Liverpool's speedy attacking unit produced a 3-0 victory at Tottenham on Sunday though Mario Balotelli failed to make a goal-scoring return to the Premier League.

While the former Manchester City striker's finishing was wayward, dazzling forward Raheem Sterling netted the opener inside eight minutes, captain Steven Gerrard scored from a penalty at the start of the second half and defender Alberto Moreno opened his account for Liverpool.

The dismantling of Tottenham was the perfect response by last season's runners-up to losing at Manchester City in the previous game, reasserting their threat without Luis Suarez.

For Mauricio Pochettino, who had opened his Tottenham reign with a pair of victories in both the Premier League and Europa League, the collapse showed the size of the gulf that still exists between the London club and its elite rivals.

Tottenham hadn't even conceded a goal in its opening wins over West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, but Hugo Lloris' goal was under siege from the start by Liverpool.

Balotelli was signed from AC Milan for 16 million pounds ($26.5 million) on Monday to fill the void up front left by Suarez's departure to Barcelona. But the Italy striker was never as menacing at White Hart Lane as Suarez who scored twice in Liverpool's 5-0 win here last season.

Presented with an opening in the 2nd minute, Balotelli's header was parried by Lloris but he couldn't get the follow-up effort on target.

Instead a trio of English players combined for the opener six minutes later.

Jordan Henderson seized possession on the halfway line and released Daniel Sturridge to launch a counterattack down the right flank before the ball was returned to the midfielder. Henderson then squared to Sterling, who was left unmarked by Eric Dier and Younes Kaboul to tap the ball into the net.

It could have been 2-0 in the 11th minute when Sterling played in Sturridge though the center but the striker's effort was wide. Another attempt from Sturridge, after being played in by Balotelli's backheel, was thwarted by Lloris' diving save. And when Lloris was stranded outside the area, Balotelli tried his luck from distance but completely missed the net.

How costly Tottenham's own miss just before half time proved to be. A defensive mix-up presented Nacer Chadli with an opening but he stabbed the ball straight at goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Then, four minutes into the second half, Liverpool was further in front after being awarded a soft penalty when Joe Allen went down after being held back by Dier. Despite Balotelli's presence, Gerrard retained penalty taking duties and sent the spotkick beyond Lloris' reach.

Pochettino waited until the 59th minute to respond with changes, with central defender Mousa Dembele on for Nabil Bentaleb and winger Cristian Eriksen replaced by Andros Townsend.

Inside a minute, Townsend's first contribution was being dispossessed on the half way line by Moreno, who set away on a charge down the left before dispatching the ball into the net.

The damage for Tottenham could have been worse had Sterling's finish matched his skill in waltzing past three Tottenham players.

The convincing win sets up Liverpool to build from a position of strength after the international break, while Tottenham's ambitions will have been dampened.

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Arsenal was frustrated by newcomer Leicester on Sunday, dropping points for the second time in three Premier League games in a 1-1 draw.

Alexis Sanchez followed up his first Champions League goal for Arsenal on Wednesday with his first domestic strike in the 20th minute in central England.

But Leonardo Ulloa headed in Leicester's equalizer inside two minutes to leaveArsenal with one win and two draws from its opening matches of the domestic campaign.

The game underlined Arsenal's need for striking reinforcements as Yaya Sanogo struggled to make an impact. Sanogo was given the responsibility to lead Arsenal'sattack after Olivier Giroud was ruled out until late December with a broken tibia.

"We are open (to signing a striker)," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We work on it but let's not fool ourselves the solution every time you don't win is to buy a player."

But it had been a positive opening at Leicester when Alexis pounced for his first league goals. Neat play saw Santi Cazorla loft the ball to Sanogo and, when the striker made a hash of his effort, the ball fell to Sanchez to smash in from six yards.

The lead lasted just two minutes though as Per Mertesacker allowed Jeff Schlupp to run and his cross was headed into the net by Ulloa from 12 yards.

The striker beat Larent Koscielny to the ball with the France defender still feeling the after-effects of an earlier knock and he was immediately replaced by Calum Chambers.

Sanogo struggled against Leicester's backline with the hosts closing ranks to deny Cazorla and Mesut Ozil space.

David Nugent was busy for Leicester and Chambers was almost caught out by the striker in first-half stoppage time but wriggled free before Riyad Mahrez fired at goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Ulloa continued to threaten after the break and should have fired Leicester ahead. Schlupp's ball dissected Arsenal and when Chambers dived in the striker could only hit the side netting from eight yards (meters).

Arsenal immediately broke and Aaron Ramsey headed straight at goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel with Sanogo waiting for a tap in before the striker himself was thwarted by a smart save.

"We just weren't clinical enough in front of goal to convert the chances into goals," Ramsey said.