nine games continued their astonishing acclimatisation to the top flight.

Ruben Amorim: It would not be Man Utd without suffering

Ruben Amorim joked “it would not be Manchester United without suffering a little bit” after his side survived a late scare on their way to sealing an important 4-2 victory against bogey team Brighton.

The Red Devils had lost six of their previous seven Premier League meetings with the Seagulls, who ended up empty-handed despite a late push having fallen behind to Matheus Cunha’s first United goal, a deflected Casemiro effort and Bryan Mbeumo’s second-half drive.

Danny Welbeck’s free-kick and a stoppage-time header from Charalampos Kostoulas made for a nervy conclusion, only for Mbeumo’s second to secure a deserved third straight win.

Amorim said: “It was really important (to win again), also the performance. We suffer a little bit in the end, but it would not be Manchester United without suffering a little bit!

“But I think we deserved the win against a very, very good team, a team that is really hard to press really high but we did well.”

Sarina Wiegman says lessons will be learnt after Brazil defeat

Sarina Wiegman felt lessons would be learnt after England suffered defeat in their first match since their Euro 2025 triumph.

Playing their first match since their latest tournament triumph in the summer, Wiegman’s side paid the price for a poor start as they were undone by early strikes from Bia Zaneratto and Dudinha.

The sending-off of Brazil captain Angelina after just 21 minutes gave England a way back in but Georgia Stanway’s second-half penalty was all they had to show for a spirited response.

Wiegman said: “Of course you hope for another result but I think this was a very good game to start with again after the Euros against a very good opponent.

“A South American opponent was really what we wanted because that’s different, more emotional, more extrovert. It’s good for us to have that in front of us. They played very direct.”

What’s on today?

Arsenal will bid to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League with victory over London rivals Crystal Palace, while Manchester City play at Aston Villa in two of five top-flight fixtures.

In Scotland, Hearts take on Celtic in a Scottish Premiership top-of-the-table clash at Tynecastle and new Rangers boss Danny Rohl is aiming to make a winning start in his first domestic game in charge against Kilmarnock.