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EFL: Sterling Nets First Arsenal Goal As Liverpool Crushes Past West Ham
Raheem Sterling scored his first Arsenal goal, and Jack Porter became the club’s youngest-ever starter in a 5-1 rout of Bolton in the League Cup on Wednesday, while Liverpool reached the last 16 with a 5-1 win against troubled West Ham.
Sterling made his first start for Arsenal after transferring from Chelsea on deadline day, scoring in the second half of the third-round match at the Emirates Stadium.
The 29-year-old will hope his goal marks the start of a career revival after a disappointing two-year spell at Chelsea.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta had made seven changes from Sunday’s stormy 2-2 draw at Premier League champions Manchester City, including giving goalkeeper Porter his record-breaking debut in place of the injured David Raya.
At just 16 years and 72 days old, Porter became the youngest player to start for Arsenal, breaking the previous record held by Cesc Fabregas, who was 16 years and 177 days old when he played against Rotherham in 2003.
Porter was Arsenal’s second youngest-ever player overall after Ethan Nwaneri, who was 15 years and 181 days old when he made his debut in 2022.
Declan Rice put Arsenal ahead in north London after 16 minutes with a clinical finish from the edge of the area for his first goal this season.
In a fitting moment on Porter’s record-setting day, Nwaneri scored his first goal for the club, extending Arsenal’s lead in the 37th minute.
The 17-year-old forward celebrated his first Arsenal start with a close-range finish from Sterling’s cross.
Nwaneri struck again four minutes after half-time with a composed strike from 12 yards.
Porter had to pick the ball out of the net for the first time in his Arsenal career in the 53rd minute when Aaron Collins jinked around him and slotted into the empty net.
Sterling scored in the 64th minute, tapping in after Bolton keeper Luke Southwood fumbled Saka’s cross, while Kai Havertz added the fifth goal from close range in the 78th minute.
West Ham Under pressure
At Anfield, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo scored twice as Liverpool’s understudies demolished West Ham to increase the scrutiny on Julen Lopetegui.
Facing pressure after securing just one win in his first five league matches since taking over from David Moyes, former Real Madrid manager Lopetegui made eight changes following the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea last weekend.
Despite spending £120 million on new signings, Lopetegui was jeered by furious fans on Saturday after becoming the first West Ham manager to suffer three consecutive losses at home to start a season.
The Hammers took an unexpected lead in the 21st minute when Kostas Tsimikas’s poorly executed clearance deflected off Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah, resulting in a comical own goal.
Reds manager Arne Slot had made nine changes from Saturday’s win over Bournemouth as Italy forward Federico Chiesa made his first start since his move from Juventus.
And Jota equalized four minutes later, Portugal forward out-jumping West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski to nod in Chiesa’s volley.
Jota struck again in the 49th minute as he exchanged passes with Curtis Jones and drilled past Fabianski.
Mohamed Salah came off the bench to score in the 74th minute with a simple finish after Alexis Mac Allister’s shot was pushed into his path.
West Ham were in disarray and Edson Alvarez was sent off in the 76th minute for a second booking after chopping down Salah.
Adding to Lopetegui’s difficult day, Gakpo struck from 18 yards in the 90th minute before directing a deflected shot past Fabianski moments later.
