After Arsenal defeated Brentford 2-1 at home on Saturday, Kai Havertz scored the game’s winning goal in the 86th minute to vault his team to the top of the Premier League. Meanwhile, Manchester United extinguished any last dreams of finishing in the top four with a 2-0 victory against Everton.
Arsenal leads the league with 64 points after 28 games, but a victory in Sunday’s thrilling match at Anfield may put either Liverpool or Manchester City in first position. With 63 points, Liverpool is in second position, while City is in third with 62.
A late goal helped Luton Town escape with a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, Bournemouth overcame a two-goal deficit to deny Sheffield United their fourth league victory of the year with a 2-2 draw, and Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Fulham 2-1 to strengthen their survival hopes.
Havertz scored for the fourth straight game as Arsenal won their eighth straight league match, making up for a disastrous mistake made by stand-in goalie Aaron Ramsdale.
After 19 minutes, Declan Rice gave Arsenal the lead with a diving header from a cross by Ben White. However, Yoane Wissa leveled the score just before halftime, slamming a challenge that sent Ramsdale’s attempted clearing into the goal.
“These points were so important for us and you could see that in the second half,” Havertz said. Even if we didn’t play well in the first half, it’s still better that we won.
Brentford is still in fifteenth position.
PENALTIES UNITEED
Due to careless Everton challenges on Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford of Manchester United scored two penalties in the first half.
Erik ten Hag’s club is still in sixth position, but with 47 points, they have gotten closer to Aston Villa, who are in fourth place with 55 points and have a game against Tottenham Hotspur at home on Sunday.
United was coming off a four-game winning streak that was stopped by back-to-back league defeats to Fulham and Manchester City.
“It was crucial. This calendar year, we only had one poor performance against Fulham,” Ten Hag said. “We had to put this right and keep the pressure on the teams above us.”There are many of games available. We are back now. We’ll continue to apply pressure and see what transpires.”
Everton, under Sean Dyche, has lost their last 11 league games and now sits in 16th place with 25 points, four points above the relegation zone.
PERSONAL GOAL
Rayan Ait-Nouri’s close-range goal and Nelson Semedo’s own goal, which was deflected from an effort by fellow defender Tom Cairney, helped Wolves defeat Fulham.
The outcome preserved Wolves’ almost four-decade home winning record against the Londoners intact and propelled them up to eighth place in the league with 41 points. On 35, Fulham is ranked 12th.
After a cutback from a free kick, Algerian international Ait-Nouri scored Wolves’ first goal in the 52nd minute by scooping the ball into the top of the net.
Fifteen minutes later, Semedo, his Portuguese teammate, sealed the victory with a shot from just outside the box that struck Cairney, the Fulham midfielder, on its way in for an own goal.
“An incredible victory… To overcome a Fulham team that is enjoying themselves greatly,” Wolves manager Gary O’Neil said. “Just delighted – 41 points, equalling last season’s tally already.”
Unlikely Draw
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored Crystal Palace’s goal against Luton in the eleventh minute by backhanding the ball into the goal.
But while Selhurst Park celebrated, Luton mounted a late comeback, and in the 96th minute, Cauley Woodrow’s goal—which came after Andros Townsend, a late substitution, floated the ball into the area—stunted the home crowd and handed the visitors an improbable draw.
“We could have had three points at the end of the game, and to concede like that is gutting and frustrating,” Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone said.
Luton is currently three points behind Nottingham Forest in the safety zone in 18th place, while Palace is still in 14th place with 29 points.
At the Vitality Stadium, Sheffield United seemed to be heading for three points as the clock reached the ninetieth minute, but Enes Unal of Bournemouth equalized to increase the pressure on the visitors’ slim chances of surviving.
United moved up one position to 19th place with 14 points after the draw, one point above Burnley, who face West Ham United on Sunday. This was just enough to lift United out of the bottom half of the standings.
The manager of the Blades, Chris Wilder, said, “We’re off the bottom, we’ll enjoy that.” “There are no trophies being given out for being off the bottom, and I’m not hopping through hoops. We must demonstrate our constancy.”
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Man United defeated Everton, and Arsenal defeated Brentford 2-1 to take the lead.
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