Newcastle, Aug 22 (IANS): Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva scored in the second half as defending champions Manchester City survived a scare, before coming back strongly to hold Newcastle United 3-3 at the St James' Park in Premier League 2022-23 clash on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's City staged a stirring second-half fightback, scoring two goals inside four minutes, to claim a dramatic 3-3 draw at Newcastle in what was a classic Premier League encounter.

In a clash that had everything, the champions had raced into a fifth-minute lead through Ilkay Gundogan only for the Magpies to go ahead before the break thanks to goals from Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson.

A spectacular Kieran Trippier free-kick on 54 minutes further extended Newcastle's advantage before two quickfire strikes from Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva either side of the hour brought Manchester City back level.

Guardiola's side also saw Haaland hit the post and carve out several other chances but, ultimately, had to settle for a share of the spoils in what was a thrilling and absorbing clash in which both teams had their chances of winning.

West Ham go down 2-0

In another early match on Sunday, Brighton and Hove Albion maintained their great start to the season by claiming three points by beating West Ham United 2-0 at the London Stadium.

A first-half penalty by Alexis MacAllister gave Albion the lead and after soaking up a spell of pressure at the start of the second period, they again struck clinically on the counter through Le'ndro Trossard's composed finish in the 66th minute.

There were other chances too as Brighton and Hove Albion stretched their outstanding Premier League run to one defeat in 11, dating back to the end of last season.

They also maintained their outstanding record against the Hammers, who have now failed to beat them in 11 Premier League encounters.

The two early results on Sunday leave Manchester City in the second position with seven points from three matches (two wins, one draw) while Brighton and Hove Albion were placed fifth with the same number of points.

Arsenal lead the table with nine points from three wins. City are tied on seven points with Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Albion.