Football: West Ham stuns Chelsea, Aubameyang shoots Arsenal

LONDON: West Ham shook Chelsea’s top four hopes and increased their survival offerings with a dramatic 3-2 win, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck twice as Arsenal returned to European contention with a thrash Norwich 4-0 on Wednesday (July 1).

Chelsea hoped to take advantage of Leicester’s 2-1 defeat in third place at Everton earlier in the day, but instead the Blues was beaten for the first time since the restart of the Premier League.

West Ham was denied the goal of opening at the London stadium when VAR ruled Michail Antonio was offside while lying on the ground while Tomas Soucek went home.

Willian fired Chelsea five minutes before half-time after Issa Diop stumbled on Christian Pulisic.

Soucek returned home in the first half of suspension when West Ham finally scored their first goal since the restart.

Antonio put West Ham ahead of the 51st minute when he slipped in to convert Jarrod Bowen’s cross.

Willian’s superb free kick in the 70th minute drew Chelsea, but it was West Ham who came off to win in the 89th minute when substitute Andriy Yarmolenko ended a brilliant counter attack.

Chelsea are one point behind Leicester and only two ahead of Manchester United and the Wolves, as the race to qualify for the Champions League makes its way with six games left.

West Ham’s first crucial victory since the restart has moved them three points out of the relegation zone.

At Emirates Stadium, Aubameyang joined Jamie Vardy as Premier League top scorer on 19 goals in a night of mixed luck for Golden Boot contenders.

Arsenal have recorded a third consecutive victory to move to seventh place against a team from Norwich increasingly resigned to relegation.

Tim Krul, owner of the Canaries, did not favor his team by giving the opener to Aubameyang when he was caught trying to dribble Gabon.

Aubameyang saw him for the first time reach 50 Premier League goals in 79 appearances, making him the fastest Arsenal player to reach that landmark.

“A player who can score as many goals as he has done in that short span of time tells you all about the importance it has for us,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

Aubameyang became supplier to Granit Xhaka to make it 2-0 before half-time and then another gift was given when Norwich striker Josip Drmic pulled him up 3-0.

Cedric Soares, signed by Southampton in January, made his debut to remember with a long-range strike nine minutes from time to complete the score.

LEICESTER LOSES MORE LAND

Leicester has been going in the opposite direction as its winless race since English football has resumed the four-game coronavirus pandemic.

Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty gave Everton the perfect start in Goodison Park.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s lucky goal as the ball bounced off his face reduced Leicester’s arrears and pressed hard for a draw in the final stages.

Michael Keane’s elimination from the line spared Jordan Pickford’s flushes after another huge mistake from England number one.

“Our shape hasn’t been the best for some time now, but we still have it in our hands to make what would be a dream come true for us, to get into the top four,” said Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers. “But we can only get it if the performance is right.”

At the bottom of the table, Bournemouth also suffered a heavy blow in their battle to beat the drop with a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Newcastle.

Dwight Gayle, Sean Longstaff, Miguel Almiron and Valentino Lazaro were on target for the Magpies, who were not distracted by the ongoing uncertainty around the club over a proposed Saudi takeover.

Bournemouth remains in the top three and the defeat could also prove to be expensive, falling below Aston Villa on the goal difference in the 19th.

English Premier League Results:

Arsenal 4 Norwich 0
Bournemouth 1 Newcastle 4
Everton 2 Leicester 1
West Ham 3 Chelsea 2