Premier League Round-Up: Liverpool Stay Top, Arsenal Bridge the Gap
Premier League Round-Up: Liverpool Stay Top, Arsenal Bridge the Gap
Liverpool’s Premier League lead has now been reduced to seven points after squandering a three-goal lead to secure just a draw at Newcastle United’s St. James’ Park. Mohamed Salah scored twice and took his goal tally for the season to 15 goals at Anfield but Caoimhinn Kelleher’s blunder in the final minutes gifted Fabian Schar the equalizer. Liverpool, who went into the match as the underdog, had their 15-game winning streak in league and domestic cup competitions under Arne Slot snapped for only the third time of the calendar year at Anfield.
Arsenal Take Advantage
Liverpool’s slip out was well exploited by Arsenal who went on to beat Manchester United 2-0, this was the first loss for Ruben Amorim who was United’s new manager. Two out of the three goals which include a goal by Jurrien Timber and the second goal by William Saliba where from set- pieces and demonstrated Arsenal’s strengths in aerial duels. Manager Mikel Arteta attributed the team’s form to say, “We scored two set-pieces, but we could’ve scored from open play many more.”
Chelsea’s Dominant Display
Chelsea rose to the second place with a comfortable 5-1 victory over a ten-man Southampton. Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, and Jadon Sancho put Southampton to the sword with a devastating display with the icing on the cake being a bizarre red card for Jack Stephens for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.
Manchester City finally escaped the grasp of a record-equaling string of games without a victory.
Kevin De Bruyne came back and spearheaded Manchester City to a 3-0 victory against Nottingham Forest to break the seven-game losing streak. De Bruyne set up Bernardo Silva and put in a goal himself before a Jeremy Doku goal to make it 5-2. Manager Pep Guardiola hailed the performance of the Belgian, adding that the result was the team’s way of ending their struggling streak.
Other Results
The Bosman cleared its winless record with a 3-1 win over Brentford after goals from Morgan Rogers, Olufela Olamide, and Matty Cash.
Everton won 4-0 against Wolves helped by two own goals by Craig Dawson helping Everton to 5 points away from the relegation zone.
The fascinating matchday has established the battle line and will see the league entering the half-way move with plenty to fight for.