“If you take away the result, I’m a happy man. Coming back after what I had to go through is a wonderful feeling,” Eriksen said after the match. He suffered cardiac arrest on June 12, 2021 during Denmark’s EURO match against Finland in Copenhagen and had to be resuscitated.
He was then fitted with a defibrillator. Because the former Inter Milan professional is not allowed to play in the Italian Serie A, his contract there was terminated. In the winter he signed with Brentford. The Dane played his last Premier League game for Tottenham Hotspur 766 days ago.
Defeat became a minor matter
The fact that the hosts lost the sportingly important game 0:2 (0:2) was almost irrelevant in the London Community Stadium. Ex-Rapidler Joelinton (33rd minute) and Joe Willock (44th) scored in a duel to stay in the class for Newcastle United, which overtook their direct competitor Brentford with the away win. The “Bees” were outnumbered at home from the eleventh minute because Josh Dasilva received a red card for a foul.
Setback for Manchester United
Meanwhile, Manchester United suffered a setback in the battle for Champions League spots. The record champions only drew 0-0 at home against the penultimate Watford and are fourth in the table, two points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal, who have three games in hand. At Watford, ÖFB team goalie Daniel Bachmann sat on the bench. A goal by Cristiano Ronaldo was rightly disallowed.
Before kick-off at Old Trafford, United’s players and coaches held up a sign that read ‘Peace’ in several languages, including Russian and Ukrainian, and featured a peace symbol. The Watford players then joined and posed with the hosts and the message of peace for a joint photo in reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Easy win by Tottenham
Tottenham had previously won 4-0 at Leeds United. Matt Doherty (10th), Dejan Kulusevski (15th) and Harry Kane (27th) created a secure cushion for the guests from London early on. Son Heung Mmin scored another goal in the 84th minute for Tottenham, who celebrated their second win (3-2 at Manchester City, 0-1 at Burnley) in their third league away game in a week.
With thoughts in Ukraine
A little later, Manchester City clinched a 1-0 away win over Everton to go one game more than six points clear of nearest pursuers Liverpool, who lost Sunday’s League Cup final to Chelsea, where long-time Russian owner Roman Abramovich was in the lead of the association resigned. Phil Foden scored for the champions in the 81st minute.
There were emotional scenes before kick-off. Many spectators had brought banners and signs to Goodison Park declaring their solidarity with Ukraine. Man City players wore t-shirts with the Ukraine flag and the words ‘No War’ as they warmed up. TV pictures showed how the Ukrainian city professional Oleksandr Zinchenko fought back tears. The Ukrainian Everton professional Vitalij Mykolenko was also visibly moved.
Coach Ralph Hasenhüttl stayed on course for success with Southampton on Friday. The “Saints” prevailed at home against bottom Norwich City 2-0 (1-0). Che Adams (36′) and Oriol Romeu (88′) made Southampton celebrate, the club provisionally climbed to ninth place after five games without defeat.
