EPL Wrap: Arsenal move five points clear at the top as Man City loses to Brentford
Arsenal will go into Christmas with a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League after Martin Odegaard’s double secured victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Though dominating possession, the Gunners looked far from potent in the first half and the best chance fell at the other end when Goncalo Guedes intercepted William Saliba’s backpass but failed to hit the target.
The deadlock was broken ten minutes into the second half when Gabriel Jesus played a ball into the path of substitute Fabio Vieira on the by-line and his dinked centre was turned in by the Gunners skipper.
The Norwegian midfielder’s second goal sealed the win and it came after Wolves stopper Jose Sa had blocked Gabriel Martinelli’s shot with his legs, but the follow up proved impossible to keep out.
Ivan Toney’s double ensured Brentford handed defending champions Manchester City their first home defeat on Saturday in their final Premier League game before the World Cup break.
Left out of England’s squad for Qatar, Toney made the most of a bright start by Brentford, breaking the deadlock in the 16th minute when Ben Mee headed back across the box and Toney sent a looping header over Ederson and into the net.
City improved as the half wore on and levelled seconds before the interval when Phil Foden lashed a rising shot beyond David Raya. The home side dominated following the interval but found it difficult to break down a resilient visiting rearguard.
Toney looked like he had passed up the chance to secure a shock win when he could not squeeze a shot beyond Ederson but minutes later grabbed the winner.
Newcastle continued their impressive run as they pipped Chelsea 1-0 at St. James’ Park – a result which put the Magpies back in third in the Premier League ahead of the break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Chelsea were forced to make an early substitution in the seventh minute, as a calf issue forced Ruben Loftus-Cheek off for Thiago Silva.
After recess, The home team continued to push and they were rewarded for their efforts in the 67th minute. Almiron received the ball out wide on the right and took the ball inwards. He took a touch too heavy on the edge of the area, straight in the path of Willock, who passed in a powerful shot past Edouard Mendy and into the back of the net.
Potter then made a triple change, bringing on Marc Cucurella, Kai Havertz, and Hakim Ziyech, and while the visitors saw more of the ball in the last quarter of the match, they were unable to make it count.
With seven minutes of added time, things started to get tense as Nick Pope got carded for time wasting, while Sean Longstaff saw yellow for a tactical foul on Cucurella. Jamal Lascelles even got booked despite not being on the pitch for trying to stop Chelsea from taking a throw-in.
After the final whistle, players from both teams went at it, and the referee was forced to take names down for post-match warnings. Despite the nervy ending, the home side were clearly just happy with the three points.
Liverpool ended a disappointing first part of the season with victory over Southampton with goals from Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino as they temporarily at least, move up to sixth and a point away from a Champions League spot.
Rodrigo Bentancur was the hero as Spurs came from behind three times to win a breath-taking match 4-3 against Leeds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The result sees Antonio Conte’s side avoid a third defeat in a week while Leeds were involved in a second seven-goal thriller in as many games having beaten Bournemouth by the same scoreline a week earlier..
Leicester City claimed their third successive victory on the road with a 2-0 win at West Ham – but it came at a cost as England’s James Maddison limped off with an injury just days before the start of the World Cup.
Maddison marked his surprise inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad with a goal after just eight minutes at the London Stadium before he picked up a knock and was replaced by Dennis Praet
The Foxes are up to 12th in the Premier League table after Harvey Barnes sealed the win in the 78th-minute following a rapid counterattack.
Defeat leaves David Moyes’ side 16th, just a point adrift of the relegation zone, level on points with 17th-placed Everton.
Nottingham Forest are off the bottom of the table and up to 18th following a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
The only goal of the game at the City Ground came nine minutes after the restart through Morgan Gibbs-White, whose header was finally given the green light following a lengthy VAR check.
Palace had earlier missed a golden chance to take the lead with Wilfried Zaha dragging his penalty wide, as Patrick Vieira’s side missed the chance to climb into the top half and remain 11th.