Tag: Aston Villa

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Tottenham roars back to draw with Man City and do Arsenal a favor in Premier League title race

Tottenham did fierce rival Arsenal a huge favor in the Premier League title race on Sunday.

Dominik Solanke scored a second-half double — including one from an outrageous scorpion kick — as Spurs came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with second-place Manchester City, leaving Arsenal with a six-point lead with 14 games left.

It was almost the perfect day for the leaders, with Aston Villa — the other title contender — losing 1-0 at home to 10-man Brentford.

Villa stayed seven points adrift of Arsenal and was in danger of being reeled in by fourth-place Manchester United, which scored a stoppage-time winner through Benjamin Sesko to beat Fulham 3-2 for a third straight league win under new manager Michael Carrick.

Having already overseen victories over City and Arsenal in his short tenure, Carrick appears to have the magic touch at revitalized United.

The same cannot be said of Pep Guardiola at the moment.

This was a huge wasted opportunity for Guardiola’s City, which was up against a heavily depleted Tottenham team and was cruising 2-0 ahead at halftime thanks to goals by Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo. At times, it was almost too easy for City in front of an apathetic home crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

City then collapsed as a revitalized Tottenham fought back. Solanke bundled in Spurs’ first goal — appearing to kick the back of Marc Guehi’s leg, resulting in the ball dribbling over the line — and then grabbed the equalizer with a deft, flying back-flick that looped over City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the corner.

“The first half was difficult — we couldn’t get near them at times,” Solanke said. “The second half was a different story. In the second half, we were great and grew with confidence and belief.”

In the last five games, City has looked vulnerable in losing twice — to United and tiny Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League — and now spluttering against an injury-hit Tottenham.

“It is a setback but we are still there,” Guardiola said. “There are 14 games to go and a lot of points. We will see.”

Arsenal, a 4-0 winner at Leeds on Saturday, might not have a better chance to end its league title drought stretching back to 2004.

Villa played for more than half the match with an extra man after Brentford winger Kevin Schade’s straight red card for kicking out at Matty Cash in the 42nd minute after they had challenged for the ball.

In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Dango Ouattara escaped down the right and scored at the second attempt for what proved to be only goal as Brentford weathered a second-half onslaught.

United squandered a two-goal lead earned by goals from Casemiro and Matheus Cunha, with Raul Jimenez — via a penalty — and Kevin scoring to bring Fulham briefly level at Old Trafford.

There was still time for Bruno Fernandes to send over a cross that was controlled by Sesko before he swiveled to curl home a finish in front of the Stretford End.

“It’s the best feeling, I have to say,” Carrick said about the kind of late winners United scored so often under his old manager, Alex Ferguson. “People leave here with more than just, ‘United won today.’ It’s layers on top of that, the emotion and the feeling, and it’s why we all love it so much.”

The match took place after a protest by around 500-600 United fans unhappy at the ownership of the 20-time champions, but the team is finally in a decent league position — fourth place — in its bid to return to the Champions League.

United is five points behind Villa with 14 rounds remaining.

Also Sunday, Crystal Palace — without star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta ahead of his possible move to AC Milan — drew 1-1 at 10-man Nottingham Forest, which had Neco Williams sent off in the 45th minute for a handball on the line. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal stretches Premier League lead

Arsenal fought back from a goal down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 on Saturday, stretching their lead at the top of the Premier League as Aston Villa extended their winning run at home.

A goal from Gabriel Magalhaes and two from the returning Declan Rice sent the Gunners six points clear of second-placed Villa and seven ahead of Manchester City.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised the character of his team, singling out Rice and Gabriel, whose sloppy pass set up Bournemouth for the opening goal.

“I love the character of Gabriel, the way he overcome that situation — it’s just unbelievable, it says a lot about how much we’ve grown,” he told Sky Sports. “The team found a way to beat them and it’s a massive win.”

The Spaniard said that Rice had worked hard to be available after missing Tuesday’s 4-1 home win against Villa with a knee problem.

“He has stretched himself to the very limit and the team were awarded with two great goals,” he added.

Evanilson gave impressive Bournemouth an early lead, stroking home after Gabriel’s error but the Brazil defender made up for his mistake just minutes later, converting after Noni Madueke’s drive to the byline.

England midfielder Rice side-footed the Gunners ahead in the 54th minute from the edge of the area and gave them breathing space with about 20 minutes to go, producing a low finish from substitute Bukayo Saka’s cutback.

Junior Kroupi brought Bournemouth back into the game with a thunderous right-footed finish but Arsenal held on for a fifth straight Premier League win — keeping them firmly on course for a first English title since 2004.

Earlier, Unai Emery’s Villa bounced back from their chastening defeat at Arsenal to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1, recording their 11th consecutive home win in all competitions.

England forward Ollie Watkins gave Villa a deserved lead on the cusp of half-time with a powerful strike from just outside the area and John McGinn scored twice in the second half, either side of a Morgan Gibbs-White goal.

Villa boss Emery said his players and coaching staff had held a meeting after their drubbing at the Emirates Stadium.

“I am so happy,” he said. “We had to recover our energy and our confidence. Here, at Villa Park, the energy we create was really important.

“Forest are competitive. After the Arsenal match we met — the players and staff — (and discussed) how we are doing this season, how we are feeling, how we needed to keep the same consistency as before, how we needed to be together and strong.”

Sean Dyche’s Forest, who have now suffered four straight league defeats, remain one place above the relegation zone, four points clear of West Ham, who slumped to a damaging 3-0 loss at Molineux. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal will end the year top of Premier League after 4-1 statement win over Villa


Arsenal ensured it will end the year top of the Premier League after beating Aston Villa 4-1 at home in a powerful statement win on Tuesday with all goals scored in the second half.

The fourth goal, scored by substitute Gabriel Jesus one minute after coming on, highlighted the depth of Arsenal’s bench this season and coach Mikel Arteta jubilantly high-fived his assistants at the final whistle.

Victory moved Arsenal five points ahead of Manchester City, which plays at Sunderland on New Year’s Day, and six points clear of third-place Villa.

“It is a beautiful evening. That was a very tough match, as we knew it would be, because they are a top opponent to play against,” Arteta told broadcaster Sky Sports. “The way we started the second half was amazing, we really turned things up and were efficient in everything that we did.”

Arsenal has not won the Premier League since 2004 and the pressure is on Arteta to deliver.

“In 2026, we know what we want,” Arteta said.

Elsewhere, Chelsea drew 2-2 at home to Bournemouth; Newcastle won 3-1 at lowly Burnley; and Manchester United was held 1-1 at home to rock-bottom Wolverhampton.

Struggling West Ham drew 2-2 with visiting Brighton, and Everton won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

No Arsenal player is near the top of the scorers’ charts this season, yet sharing the goals around might just be the team’s strength.

Defender Gabriel Magalhães headed home early in the second half following a corner for set-piece specialist Arsenal, and midfielder Martín Zubimendi netted in the 52nd minute.

Winger Leandro Trossard curled in a fine third from the edge of the penalty area in the 69th and was involved in the fourth goal, curled into the same corner from almost the same spot in the 78th minute by Jesus after Arsenal had launched a superb counterattack from deep.

The win was even more impressive considering Arsenal was missing key midfielder Declan Rice with a knee injury and Villa was playing on the back of 11 straight victories in all competitions.

Gabriel nodded in from close range and was deemed not to have impeded Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez with his elbow.

Zubimendi finished confidently after captain Martin Ødegaard expertly won the ball in midfield and advanced before threading a perfect ball behind Villa’s defense. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal stays top as Man City and Aston Villa apply pressure and Liverpool resurgence continues

Arsenal resisted a late fightback from Brighton on Saturday to keep hold of first place in the Premier League, but Manchester City and Aston Villa are in hot pursuit.

It is a three-way fight at the top with just three points separating first and third in the standings.

City briefly held top spot after a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest, but when Arsenal beat Brighton by the same score later in the day, it returned to the summit with a two-point advantage over Pep Guardiola’s team.

Villa is just a point further back in third after extending its remarkable winning run to 11 games in all competitions with a comeback 2-1 victory at Chelsea.

Villa plays Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday and a win would see it move level on points with the leader at the turn of the year.

Liverpool is up to fourth after its resurgence continued with a 2-1 win of its own against last-place Wolverhampton, which set a new Premier League record for the longest winless run from the start of a season.

Another own goal kept Arsenal at the top of the standings — but it required an outstanding save from David Raya to deny Brighton.

Martin Odegaard gave Mikel Arteta’s team a 14th-minute lead — and when Brighton’s Georginio Rutter headed a wicked Declan Rice corner into his own net seven minutes into the second half, Arsenal was in control.

But nerves began to spread around the Emirates when Diego Gomez pulled a goal back against the run of play in the 64th. Yankuba Minteh then hit a shot that was destined for the top corner until Raya stretched an arm to push it away.

“Their goal changed the momentum a little bit and they pressed us towards the end, but we got the three points and that’s all that matters,” Odegaard said. “Lots of positives and still some things we can improve, but overall a good game and another win.”

Arsenal has become a set piece specialist, but in recent weeks it has benefited from a slew of own goals, with Rutter’s the latest to prove decisive.

It was the fourth time in as many games an opponent has scored an own goal against the league’s frontrunner.

Rayan Cherki kept Manchester City’s title challenge powering on with a late winner at Forest.

The France forward’s 83rd minute strike secured victory at the City Ground to make it six league wins in a row for Guardiola’s team. City is on an eight-game winning run in all.

“Today is a big win,” Cherki told TNT Sports. “I’m proud of the team because this game is very complicated to win.”

It was Cherki’s second goal in three games and fifth overall. He also provided an assist with an intricate pass to Tijjani Reijnders to put City ahead three minutes into the second half.

Omari Hutchinson equalized for relegation-fighting Forest, which was holding out for a crucial point until Cherki fired through a crowded box for the winner.

Guardiola, who has won 12 league titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, looks like a man who believes his team is ready to regain the crown it surrendered to Liverpool last season. He joined in the celebrations with the traveling fans after the final whistle — acting conductor as they celebrated wildly after another win.

“When we won a lot of titles in Barcelona, Bayern Munich, here, you have a lot of games of this type,” he said. “The body language, how we celebrated, the connection with the fans is there.”

Super sub Ollie Watkins came off the bench and extended Villa’s winning run.

With Unai Emery’s team trailing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to Joao Pedro’s first-half strike, Watkins was sent on to try to salvage something.

And the England striker delivered in emphatic fashion, leveling the game within five minutes of coming on and then heading in the winner in the 84th to stun the home crowd and spark frenzied celebrations among Villa’s traveling supporters.

That’s 12 wins in Villa’s last 13 league games to firmly establish itself as a genuine title contender with Arsenal up next.

“Amazing is the word to sum it up,” Watkins told Sky Sports.

A fourth straight win for Liverpool and another sign that Florian Wirtz is finding his feet in England’s top flight.

Wirtz scored his first Premier League goal since joining the defending champion from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and it proved to be decisive against Wolves.

Wirtz doubled Liverpool’s lead before halftime after Ryan Gravenberch had opened the scoring at Anfield, but Wolves halved the deficit through Santiago Bueno after the break.

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Man City and Aston Villa win to stay in touch with Premier League leader Arsenal

Manchester City and Aston Villa kept the pressure on Premier League leader Arsenal with wins on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest pulled further away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory against Tottenham and Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby after an own-goal from Nick Woltemade.

Arsenal had extended its lead at the top of the standings to five points with a 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. But a day later its closest rivals both responded with victories – second-place City winning 3-0 at Crystal Palace and Villa, in third, twice coming back to beat West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium.

City is two points behind Arsenal and Villa is a point further back.

Beaten by Palace in the FA Cup final last season, City exacted some revenge to take all three points at Selhurst Park.

“They are so strong. Every time we play against them it’s so difficult,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Still, we are not top, but we are learning and after what happened we will be closer in the future.”

Erling Haaland scored his 101st Premier League goal to put City in front late in the first half and he got his second of the match with an 89th-minute penalty. The Norwegian has 36 goals in 27 appearances for club and country in another remarkable scoring season. He is the league’s leading scorer with 17 goals.

Phil Foden got City’s other goal in between Haaland’s double.

Morgan Rogers scored twice in the second half to extend Aston Villa’s winning run to nine-straight games in all competitions and keep Unai Emery’s team on the heels of Arsenal and City.

Villa has lost just one of its last 13 games in the league and won 10 of its last 11, but twice had to come from behind at relegation fighting West Ham.

“We feel unstoppable, but we are making it difficult for ourselves,” Rogers said. “The battle and resilience we have means we know we can get back into it against a good team.

“We want to keep this going, it’s about being confident and I’m feeling good.”

Mateus Fernandes scored the fastest goal in England’s top flight this season when putting the home team 1-0 up after just 29 seconds. But Konstantinos Mavropanos’ own-goal leveled the game eight minutes later.

Jarrod Bowen then gave West Ham the lead at halftime with his second goal in as many games in the 24th.

Rogers leveled the game again five minutes after the break and struck the winner in the 79th.

The pressure is mounting on Tottenham coach Thomas Frank, who was left infuriated after a latest loss.

Spurs have won just one of their last seven games in the league and face defending champion Liverpool at home next week. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal stunned late by Aston Villa; Man City closes gap and Liverpool draws

The Premier League title race was blown open after Aston Villa struck in stoppage time to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Saturday.

Emiliano Buendia scored at the death in a thrilling finish at Villa Park that stunned first-placed Arsenal.

The Gunners’ lead was cut to just two points after second-placed Manchester City beat Sunderland 3-0.

Villa was a point further back in third.

Liverpool’s troubled title defense stumbled again when it dropped more points at Leeds. Arne Slot’s team blew a two-goal lead and conceded in the sixth minute of added time at Elland Road in a 3-3 draw.

Chelsea dropped points for the third game in a row in a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

Buendia’s winner came in the fifth minute of added time. The substitute kept a cool head during a goalmouth scramble, lifting a shot through the crowded box.

“In the manner that happened at the end, (it is) really difficult to take,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports.

It was the third consecutive time Arsenal dropped points away from home after draws with Sunderland and Chelsea. Those results have opened the door to rivals such as City and Villa.

Villa’s ninth win from its last 10 games followed a dire start to the campaign when Unai Emery’s team was winless after its first five.

“At the minute we’re on a great run,” said Matty Cash, who put Villa ahead in the 36th. “We know it’s not even Christmas yet so we have to keep being demanding, keep being consistent, and then we’ll see where it takes us.”

Leandro Trossard was a halftime substitute for Arsenal and he made a quick impact by leveling the game seven minutes later.

Buendia went on in the 87th and proved an inspired substitution.

“We fight until the last minute, the last second, it was a really incredible win,” he said.

Arsenal’s second loss of the season was its first since August at Liverpool.

“We are 18 games unbeaten, and yet still the margin is so small,” Arteta said. “The effort was absolutely there and (we must) use that pain to go again.”

Deep into stoppage time at Leeds, Liverpool was set to move into the top five.

That was until Ao Tanaka arrived at the far post from a corner to deny Slot’s team a much-needed win.

“The only ones to blame is us because we do concede these chances,” Slot told Sky Sports.

Liverpool was poised for just a third league win in 10 games when Hugo Ekitike scored twice in two minutes shortly after halftime. But Leeds responded with its own quickfire double when Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted from the penalty spot and Anton Stach leveled two minutes later.

Dominik Szoboszlai put the visitors in front again in the 80th but when the fourth official indicated nine minutes of added time the home crowd sensed another comeback and Tanaka delivered.

Mohamed Salah was on the bench for a third straight game and the Liverpool icon was an unused substitute. “We have to accept the situation we are in and I make my choices based on that,” Slot said.

Man City will be a familiar sight in Arsenal’s rearview mirror.

In back-to-back campaigns in 2023 and 2024 Arteta watched City chase his team down to win the titles. And it is shaping up to be another fight between them.

Even after four losses in the league, City is just two points behind Arsenal after victory against Sunderland.

“We had the feeling that Arsenal are going to drop few points and if you want to be there you have to win games and that comes from the way you perform — not just a lucky day or lucky action,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.

Ruben Dias, with a brilliant long-range goal, and Josko Gvardiol gave City a 2-0 lead at the break at Etihad Stadium and Phil Foden headed in a third in the second half.

Fourth-placed Chelsea has seen its title challenge stall over the past week after a run of just two points from a possible nine.

Not even the return of Cole Palmer to the starting lineup for the first time since September could inspire the Club World Cup champion at Bournemouth.

To add to a frustrating day, Liam Delap went off in the first half with a shoulder injury.

Bruno Guimaraes scored directly from a corner in Newcastle’s 2-1 win against Burnley.

The midfielder’s wicked cross curled beyond Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka at St James’ Park. Anthony Gordon added a second from the penalty spot in first half stoppage time.

What should have been a comfortable win for Newcastle became nervy after Zian Flemming pulled a goal back with a stoppage time penalty and Burnley threatened an equalizer.

Tottenham got a long-awaited home win in the league after beating Brentford 2-0.

Spurs’ last win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the opening game of the season against newly promoted Burnley. That was followed by six straight winless games in front of its own fans. But that streak was broken by first half goals from Richarlison and Xavi Simons against coach Thomas Frank’s former team.

Everton moved up to fifth after downing Nottingham Forest 3-0. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal extends Premier League lead; Villa surges up to third

Arsenal edged out Brentford 2-0 to restore their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday as in-form Aston Villa beat Brighton 4-3 to climb up to third in the table.

The Gunners failed to hit top form at the Emirates Stadium but did enough to take another step towards a first league title in 22 years thanks to goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka.

Mikel Arteta took the chance to use his strength in depth as Saka, Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber were rested from the start as captain Martin Odegaard made his first start since early October.

Merino maintained his place up front despite Viktor Gyokeres’ return to fitness and rewarded Arteta with another vital goal.

The Spaniard was picked out perfectly by Ben White’s cross and powered in his 11th goal of the season for club and country.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews also heavily rotated, with top scorer Igor Thiago among those left on the bench.

But the Bees still posed the leaders problems and were only denied an equaliser through Kevin Schade’s header by a brilliant save from David Raya against his former club before half-time.

Saka was introduced on the hour mark and the England winger finally made the points safe in stoppage time as his strike had too much power for Caoimhin Kelleher.

Villa produced a stunning fightback against the Seagulls to continue their fine form with an eighth win in nine league games.

The visitors were their own worst enemies in a dreadful start. Jan Paul van Hecke bundled in from a corner after Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot failed to collect. Pau Torres then turned past Bizot into his own net from Jack Hinshelwood’s cross.

Ollie Watkins had scored just once in 19 previous appearances this season but turned the game around with a quickfire double before the break.

The England striker forced in Ian Maatsen’s low cross before latching onto Morgan Rogers’ brilliant through ball to slam past Bart Verbruggen.

Amadou Onana completed the comeback with a back-post header from Matty Cash’s corner before Donyell Malen made it 4-2.

Centre-back Van Hecke curled in his second of the night to set up a tense finale, but Brighton succumbed to their first home defeat of the season.

Wolves suffered an eighth consecutive defeat as Igor Jesus’ header earned Nottingham Forest a 1-0 win at Molineux that moved Sean Dyche’s men four points clear of the relegation zone.

Burnley also remain rooted in the bottom three after Daniel Munoz scored the only goal in a 1-0 win that lifted Crystal Palace up to sixth. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal held by 10-man Chelsea; Isak sets up much-needed Liverpool win and Man United beats Palace

Mikel Merino salvaged a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at 10-man Chelsea as the race for the Premier League title tightened on Sunday.

Arsenal is five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, with Chelsea a point further back in third.

Mikel Arteta’s team was boosted late in the first half at Stamford Bridge when Moises Caicedo was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Merino. But despite being a man down Chelsea went ahead in the 48th minute through Trevoh Chalobah’s header.

Merino equalized in the 59th, but Arsenal couldn’t make its numerical advantage count and dropped points away from home for the second time in successive matches.

Arsenal beat Bayern Munich midweek in the Champions League and Arteta said it had been a positive week though accepted “we should’ve won the game (Sunday), and we haven’t. That’s a learning point for me.”

The result meant Man City was the big winner of the weekend, following Saturday’s late victory against Leeds, which saw Pep Guardiola’s team climb above Chelsea to second in the standings.

“I think that we showed that we are in the right direction,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca told Sky Sports. “We were a much, much better team than them when we were 11 v. 11. Then with 10 players it’s more difficult, but the way they dealt with that situation was outstanding.”

Liverpool got back to winning ways — beating West Ham 2-0 — and Manchester United rallied to a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa is fourth after a 1-0 win against last-placed Wolverhampton, and fifth-placed Brighton won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

Alexander Isak scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool to set up a much-needed win for Arne Slot’s team.

On a day when Mohamed Salah was dropped to the bench, British record signing Isak opened the scoring at the London Stadium. Cody Gakpo got the second for Liverpool, which went into the match on a run of six losses in its last seven league games.

“I am aware that it has been a long time coming and I’ve been trying to get back to my best form,” Isak told Sky Sports. “I am still on the way but I am happy to have that goal.”

Isak, a $170 million signing from Newcastle in the summer, had not scored in his five league games for his new club and only had one goal in 10 games in all. But in the absence of Salah, the Sweden international converted with a first-time effort in the box after 60 minutes to open his Premier League account for the season.

Slot’s bold call to leave out the iconic Salah paid off after the Egypt international’s unconvincing form this season. Slot shook up his attack, with Florian Wirtz and Gakpo alongside Isak.

Isak’s clinical finish into the bottom corner put Liverpool in control and West Ham’s chances were dealt another blow when Lucas Paqueta was sent off in the 84th.

Gakpo converted in the second minute of added time to put the game beyond doubt.

“We have to use this win in a good way, but also be humble because we’ve had a tough time, so one win doesn’t necessarily mean we’re back,” said Isak.

Joshua Zirkzee ended a scoring drought of his own with his first league goal in almost a year.

The Dutch striker hadn’t scored in England’s top flight since a double against Everton on Dec. 1 last year, but ended that streak with a stunning strike at Selhurst Park.

A moment of individual brilliance fired United back into the game in the 54th after Jean-Philippe Mateta put Palace ahead from the penalty spot in the first half.

Collecting the ball in the box, Zirkzee spun and scored from a tight angle for only his eighth goal since joining United from Bologna last year and his first this season.

“Scoring is important but it’s not just the goals,” United coach Ruben Amorim said. “They give confidence but Joshua has also improved a lot in how he holds the ball. That should give him a lot of confidence.”

Mason Mount struck the winner from the edge of the box in the 63rd as United ended Palace’s 12-game unbeaten home run in the league.

Mateta had given Palace the lead with a twice-taken penalty in the 36th. The France international was adjudged to have double-kicked his original spot kick and was directed to retake as per the rule clarification that came in after Julian Alvarez’s accidental double touch in a shootout against Real Madrid last season helped to eliminate Atletico Madrid from the Champions League.

Villa’s Boubacar Kamara scored the only goal of the match to settle the Midlands derby against Wolves.

Wolves remains winless at the bottom of the table and nine points from safety.

Goals from Maxim De Cuyper and Stefanos Tzimas earned fifth-placed Brighton victory at Forest. (JapanToday)

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Man City crushes Liverpool 3-0 in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game

In his 1,000th game as a manager, Pep Guardiola celebrated victory as if it was his first.

Manchester City’s 3-0 triumph over Liverpool on Sunday was win No. 716 for Guardiola and likely one of the most satisfying of his trophy-laden career.

Not only did City totally dominate the defending Premier League champion and one of Guardiola’s fiercest rivals in a career spanning Spain, Germany and England – but the result firmly established his team as a genuine contender for the title this season.

“Thank you to the players and staff for giving me that incredible present (against) the most important opponent in my time here by far,” the City manager said afterward.

City moved up to second in the standings – just four points behind leader Arsenal, with a well-established record when it comes to chasing down Mikel Arteta’s team. It happened in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 and City’s momentum has an ominous feel about it after taking advantage of Arsenal’s surprise 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday.

“In October, November, you don’t win the Premier League. Teams that win the Premier League (are the ones) where everyone in the team is growing. When it grows and grows, you arrive at the end fighting for the title,” Guardiola said. “I have the feeling that we are in that way.”

By contrast, Liverpool, which was the runaway champion just six months ago, is slipping further adrift.

This was a fifth loss in six games after spending more than $400 million in the offseason. The Merseyside club is down to eighth in the standings and eight points off the top.

No wonder Arne, who was mocked by City fans chanting he would be fired in the morning, was in no mood to talk about the title.

“Last season when we were eight points clear it never felt like it was won already,” he said. “At this period of time, as Liverpool manager, I shouldn’t be talking about the top position because our performance needs to be better.”

There is no suggestion that Slot’s position is under any threat, but Liverpool’s form will be a source of concern. So complete was City’s superiority that Liverpool’s morale-boosting win against Real Madrid in the week was put into perspective.

A 3-0 win could easily have been bigger, with Erling Haaland seeing a 13th-minute penalty saved before he headed City in front in the 29th.

Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead when his shot deflected off Virgil van Dijk in first-half stoppage time.

Player of the match Jeremy Doku had tormented Liverpool throughout and he got a deserved goal in the 63rd when whipping in a curled effort from outside the box.

Newcastle fell to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, losing 3-1 at Brentford.

Having lost to West Ham by the same score a week earlier, Eddie Howe’s team once again took an early lead only to squander the points.

Harvey Barnes fired the visitors ahead at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Newcastle was stunned by a second-half fightback from Brentford and ended the match with 10 men after Dan Burn was sent off.

Kevin Schade leveled in the 56th, following Barnes’ goal in the 27th.

Burn was sent off when bringing down Dango Ouattara in the box and Igor Thiago converted from the spot.

Thiago got his second in stoppage time to seal the win, which left Newcastle 14th in the standings and just two points above the relegation zone.

Sean Dyche got his first league win as Nottingham Forest coach after his team rallied to beat Leeds 3-1 at the City Ground.

Victory came after last week’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United and moved second-from-bottom Forest to within a point of safety.

Lukas Nmecha put Leeds ahead in the 13th minute, but Ibrahim Sangare equalized two minutes later. Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson – from the penalty spot – completed the comeback after the break.

Aston Villa quickly bounced back from defeat to Liverpool last week by routing Bournemouth 4-0.

Villa endured a desperate start to the season – failing to win any of its first six games in all competitions. But Unai Emery’s team has powered back impressively by winning eight of its last 10.

Emiliano Buendia, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen all scored, while goalkeeper Emi Martinez denied Antoine Semenyo from the spot as Villa moved up to sixth in the standings.

Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 0-0 at Selhurst Park. (JapanToday)

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Haaland scoring run over in Man City loss as Arsenal opens up 4-point lead in Premier League

Erling Haaland’s 12-game scoring streak ended Sunday in Manchester City’s first loss in nearly two months, allowing Arsenal to extend its lead to four points in the Premier League.

Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace — secured via a brilliant scissor kick by former Palace player Eberechi Eze — was made all the sweeter by City losing 1-0 at Aston Villa, with right back Matty Cash grabbing the winner from a fierce 19th-minute strike.

It was City’s first defeat since Aug. 31 and meant Haaland’s scoring run for club and country — stretching back even further, to Aug. 23 — is over. The Norway striker did bundle the ball into the net in the 90th minute, before crashing into the post, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

With beleaguered Liverpool losing 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday, it has been a bad weekend for Arsenal’s chief title rivals.

Somewhat surprisingly, Arsenal’s closest challenger now is Bournemouth, which won 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. Even more unlikely is the sight of promoted Sunderland a point back alongside third-placed Tottenham, which won 3-0 at Everton. City is one point further adrift in fifth — and already six points behind Arsenal.

“It’s very early, we’re still in October,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose team is seeking a first Premier League title since 2004. “The emotional state is really high but there are a lot of things to get better.”

City reeled in Arsenal to win the title in the 2023-24 season and is going to have to do it again.

City manager Pep Guardiola isn’t too concerned at this stage.

“I was worried before the international break (in September) when we were 14th in the table,” Guardiola said.

“If they win all their games and win the Premier League, congratulate them. That’s all we can do … but I don’t live in October and November thinking, ‘Oh what is going to happen if we don’t win the Premier League?'”

Eze barely celebrated after producing a wonderful finish from Gabriel Magalhaes’ nod-down to ultimately clinch a fourth straight league win for Arsenal.

“The technique is unbelievable,” Arteta said of the England playmaker, who started the season with Palace before completing a move to Arsenal, the team he supported as a kid, for a reported initial fee of 60 million pounds ($80 million) late in the summer transfer window.

This was a first league goal for his new club — and it came from a typical source, an Arsenal set piece.

It was also another clean sheet for Arteta’s team, which has conceded just three goals in nine games. It was achieved despite center back William Saliba being withdrawn because of injury at halftime and Declan Rice also going off midway through the second half with an undisclosed problem.

Haaland had previously scored in all but one of City’s games this season and, in his words, has been in the form of his life.

But he was unable to make it seven straight Premier League games on the scoresheet as Villa defended stoutly in the face of a late City onslaught to record a third straight home win over Guardiola’s team.

City has lost three of its nine league games.

Cash lashed home a left-footed shot after a corner reached him at the edge of the area.

During the summer transfer window, Bournemouth lost three of its back four and its goalkeeper from last season.

It hasn’t stopped the team making an unexpectedly good start — and a prolific new striker has been unearthed, too.

After Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring directly from a corner in the 25th minute, 19-year-old striker Eli Junior Kroupi doubled Bournemouth’s lead with a long-range strike into the corner — his fourth goal in his last three appearances.

The France under-21 striker is currently playing in place of the injured Evanilson.

It was Sean Dyche’s first Premier League match in charge of Forest.

Center back Micky van de Van scored two first-half goals at corners and Pape Sarr added a late third for Tottenham in its win at Everton.

Burnley scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to win 3-2 at last-placed Wolverhampton, which has yet to win any of its first nine games of the campaign for the second straight season.

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira was involved in a heated exchange with his own fans after the game. (JapanToday)