Arsenal's David Luiz Commits Blunder, Penalty Leading to Two Manchester City Goals

David Luiz gifted Raheem Sterling the opener and was sent off after committing a penalty that gave Kevin De Bruyne Man City's second.

The Premier League held its first matches since March 9 on Wednesday, but the league's return wasn't exactly a happy occasion for Arsenal defender David Luiz.

The 33-year-old Brazilian was largely responsible for Manchester City's first goal of the afternoon after failing to clear a Kevin De Bruyne pass toward his own goal. The ball deflected off of Luiz and landed right in front of Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling, who took advantage of the mistake and ripped home a close-range blast just before halftime. Luiz's struggles would continue shortly after the restart.

The first goal of the resumed Premier League season belongs to Manchester City's Raheem Sterling! #MyPLSummer pic.twitter.com/2c6YiQBIV0

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) June 17, 2020

Luiz was sent off in the 49th minute after fouling Riyad Mahrez and conceding a penalty, which set up De Bruyne for a penalty kick. The Belgian converted the opportunity with ease, extending the club's lead to 2-0.

From the spot, no mistake.

Kevin De Bruyne doubles the City lead! #MyPLSummer pic.twitter.com/gLKyjgdL5G

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) June 17, 2020

Luiz didn't need much time to commit his pair of errors on Wednesday. He didn't start the match vs. Manchester City, entering the game off the bench for the injured Pablo Mari in the 24th minute. According to statistics outfit Opta, he's the first player since West Ham's Carl Jenkinson in 2015 to commit a penalty, be sent off and commit an error that led to his opponent scoring.

2015 - David Luiz is the first player to be sent off, concede a penalty and commit an error leading to an opposition goal in a Premier League match since Carl Jenkinson for West Ham vs Bournemouth in August 2015. Hat-Trick. #MCIARS pic.twitter.com/zpLK6yDfxm

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 17, 2020

Arsenal entered Wednesday's match ninth in the Premier League with 40 points. Man City is second, though the club still trails Liverpool by a whopping 22 points. The 3-0 win over Arsenal means that Liverpool cannot clinch the title–its first in 30 years–in its first match back on Sunday and remains six points away–or a combination of a win and a Man City loss–from doing so.