Arsenal stunned by Bournemouth and Garnacho sparks Man United comeback

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Arsenal blew the chance to go top of the English Premier League after a shock 2-0 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.

In one of the biggest upsets of the burgeoning season, 10-man Arsenal lost for the first time.

Mikel Arteta’s team finished runner-up in the last two years and could have leapfrogged leader Liverpool and defending champion Manchester City in second place with a win at Bournemouth.

But Arsenal’s chances were hit after William Saliba was sent off in the first half at Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth took full advantage with Ryan Christie scoring in the 70th minute and Justin Kluivert converting a penalty nine minutes later.

“It’s hard enough to play here 11 against 11, we made life very difficult for ourselves again," Arteta said. Arsenal's third red card of the season, he added, was “an accident waiting to happen.”

Third-placed Arsenal is a point behind Liverpool and level with City, having played a game more than its rivals, who are both in action on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Manchester United picked up only its third league win by beating Brentford 2-1.

Fourth-placed Aston Villa tightened up the top of the standings by moving to within a point of Liverpool and level with Arsenal after beating Fulham 3-1. Brighton was three points off the pace after winning at Newcastle 1-0.

Tottenham scored three times in eight minutes in a 4-1 win over West Ham.

Red cards are proving costly for Arsenal. This was the third time the London club has been reduced to 10 men and it has yet to win any of those games.

Declan Rice was sent off against Brighton in a 1-1 draw in August and Leandro Trossard saw red in the 2-2 draw with City last month.

“We can’t make silly mistakes," Rice said. “You need all your best players on the pitch at all times.”

Alejandro Garnacho scored from a brilliant volley as United fought back to beat Brentford at Old Trafford.

The Argentina international fired home from a tight angle when connecting with Marcus Rashford’s cross just after halftime.

It sparked a comeback that saw Rasmus Hojlund hit the winner and ease the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

“In this team you see its togetherness and there is a fighting spirit,” Ten Hag said. “And today we add some determination to score goals and that is what we needed.”

United was reeling from its worst season start in the Premier League era heading into Saturday’s game and it looked like being another disappointing day for Ten Hag, who was angered when Ethan Pinnock opened the scoring for Brentford in contentious circumstances in first-half added time.

United defender Matthijs de Ligt was ordered off for medical attention on his bleeding head from a collision. It left the home team down a man as Brentford prepared to take a corner and Pinnock headed over the line in the fifth minute of added time.

United responded quickly after the break thanks to Garnacho’s goal in the 47th.

Hojlund flicked past Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken for the winner in the 62nd.

“We don’t score enough, we are not clinical enough. But today we scored two brilliant goals,” Ten Hag said. “It’s only one win, but it can help us.”

Villa was up to fourth after coming back from going a goal down at Craven Cottage when Raul Jimenez fired Fulham in front in the fifth minute.

Morgan Rogers quickly leveled four minutes later and Ollie Watkins made it 2-1 in the 59th. An Issa Diop own goal in the 69th completed the scoring.

Leading 2-0 after 28 minutes at St Mary’s Stadium, last-placed Southampton looked on course for its first league win.

Leicester had other ideas.

Second-half goals from Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy from the penalty spot, and Jordan Ayew secured an unlikely comeback that left Southampton rooted to the bottom of the table and moved Leicester six points clear of the relegation zone.

Also, Everton extended its unbeaten run to four games by beating winless Ipswich 2-0.

Brighton’s impressive start under coach Fabian Hurzeler continued with the win at Newcastle.

Hurzeler, born in Texas, has made his presence felt in England’s top flight following his appointment in the offseason.

Hurzeler is also working wonders with Danny Welbeck, who scored in the 35th at St James’ Park, his fifth goal of the season.

Tottenham trailed to Mohammed Kudus' 18th-minute goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but powered back with a brilliant second-half performance.

Dejan Kulusevski leveled in the 36th and after the break the home team took control. Yves Bissouma struck in the 52nd and Alphonse Areola scored an own goal three minutes later.

Son Heung-min added a fourth on the hour mark.

West Ham was reduced to 10 men in the 86th when Kudus was sent off for pushing Micky van de Ven in an angry confrontation.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

AFC Bournemouth players celebrate after Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert scored his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Bournemouth's Ryan Christie celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Ben White, centre, reacts disappointed after the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Ipswich Town's Sammie Szmodics is challenged by Everton's Ashley Young, left, and Jack Harrison, right, during the English Premier League soccer match between Ipswich Town and Everton at Portman Road, Ipswich, Saturday Oct. 19, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez celebrates in front of the fans after the final whistle in the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Aston Villa at Craven Cottage, London, Saturday Oct. 19, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's Amadou Onana celebrates their side's third goal of the game, via an own-goal scored by Fulham's Issa Diop during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Aston Villa at Craven Cottage in London, Saturday Oct. 19, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the game , during the English Premier League soccer match between Southampton and Leicester City, at St Mary's Stadium, in Southampton, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Matthijs de Ligt reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag applauds to supporters before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Fans watch from the stands during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho reacts after missing a chance to score during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag, right, and Brentford's head coach Thomas Frank react during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min, left, celebrates scoring with fans during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday Oct. 19, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Tottenham Hotspur's Dejan Kulusevski, center, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday Oct. 19, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

HAVANA (AP) — Some electricity was restored in Cuba, the government said Saturday, after the island nation's worst blackout in at least two years kicked in when a major power plant failed and left millions without electricity for two days.

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the country had 500 megawatts in its electrical grid early Saturday, compared to the 3 gigawatts that are normally generated. He posted on the social media platform X that “several substations in the west now have electricity.”

O Levy also said two thermoelectric power plants are back and two more will resume their operations “in the next few hours.”

About half of Cuba was plunged into darkness on Thursday evening, followed by the entire island on Friday morning after the plant failed.

Havana's electricity company said in a statement earlier Saturday that a part of its western system was disconnected “after the exit of one of the plants that was delivering service.” That issue has left some parts of the city in the dark once again, with the total megawatts dropping from 500 to 370.

The streets of Cuba's capital, where 2 million people live, were quiet on Saturday, with few cars driving by after a night that was lit by candles and lamps. The impact of the blackout goes beyond lighting, as services like water supply also depend on electricity to run pumps.

The blackout was considered to be Cuba's worst in two years, after a Category 3 hurricane damaged power installations and it took days for the government to fix them. This year, some homes have spent up to eight hours a day without electricity.

Besides the Antonio Guiteras plant, whose failure on Friday affected the entire national system, Cuba has several others and it wasn’t immediately clear whether they remained functional.

There is no official estimate for when the blackout will end. Even in a country that is used to outages as part of a deepening economic crisis, Friday’s collapse was massive.

The Cuban government has announced emergency measures to slash electricity demand, including suspending school and university classes, shutting down some state-owned workplaces and canceling nonessential services. Officials said that 1.64 gigawatts went offline during peak hours, about half the total demand at the time.

Local authorities said the outage, which started on a small scale Thursday, stemmed from increased demand from small- and medium-sized companies and residential air conditioners. Later, the blackout got worse due to breakdowns in old thermoelectric plants that haven’t been properly maintained and the lack of fuel to operate some facilities.

Changes to electricity rates for small- and medium-sized companies, which have proliferated since they were first authorized by the communist government in 2021, are also being considered.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Residents pass the time during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A woman prepares to catch a tossed frisbee during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)