Premier League: Arsenal, City Battle for Top Spot – Krejčí’s Loss

Third-placed Aston Villa also beat Chelsea 2-1 with goals from substitute Ollie Watkins after a turnaround to extend their winning streak to 11 competitive games.

And with the same ratio of goals, champion Liverpool beat Wolverhampton at home with Ladislav Krejč and moved to fourth place ahead of Chelsea. Thanks to Kevin Schade’s hat trick, Brentford defeated Bournemouth 4:1 at home.

Arsenal dominated from the opening whistle. The guests from Brighton could be happy at halftime that they conceded only in the 14th minute from the boot of Ödegaard, who made his mark for the first time in the season. The “Gunners” continued to be very active even after the change of sides and in the 52nd minute they led by two goals after Rutter knocked the ball into his own net after Rice’s center from a corner kick.

Four of Arsenal’s last six goals have been own goals, the same as their previous 182 competitive goals combined.

Brighton reduced Gómez thanks to a rare action, which, however, roused the guests to an improved performance, and in the 77th minute Minteh’s equalizer was prevented only by a famous save by the goalkeeper Raya. Five minutes before the end, the substitute Martinelli had a chance to make the final decision, but he kicked the goal from a small penalty area. Brighton have picked up just two points from their last five matches.

The hero of “Citizens” was the Frenchman Cherki, who, shortly after the break, first set up a goal for Reijnders and then decided it himself in the 83rd minute. In the meantime, Hutchinson scored the equalizing goal, who made his mark in Nottingham’s jersey for the first time since his summer transfer from Ipswich.

Nottingham is in the last non-relegation place with a five-point lead over 18th-placed West Ham, who lost 0-1 at home to Fulham. Tomáš Souček played the last seven minutes for United, his team lost for the third time in a row and only got three points for draws in the last seven rounds. Fulham won for the third time in a row and jumped to tenth place.

Chelsea sent Joao Pedro into the lead in the 37th minute, and with the sixth goal he became the team’s top scorer. Aston Villa revived the game after an hour with a triple substitution and after just four minutes one of the substitutes Watkins equalised.

The twenty-nine-year-old English striker then completed the turnaround six minutes before the end. As a result, his team remained three points behind Arsenal. Chelsea dropped points for the fifth time in their last six rounds, costing them a place in the top four.

Liverpool decided with “glued” goals in the 41st and 42nd minutes. The successful scorers were Gravenberch and Wirtz, who scored the first goal in the “Reds” jersey since the summer transfer from Leverkusen. Wolverhampton dramatized the second act with Buena’s goal, but could not equalise.

Arne Slot’s men won for the third time in a row and are fourth, three points ahead of Chelsea, who welcome third-placed Aston Villa today. “Wolves” are still waiting for their first league triumph and are losing 16 points to save.

The match was the first match between the teams since the tragic death of Diogo Jota, who was active in both clubs.

When the teams started, the Liverpool captain Van Dijk was accompanied by the sons of the late Portuguese international, Dinis and Duarte, and the widow Rute Cardosová was also in the audience. Symbolically, in the 20th minute, which resembled Jot’s jersey number, the fans chanted the player’s name.

German midfielder Schade started his gala performance already in the seventh minute, after an own goal by goalkeeper Petrovič, he made it 3-0 shortly after the change of sides and completed the hat trick in the set-up. Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s top scorer Semenya eased the loss, scoring his ninth goal of the season.

Brentford moved up to eighth place after their second win in a row, Bournemouth has been waiting for three points for nine rounds and is nine points ahead of the relegation zone from 15th place.

English Football League – Round 18:

Nottingham – Manchester City 1:2 (53. Hutchinson – 48. Reijnders, 83. Cherki), Arsenal – Brighton 2:1 (14. Ödegaard, 52. owned by Rutter – 64. Gómez), Brentford – Bournemouth 4:1 (7th, 51st and 90th+6 Schade, 39th owned by Petrovič – 75th Semenyo), Burnley – Everton 0:0, Liverpool – Wolverhampton 2:1 (41. Gravenberch, 42. Wirtz – 52. Bueno), West Ham – Fulham 0:1 (85. Jiménez), Chelsea – Aston Villa 1:2 (37. James – 63. a 84. Watkins).

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