Tag: Bukayo Saka

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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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Postecoglou fired; Haaland scores 2 more for Man City and Arsenal profits again from a corner

Around 20 minutes.

That’s how long it took Nottingham Forest to fire manager Ange Postecoglou after losing to Chelsea 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

As for Erling Haaland, he did his damage in a devastating five-minute spell in the second half, scoring twice more for Manchester City in its 2-0 win over Everton to move to 11 goals in eight league games.

City jumped to second place and was three points behind Arsenal, a 1-0 winner at Fulham thanks to another set-piece goal.

Postecoglou was removed after just 39 days in charge of Forest, which didn’t win any of its eight matches under the Australian after he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on Sept. 9.

In a terse 39-word statement issued while the City Ground was emptying following the defeat to Chelsea, Forest said Postecoglou was “relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect” after “a series of disappointing results and performances.”

British media had already been linking former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche with the beleaguered Postecoglou’s job. On Saturday, The Athletic reported that former Man City and Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been contacted by Forest.

Goals early in the second half by Josh Acheampong and Pedro Neto, and another by Reece James in the 84th minute, earned Chelsea a victory that prompted loud jeers inside the City Ground at fulltime and signaled the end for Postecoglou.

Postecoglou had been in defiant mood in recent weeks, even delivering a five-minute monologue on Friday in which he rejected talk that he was a “failed manager” and promised to win a trophy at Forest — just like he did at Tottenham last season before being fired.

However, Forest lost six and drew the other two of its eight games under Postecoglou. That included four losses from five in the league, scoring just one goal in the process, to leave Forest rooted in the bottom three.

Malo Gusto became the fifth Chelsea player to be sent off this season after collecting a second yellow card in the 87th.

Haaland has 23 goals in 13 games for club and country this season, having just come off a hat trick for Norway against Israel in a World Cup qualifier last week.

The striker has said he is in the best form of his career and it seemed inevitable he would make no mistake when Nico O’Reilly teed up a cross from the left in the 58th. Haaland leapt high and buried his header.

Five minutes later, Haaland peeled away from his marker in the box and met a cut-back from Savinho with a shot that went through the legs of defender James Tarkowski and past the unsighted Jordan Pickford in goal.

“He’s our key man, what can I say?” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “But at the same time, we cannot rely and do good things just with Erling.

“So our wingers, attacking midfielders and our other players have to make a step up.”

Jack Grealish wasn’t able to play for Everton under the terms of his loan move from City.

Make that 37 goals Arsenal has scored from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season.

The league leader’s 58th-minute winner at Fulham came from a familiar source, as Bukayo Saka swung in the corner, Gabriel Magalhaes flicked it on and Leandro Trossard converted at the back post.

It was a sixth win in eight games for Arsenal, which is seeking a first league championship since 2004 after being runner-up in the last three campaigns.

Fresh off his debut for France, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat trick — including an equalizer from the penalty spot in the seventh minute of stoppage time — in a breathless 3-3 draw against Bournemouth.

Nick Woltemade’s latest goal for Newcastle — a deft flick between his legs into the corner — proved to be in vain in a 2-1 loss at Brighton, which had a goal in each half from Danny Welbeck.

Burnley beat Leeds 2-0 and Sunderland won at home to Wolverhampton 2-0. (JapanToday)

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Chelsea beats Liverpool after late Estevao goal; Arsenal tops Premier League

Estevao struck in added time to inflict a third straight defeat on Premier League champion Liverpool.

The Brazilian teenager slid in at the far post to seal a 2-1 win for Chelsea in a breathless finish at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Estevao’s goal sparked wild celebrations that earned Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca a red card and ensured Liverpool goes into the international break knocked off the top of the standings.

“It is extra special to win like that because you win energy, trust and confidence in the process,” Chelsea assistant Willy Caballero said. “It is also something unforgettable for Estevao.”

Arsenal was in first place, a point ahead of Liverpool, after beating West Ham 2-0, while Manchester United picked up a crucial win against Sunderland to ease pressure on coach Ruben Amorim.

Liverpool is no stranger to late drama this season but the tide has turned on manager Arne Slot.

Late goals in six of the Merseyside club’s first seven games helped it maintain a 100% record and build an early lead in the standings.

But a first defeat of the campaign via Eddie Nketiah’s strike in the seventh minute of stoppage time for Crystal Palace last week was followed by Estevao’s strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time for Chelsea. In between, Liverpool lost to Galatasaray 1-0 in the Champions League.

Cody Gakpo looked like salvaging a point for Liverpool with his score in the second half after Moises Caicedo fired Chelsea in front with a thunderous long range strike in the first half.

But Chelsea, on the back of a three-game winless run in the league, mounted a late onslaught.

Enzo Fernandez headed against the post in added time and Estevao, the 18-year-old forward who joined from Palmeiras in the summer, converted Marc Cucurella’s cross.

“After we scored 1-1 it went our way and I was waiting for us to score the second,” Slot told the BBC. “Last week, same as this week, two difficult away games, the fine margins haven’t been in our favor.”

Ruben Amorim rang the changes and got the result he desperately needed.

Victory against Sunderland came at a crucial time for Amorim ahead of the international break, with speculation mounting over his position. He has still to lead United to back-to-back victories in the league after almost a year in charge but this was a step in the right direction.

“It’s really important to win games and have a better feeling but we need to forget this game and go for the next one,” he said.

Amorim showed his ruthless side by dropping $84 million summer signing Matheus Cunha and handing a first start to new goalkeeper Senne Lammens. Those decisions paid off with first half goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko at Old Trafford and a first clean sheet of the season.

This was only Amorim’s 10th win from 34 league games and going into Saturday’s match he accepted it would be “impossible” to continue in the job if results didn’t turn.

Which is why victory against Sunderland was crucial in a week when he was criticized by United greats Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, and ahead of the international break, which has traditionally been a convenient time to make managerial changes.

After 300 games in charge, Arsenal Mikel Arteta is looking down on the rest of the Premier League after victory against West Ham.

“I wanted to celebrate it with a win, I’ve got it,” he said.

Goals from Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, from the penalty spot, inflicted a first defeat on new West Ham coach Nuno Espirito Santo.

That’s four wins in a row for Arsenal in all competitions and, after a daunting start to the campaign, Arteta’s team looks like a title contender again.

Saka, who scored on his 200th appearance for the club, is convinced Arteta will deliver trophies after finishing runner-up three years in a row.

“We’ve had some tough games, particularly away. We are in a strong place in the Premier League and looking forward to coming back and pushing on,” he told the BBC. “Mikel has very much improved my game. He will bring this club success and (I’m) looking forward to when that day comes.”

Victory, however, came at a cost after another injury to captain Martin Odegaard.

Mohammed Kudus scored his first Tottenham goal to keep Thomas Frank’s team riding high. Kudus’ second-half strike from the edge of the box secured a 2-1 win at Leeds to move Spurs up to third.

Spurs have lost just once in the league under Frank, who took charge in the summer.

Kudus was one of Frank’s big signings, joining from West Ham.

Spurs led through Mathys Tel, whose deflected shot rocketed into the top corner.

Leeds, which was unbeaten at home since February, equalized through Noah Okafor from close range in the 34th. (JapanToday)