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EVERTON PILE MISERY IN ARSENAL
Everton racked up more misery on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta when the Toffees moved second in the Premier League with a 2-1 win in front of 2,000 delighted fans at Goodison Park on Saturday.
At the other end of the table, the Gunners remain 15th after just one win in their last 10 league games to leave Arteta’s position under mounting pressure just over four months after winning the FA Cup.
It’s his worst record at this stage of a season since the 1974-1975 season.
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After the red cards destroyed Arsenal in their previous two games, much of the damage was again self-inflicted when Rob Holding’s own goal opened the scoring.
Nicolas Pepe’s penalty was briefly leveled, but Yerry Mina’s header in first-half injury time secured a third straight victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s men to get within five points of Merseyside rivals Liverpool in the top.
Arsenal were hit hard before kick-off, as captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed out due to a calf injury.
He had just regained his scoring touch with a first Premier League open-play goal since September in a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton on Wednesday.
That point briefly halted the downward spiral in the Emirates, but Arsenal, who have been in the top flight of English football since 1919, find themselves in uncharted territory facing a battle for relegation.
If the results go against them on Sunday and Monday, Arteta’s men could be just two points above the drop zone with Chelsea on Boxing Day.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was usurped by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as the Premier League’s top scorer earlier in the day and while the English international failed to score for the third straight game, he did have a significant role to play in the opening goal.
A cross from former Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi headed towards Calvert-Lewin’s goal, but his effort was diverted until it was delivered by Holding’s thigh.
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Different goalkeeper, same United
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Arsenal had been completely outmaneuvered in the first half hour, but were given a route back to the game when Tom Davies fouled Ainsley Maitland-Niles inside the box.
In Aubameyang’s absence, Pepe took responsibility from the spot and sent Jordan Pickford down the wrong path.
However, Everton’s power from the set pieces caused problems for the visitors all night and it was from a corner that the winner arrived, as Gylfi Sigurdsson’s wicked delivery to the near post was directed home by Mina.
Arsenal responded with a brilliant start to the second half and came close to a second draw when Pickford, who returned in goal after being rotated for Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Leicester, dropped a cross into the box and the David Luiz’s shot went back. The charge.
From then on, Everton were happy to let Arsenal have the ball without even looking capable of getting back into the game until in injury time, Pickford corrected his earlier mistake by saving Bukayo Saka.
At the start of the campaign, Arsenal’s goal was to return to the Champions League next season.
Now they hope not to be in the Championship, while the Blues are the contenders for a top four result.
LIVERPOOL MAKES A GREAT STATEMENT
Liverpool sent a chilling warning to the rest of the Premier League on Saturday, breaking seven goals over Crystal Palace as Manchester City climbed to fifth place in the table.
Champions Jurgen Klopp, despite being plagued by injuries this season, are already six points clear at the top after humiliating Palace 7-0.
It is the first time that the Reds have won an away game in the English top flight by a margin of seven goals in their illustrious history.
Manchester City, dethroned as champions last season, beat Southampton in form 1-0 to keep Liverpool in sight, but the Merseysiders are going to be trapped.
Klopp’s men capitalized on the momentum of their last-gasp victory in the top-of-the-table clash with Tottenham midweek.
Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah scored twice at Selhurst Park, while Takumi Minamino, Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson also found the net.
Klopp has repeatedly bemoaned the game scheduling that requires teams to play Saturday’s kickoff games at noon after Wednesday night’s games, but his team didn’t suffer a hangover from its midweek efforts against the Spurs.
Klopp called COTY again
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“Boys are capable of that. It will not happen every week but it can happen ”, said the German.
“It just clicked today. After a really intense period for the kids, they should be really proud of how they got those results in terms of results. “
The victory ensured that Klopp’s team is the best in the league at Christmas for the third season in a row and, with this evidence, it’s hard to see how they will be prevented from winning a record 20 league titles.
“We will have a good Christmas,” Klopp said.
“The season is not over, unfortunately. There are a few more games to come. “
Salah had been given a rare break from the start, but his Japanese replacement, Minamino, took just three minutes to open the scoring when Mane scored for his first Premier League goal.
Reds put SEVEN beyond Palace!
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Mane ended his longest goal drought as a Liverpool player, nine games, with an excellent spin and a low shot from Firmino’s pass.
A clinical counterattack made the three before the break, as this time Firmino grabbed a cross from Andy Robertson before calmly throwing the ball past Vicente Guaita.
Klopp took the opportunity to give Mane a break, but the Senegalese expressed frustration at being fired to be replaced by Salah.
The Egyptian played his role in the fifth with the pass to Firmino.
Salah then moved to the top of the Premier League scorer chart with 13 goals in as many games with a late double.
He headed home from one corner before making an incredible effort towards the top corner.
Sterling the City winner
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CITY SCORE CRUCIAL EARN
Manchester City have had an inconsistent start to the season, but came within one point of fourth-placed Southampton thanks to a goal from Raheem Sterling in the first half.
The England international converted a low cross from Kevin De Bruyne to the back of the net in the 16th minute.
Southampton responded well, with Theo Walcott and Jannik Vestergaard having the best of several chances in the first half but were unable to beat Ederson.
The hosts were affected by the loss of top scorer Danny Ings, who was forced to retire injured late in the first half and, despite the pressure of the second half, could not find a draw.
The city shares points with the WBA
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City, now unbeaten in five league games, have scored just 19 goals this season, compared to Liverpool’s 36 that they scored for free.
“We had the momentum in the second half, but we couldn’t score and we almost suffered,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola told the BBC.
“Defensively we were excellent,” he added. “Last season we fought a lot. Ruben (Dias) has helped us a lot. John (Stones) the last few games have been exceptional.
“We keep playing more and more to create more opportunities.”
Guardiola says that City continues to be the wealthy leader, Liverpool.
“We’re [far] far. Look at the table. That’s a lot of points, ”he told Amazon Prime.
“[Liverpool] Still has momentum in goals, 0-7 at Crystal Palace away. I saw [Palace] He did very well against Tottenham. There is no doubt how good Liverpool is ”.
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