London: Arsenal strengthened their grip on the Premier League with a 2-0 win away to North London rivals Tottenham.
Arsenal’s win, coupled with the result of the Manchester derby, puts Mikel Arteta’s side eight points clear of Manchester City and nine ahead of Newcastle and Manchester United, reports Xinhua news agency.
The game was only 13 minutes on when Hugo Lloris put Arsenal ahead with the first own goal of his career after he palmed Bukayo Saka’s deflected effort from a narrow-angle into his own net.
Martin Odegaard doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 36th minute, placing a perfect left foot shot wide of Lloris after another surging run from Saka.
Tottenham tried to get back on level terms after the break, but with Aaron Ramsdale in excellent form, Arsenal were generally comfortable and results elsewhere mean Spurs’ top-four hopes have suffered an important setback.
Marcos Rashford’s 16th goal of the season sealed Manchester United’s comeback to beat local rivals Manchester City 2-1 in Saturday’s Manchester derby.
Rashford poked the winning goal home in the 82nd minute four minutes after Bruno Fernandes had canceled out Jack Grealish’s 60th minute header that had given City the lead.
Manchester City appeared in vain for offside in Fernandes’ goal as Rashford had run alongside the ball and seemed to distract both the City defense and keeper before Fernandes scored with a low shot.
Newcastle are level on points with Manchester United in third place and just a point behind Manchester City after Alexander Isak’s 89th minute at home to Fulham.
Newcastle had a big stroke of luck when former striker Aleksandar Mitrovic had a penalty ruled out after he somehow managed to touch the ball twice, resulting in a free kick for Newcastle.
Kai Havertz’s second half header and several good saves from goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga eased the pressure on Chelsea coach Graham Potter, whose side beat Crystal Palace 1-0.
Liverpool continued to struggle and lost what coach Jurgen Klopp described as their “worst” performance 3-0 away to Brighton, who outplayed them from start to finish.
Solly March scored twice and Danny Welbeck added a third as Brighton moved above Liverpool in the league table. March’s goals came in the 46th and 53rd minutes and Welbeck rounded off the win late in the game.
There were protests against the club directors before, during and after the match at Goodison Park where Everton surrendered a lead to lose 2-1 to bottom-of-the-table Southampton.
Andre Onana had put Everton ahead in the 39th minute, but two second-half goals from James Ward-Prowse the second an excellent free kick, gave Southampton their first league win under Nathan Jones and increased the pressure on Everton coach Frank Lampard, who admitted it was a “difficult time,” for the club.
West Ham coach David Moyes is also in danger after West Ham dropped into the bottom three following after Daniel Podence’s 48th goal continued Wolverhampton’s recovery under Julen Lopetegui.
Nottingham Forest are also in the up, with two goals from Brennan Johnson giving them a 2-0 win in the East Midlands derby at home to Leicester City. The win lifts Forest to 13th in the table, while Leicester have lost their last four matches.
Alex Moreno made an impressive debut, but Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez was the hero as Aston Villa beat Leeds United 2-1 to climb the table.
Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia gave Aston Villa a 2-0 lead with goals in the third and 64th minute, with Martinez making a string of saves before Patrick Bamford scored a consolation for Leeds with seven minutes remaining.
IANS
