Arsenal won again. More misery for Liverpool and their much-criticized manager Arne Slott.
Arsenal beat Brentford 2-0 to regain a five-point lead and accelerate their bid for the Premier League title, but Liverpool needed a late own goal to salvage a 1-1 draw with Sunderland at Anfield.
Slott will be back under pressure. The team had a disappointing title defense, languishing in 8th place, and made the decision to keep their star players in front. Mohamed Salah removed from starting lineup There is a high possibility that they will be closely watched for the second consecutive game.
“Obviously the team we play thinks they can get a result,” Slott said.
Perhaps the bigger shock occurred at Elland Road. There, Chelsea lost 3-1 to Leeds, ending their hopes of challenging for the title.
Chelsea fell to 4th place, 9 points behind Arsenal, but they extended their unbeaten record in all competitions to 18 games and are on track to win their first league title since 2004.
squad depth
Arsenal’s strength in depth was on display in their comfortable win over Brentford, maintaining the team’s unbeaten record at the Emirates Stadium this season.
The leaders are without first-choice centre-backs Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba due to injury, but manager Mikel Arteta has opted to keep star players Bukayo Saka, Julian Timber and Eberechi Eze on the bench.
The first goal in the 11th minute was scored by two substitutes, with Mikel Merino heading in Ben White’s cross, before substitute Saka scored his second goal in stoppage time with a shot over the line.
However, Arteta is facing a growing number of injuries, particularly at centre-back. Cristian Mosquera had been substituted for Saliba but limped off late in the first half and faced withdrawal. Midfielder Declan Rice was withdrawn in the 83rd minute with a suspected calf problem.
Arsenal play matches every three or four days, but Arteta called on football authorities to consider the welfare of their players.
“Rest? That’s a very positive word,” Arteta said of his team selection. “We had to make some changes.
“We can play a few minutes, but it would be great if we could be given a little bit more time if possible to recover and to ease the welfare of these players a little bit,” he added.
Manchester City are Arsenal’s closest challengers at the moment. 5-4 win over Fulham in a wild match on Tuesday.
Mr. Wirtz denied
Florian Wirtz is still waiting to score his first goal for Liverpool since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in the off-season. The equalizer in the 81st minute missed Sunderland defender Nordi Mukiele and went into the net, making it officially an own goal.
Sunderland, who have returned to the top of the table and defied most pundits’ pre-campaign predictions by sitting in sixth place, benefited from a deflection to take the lead in 67th place. Kemsuddin Talbi’s long-range shot hit Virgil van Dijk’s legs and ricocheted past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker and into the far corner.
Sunday’s 2-0 win against West Ham ended Liverpool’s three-game losing streak, but it proved to be only a brief respite for Slott and his underperforming players.
“This season we don’t give up too many chances and we take too many chances,” Slott said. “We weren’t lucky enough to cross the line and win, but in the last few weeks we would have lost this game, so that’s a positive.”
unexpected loss
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca could hardly cheer the defeat to Leeds, which came just three days after his 10-man side fought well to hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw.
“It was a very poor night,” Maresca said. “They (Leeds) deserved to win the game and they were the better team in every way.”
Leeds led 2-0 by half-time with goals from Xhaka Bihor and Ao Tanaka. Pedro Neto reduced the deficit in the 50th minute, but Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin made it 3-1 after a defensive error by Tosin Adarabioyo.
A positive for Chelsea is the return of playmaker Cole Palmer. Cole Palmer played midway through the second half, making his first appearance in more than two months due to a groin injury.
I can’t win yet
Bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton remain winless this season after losing 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest thanks to a second-half goal from Brazilian striker Igor Jesus. After 14 matches, Wolves have only two points.
Aston Villa came from behind 0-2 to beat Brighton 4-3 and moved up to third place, ahead of Chelsea, with their fourth straight win. Ollie Watkins scored twice for Villa.
Crystal Palace beat Burnley 1-0 thanks to a goal from Colombian wing-back Daniel Muñoz.
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Steve Douglas is https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
