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English Premier League

Liverpool 1 – 1 Aston Villa

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Liverpool 1 -1 Aston Villa

Liverpool 1 – 1 Aston Villa. Roberto Firmino scored an 89th-minute equaliser against Aston Villa to keep alive Liverpool’s faint hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are three points behind Newcastle United and Manchester United with one game remaining, meaning their two rivals need just one point from their final two games to secure Champions League qualification for next season.

The fact it remains mathematically possible, if perhaps unlikely, is down to the departing Firmino sneaking in at the near post to convert Mohamed Salah’s low cross.

It was tough to take for the visitors, who were so close to claiming a notable win after an impressive display.

They had a golden opportunity to lead midway through the first half when Ibrahima Konate tripped Ollie Watkins in the box, but the striker sent his penalty wide.

Unai Emery’s men continued to push forward and grabbed a deserved first-half opener through Jacob Ramsey’s sweet guided volley at the back post from Douglas Luiz’s cross.

Liverpool – with Klopp watching from the stands as he begins his touchline ban – improved thereafter and thought they had equalised when Cody Gakpo converted following a scramble, but the effort was ruled out for offside in the build-up.

Villa maintain their European aspirations by moving up to seventh after the draw, but missed out on going sixth as a result of the late equaliser.

This was a costly two points dropped by Liverpool, who really needed to win after Manchester United edged to a victory against Bournemouth that may be the key to sealing a top-four place.

The Reds came into the contest on the back of a resurgence in form, winning their last seven league games to spark hopes of playing in Europe’s elite club competition next season.

But they trailed for a large part of the game against Villa and needed the intervention of substitute Firmino, who set the place rocking with his leveller in front of the Kop.

The Brazil forward will leave the club at the end of the season and has provided plenty of memorable moments in a red shirt – but he and his team-mates could not find a winner despite 10 minutes of added time.

James Milner was also given a generous send-off in his final game at Anfield at full-time but Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who are also leaving, missed out through injury.

The goal was Liverpool’s 99th in all competitions this season but their problems have been at the back as they again failed to keep a clean sheet and conceded a 43rd goal in the 2022-23 Premier League – the most in a full campaign under Klopp.

Luis Diaz headed wide in the best chance of a poor first half, while Salah and the in-form Trent Alexander-Arnold both fired straight at Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez before Firmino’s late intervention.

Villa executed their gameplan to perfection and were on the verge of a famous victory before Firmino pounced.

The visitors defended stubbornly while also posing a threat on the counter-attack and despite the disappointment of the equaliser, they have guaranteed themselves a top-10 finish for the first time in 12 years.

Emery has done a superb job as manager since replacing Steven Gerrard, long ago moving past the mandate of keeping the side in the league to becoming European contenders.

They took the lead through Ramsey’s delightfully placed finish and could have gone 2-0 ahead had Alisson not stood tall to deny the midfielder a second. The Brazil goalkeeper also gathered a low shot from John McGinn.

Villa may have been lucky not to go down to 10 men in the first half though, when defender Tyrone Mings caught Gakpo in the chest with a high challenge and the video assistant referee decided the yellow card awarded by the referee was sufficient punishment.

Villa have now won just one of their last 11 games against the Reds – the famous 7-2 victory at Villa Park under Dean Smith – but this game showed the enormous progress the side has made under Emery.

source – BBC

English Premier League

Arsenal 4 – 1 Newcastle United

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Arsenal 4 - 1 Newcastle United

Arsenal underlined their Premier League title credentials as they recorded their sixth consecutive win with a dominant display against Newcastle.

The result sees Mikel Arteta’s side sit two points behind leaders Liverpool and a point behind second-placed Manchester City at the top of the table.

The outcome of this contest appeared inevitable from the moment visiting defender Sven Botman turned the ball in after Gabriel’s header from a corner had been well saved by Newcastle goalkeeper Loris Karius.

While there was an element of bad luck to that for the Dutch defender, who simply could not get out of the way as his Newcastle team-mate Tino Livramento tried to clear, there was little else about Arsenal’s performance that was owed to good fortune.

The Gunners’ intensity and fluent passing repeatedly carved Eddie Howe’s side apart, particularly down the Magpies’ left flank with Livramento and Botman enduring difficult evenings.

Kai Havertz swept in a deserved second shortly after, with Gabriel Martinelli making the most of indecision in the Newcastle defence to cut the ball back into the German forward’s path.

With Arsenal continuing to press, Bukayo Saka twisted and turned Livramento one way and then another before dispatching a left-foot shot into the bottom left corner add to the hosts’ advantage.

Arteta also enjoyed the luxury of being able to take off his captain Martin Odegaard, Havertz and Saka well before full-time after Jakub Kiwior’s effort deflected past the helpless Karius from another Declan Rice corner.

Newcastle, who remain eighth in the table, managed a late consolation courtesy of Joe Willock’s looping header, but there was little else for the visiting supporters to cheer.

-BBC

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English Premier League

AFC Bournemouth 0 – 1 Manchester City

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AFC Bournemouth 0 - 1 Manchester City

Manchester City moved a point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool with a hard-fought victory over Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium.

City started slowly but took the lead midway through the first half when Phil Foden steered home after Erling Haaland’s shot was saved by Neto.

The visitors dominated the rest of the half but were fortunate not to be pegged back early in the second, Marcus Tavernier scuffing a shot into the ground from Antoine Semenyo’s cross before shooting wide after fine work from Dominic Solanke.

Solanke had a header punched off the line by Ederson as Bournemouth continued to apply pressure, while Haaland had another shot saved by Neto with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Second-half substitute Enes Unal headed agonisingly wide in stoppage time for the hosts, as City held on to consolidate second place ahead of crucial games at home to Manchester United and away to Liverpool in early March.

Bournemouth, now without a win in their last seven league matches, stay eight points above the relegation zone but drop a place to 14th.

Champions get job done

Pep Guardiola’s team were made to work hard for three points against Brentford on Tuesday, and they were perhaps a little fortunate to get the win from a testing encounter at Vitality Stadium.

Haaland got the all-important goal against the Bees and the Norwegian should have given the visitors the lead here, sending a right-footed shot off target after running on to Foden’s exquisite cushioned pass.

Haaland was denied by Neto midway through the first half, but Foden – who has now scored in his past five appearances against the Cherries – was on hand to guide home his 16th goal of the season. That is his joint-most in a single campaign.

John Stones, operating in a more advanced role than usual, was outstanding in the first half in particular, repeatedly marauding upfield and almost setting up Rodri for a second City goal not long after Foden’s opener.

The visitors rode their luck after half-time as Bournemouth pushed for an equaliser, with a combination of wasteful finishing by the hosts and smart goalkeeping from Ederson securing City a hard-earned three points.

City have won all 14 of their Premier League games against the Cherries – the best 100% record by one team against another in top-flight history.

Their next five league matches – all against teams currently in the top seven – will go a long way to defining their campaign.

-BBC

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English Premier League

Manchester United 1 – 2 Fulham

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Manchester United 1 - 2 Fulham

Manchester United were given a harsh reality check at Old Trafford as Alex Iwobi’s injury-time effort gave Fulham only their second Old Trafford victory since 1963.

Four days after new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe spoke of United attempting to knock Manchester City and Liverpool off their perch at the top of the English game, they suffered a major blow to their hopes of Champions League qualification.

Without injured striker Rasmus Hojlund, the hosts were ineffective in attack until the final minute of normal time, when Harry Maguire seemed to have rescued a point for the hosts.

But Iwobi had the final say deep into nine minutes of stoppage time, restoring an advantage initially given to them by Nigeria defender Calvin Bassey, who lashed home the loose ball after his header from a Fulham corner had been blocked by team-mate Timothy Castagne.

The result ended a run of 11 Premier League away games without a win for the west London outfit. Prior to this contest, only Sheffield United had a worse top-flight away record this term.

Neither the defeat nor, more importantly, the performance, will give anyone the belief United will achieve Ratcliffe’s lofty aims any time soon.

A sobering reality
There have been a lot of bold claims out of Old Trafford this week.

Ratcliffe has spoken of challenging for major trophies, while Ten Hag has outlined how he and the new co-ownership are aligned in their thinking and the overall direction is positive.

There is nothing like a miserable grey, cold, wet Manchester day to add a large dollop of reality to the situation United find themselves in.

With injury consigning in-form Hojlund to the directors’ box, Marcus Rashford was forced to plough a lone furrow up front and made little impact. Ten Hag gave 19-year-old Omari Forson his first start rather than bring in underperforming £82m Brazilian Antony, while Victor Lindelof filled in at left-back in the absence of Luke Shaw, who is set to miss the remainder of the campaign with a muscle problem.

The performance did not smack of a side capable of securing Champions League football next season, which Ratcliffe has made a priority, let alone threatening Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, who are a long way ahead on this evidence.

Ineos head of sport – and new United football club director – Sir Dave Brailsford was at Old Trafford to see United roar back from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa on Boxing Day, one of two occasions this season when they had rolled back the years to produce a comeback of thrilling defiance.

When Maguire pounced in the final minute of normal time, it seemed another might be on the cards. United hardly deserved parity. Other than a first-half Diogo Dalot shot that flicked off the outside of a post, Marcus Rashford’s angled effort that Leno saved and a Maguire header that sailed over the bar, they had done little of any effectiveness around the Fulham box.

As it turned out, it was to be Fulham who had the final word. Today, there was no papering over the Old Trafford cracks.

A famous Fulham win
It is almost 12 months since Fulham’s visit to this stadium for an FA Cup tie that ended in chaos as manager Marco Silva and two of his players were sent off, and what was shaping up to be a famous victory turned into a controversial defeat.

While the visitors mercifully avoided any repeat of that discipline breakdown, they were forced to endure more frustration in a first half they dominated without being able to take one of the numerous chances that came their way.

In exploiting the space available in front of the United backline in transition, Fulham were given the freedom to get clear sights of goal.

Iwobi had two opportunities, the second in particular he should have done better with. Andre Onana saved from Rodrigo Muniz and former United midfielder Andreas Pereira. The Cameroon keeper probably earned his luck in the first instance, when the rebound struck Sasa Lukic at close range and the ball bounced inches wide.

Muniz, aiming to become the fourth Fulham player – after Louis Saha, Collins John and Manor Solomon – to score in four successive Premier League games, rolled Lindelof in the penalty area, then fired against the outside of a post with Onana beaten.

At the interval, the fear among the visiting contingent must have been that, after being so flat for so long, their hosts had to improve.

But they didn’t and Bassey lashed home his first Fulham goal with a decisiveness lacking from United’s play.

Even after Maguire’s leveller, Fulham would not be denied as Iwobi finally found the target to give the Cottagers a famous win.

-BBC

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