London: Petr Cech’s howler rocked Arsenal as they crashed to a shock 1-3 defeat at Swansea, while Liverpool cruised to victory over Huddersfield in EPL matches played Tuesday.
Arsenal goalkeeper Cech’s miscued attempt to clear allowed Jordan Ayew to slot home Swansea’s second goal at the Liberty Stadium. It was the killer blow for Arsenal, who had already seen Sam Clucas equalise just one minute after Nacho Monreal put the visitors ahead from Mesut Ozil’s pass in the 33rd minute.
Clucas claimed his second four minutes from time to finish off Arsenal, who have now won just once in their last five league games.
The result left the Gunners in sixth place, trailing eight points behind fourth-placed Liverpool in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish.
The result also completes remarkable back-to-back victories for Swansea over Liverpool and now Arsenal. They are out of the relegation zone and have transformed their season with three wins in five league games under new boss Carlos Carvalhal.
At the John Smith’s Stadium, Liverpool got back on track in emphatic fashion thanks to goals from Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in a 3-0 win. Jurgen Klopp’s men dominated possession and from the moment Can rocketed home a long-range opener in the 26th minute the result was never in doubt.
Firmino extended Liverpool’s lead on the stroke of half time and Salah completing the scoring from the penalty spot in the 78th minute after Can was tripped up in the box.
Agence France-Presse
