Liverpool dropped points and Arsenal also dropped points, so a home draw with Fulham was indeed a good result for Arne Slott. ALSO: Newcastle beat Leicester City, while Ipswich are certain to have Gary O’Neill sacked by Wolves.
Liverpool 2-2 Fulham: Reds have clear weak links in title race
Andy Robertson has struggled this year and that statement will be discussed tonight after picking up a costly red card at home to Fulham. The Scotland captain is clearly past his best and signing a new left-back should be Arne Slott’s priority. Luckily for him, he saw his perfect replacement thrive among his opponents.
The excellent Anthony Robinson set up Andreas Pereira with a back-post cross and the Brazilian did well to just put an acrobatic volley on target, but if the ball missed Robertson, Alli Sen will save the ball easily. It would be harsh to blame him for the goal, but without that touch the game would have remained 0-0.
He came off six minutes later and even though VAR had a lengthy review of the incident, there was no dispute. Robertson, under little pressure, gave Harry Wilson a horrific first touch of the ball, knocking the Welshman out and denying him a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
For the rest of the first half, the two sides fought 10 versus 11, with Fulham taking the initiative. You felt they needed another goal but it never came and Slaughter sorted it out on the stroke of half-time. liverpool They performed well in the second half and seemed to be the team with the personnel advantage. It took them less than two minutes to equalize and what a goal it was. Mohamed Salah’s pinpoint cross was saved by Cody Gakpo, whose deft diving header gave Bernd Leno no chance.
Fulham managed to weather the storm and go ahead in the 76th minute through Rodrigo Muniz. They had to hold on but their second lead lasted just 10 minutes.
That Liverpool were able to completely crush a very good team with one man down says everything you need to know about this team and its character. Arsenal’s draw at home to Everton means a draw really isn’t a bad result for them, but it also keeps us hopeful in the title race. They are clearly a chink in Liverpool’s left-back armour, and whoever replaces Robertson – likely Joe Gomez – has a good chance of proving his worth to Slott.
Fulham left-back Robinson also deserves praise for the way he dealt with Salah at Anfield. He is a player who can handle any winger in the Premier League. There is no doubt that he is destined for big things and Liverpool should give him their full support. The Reds’ problems and solutions are shared at Anfield on Saturday.
Arsenal 0-0 Everton: Liverpool loses points and cannot beat Everton at home? Oh dear…
This really should be an easy win arsenal Against struggling Everton, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The lack of creativity in open play is shocking and will add fuel to the fire as Arsenal are known as a set piece team. Against the Toffees they had plenty of corners but were nowhere near a goal. Jordan Pickford was superb in goal and dealt well with the Gunners’ direct attack.
Martin Odegaard’s return to form has underlined his importance to the Arsenal side, while his poor performance against Everton once again showed how reliant the Gunners are on their captain. His performance was his worst of the season, struggling with the final pass and losing possession when he never did. He missed his team’s best close-range shot of the game and was rightly substituted after the hour mark.
Everton deserve praise for the way they defended in open play and neutralized Arsenal’s biggest threat. Sean Dyche looked doomed not too long ago but 4-0 wins and draws away from the title contenders in the last two games means he will have a job come Christmas. Next up are Chelsea, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, right? Simple.
Newcastle 4-0 Leicester City: Magpie boss thrives on rare demolition job
It was nine goals in three games for Newcastle United, who won in the Premier League for the first time since beating Nottingham Forest away on November 10. It’s been a damn long time.
It’s been a strange season for Eddie Howe’s side. They haven’t won by three or more goals since beating Burnley 4-1 in May, and a week ago they beat Sheffield United 5-1. It was a welcome change for St James’ Park fans to see them finally beat the team at home. Even if Ruud van Nistelrooy can complain about Bruno Guimarães remaining on the pitch, it is fully deserved.
The Brazilian avoided a yellow card for a brazen charge inside the penalty area, but a few minutes later he was booked for a challenge on the studs, a real orange card. He was very, very lucky to avoid a red card in the first half and like clockwork scored in the second half to make it 2-0.
Jacob Murphy opened the scoring shortly after missing the ball, Bruno made it two with a close-range header and Alexander Isak kept Newcastle out of sight , Murphy then scored his second goal of the game.
It might have been a different story had Bruno been sent off, but there’s no doubt the Magpies deserved the victory – their best performance of the season. They were direct, ruthless and quick in the final third, giving Leicester’s defense a tough time.
Sandro Tonali, by the way, has to start and play 90 minutes every week – he’s fantastic, much better than Sean Longstaff.
Wolves 1-2 Ipswich: A last minute victory will definitely be the end of O’Neill
Ipswich are still without a home win in the Premier League this season but recorded their second away win at Wolves, who are reportedly backing manager Gary O’Neill to turn things around.
The ‘full support’ disappears after a football match and a home defeat to Ipswich would certainly be fatal; O’Neill’s time has come.
Wolves lost 0-1 at home to Ipswich Town in a ridiculous situation. Liam Delap did an incredible job finding Omari Hutchinson at the back post but somehow he didn’t score as Matt Doherty Doherty blocked his shot at the goal line. Unfortunately for Doherty, he was about to get an own goal on his ass.
Yes, Connor Chaplin’s shot was blocked by Totti Gomez’s head, but the ball hit Doherty on the back and past Sam Johnstone. It’s hilarious and typical of the Wolves’ season.
If they are to finish top of the Premier League table it will be down to Matheus Cunha and as he does every week, the Brazilian does everything he can to lead his team. A 72nd-minute equalizer should have been the catalyst for a comeback victory, but Ipswich finally found the winner in the 94th minute.
Jack Taylor’s header was accurate and so was Jack Clarke’s pass from the corner. The best part is obviously the limbs. It’s all about the limbs.
Kieran McKenna’s side currently have 12 points from 16 games, one point behind Crystal Palace in 17th place. It’s a huge win for them and will certainly see one of their relegation rivals make changes in the dugout.
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