Arsenal and Leeds United played a decisive game for their ambitions in the Premier League this Sunday. The match of the 36th round ended in a 2-1 victory for London. Playing at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal scored two goals in 10 minutes of play, had a numerical advantage after being sent off by the rival, but suffered to beat the Manchester team.
The triumph leaves Arsenal with a comfortable four-point lead over Tottenham in the G4 of the competition, with three games remaining. With 66 points, Mikel Arteta’s team is in fourth place. Arsenal are also close to third-placed Chelsea, who have 67 points.
Leeds are back in the relegation zone with their second consecutive defeat. Raphinha and company’s team has 34 points and is now in 18th place, overtaken by Everton, who also beat Leicester this Sunday.
The Leeds goalkeeper entered the field sleepy and the lack of attention took a toll on just five minutes. After retreat, Illan Meslier tried to dominate and left the ball offered in the small area. Edward Nketiah arrived dividing and sent it to the net, making it 1 to 0. With a passage through Leeds, the Arsenal striker did not celebrate the goal.
Five minutes later, another goal from Nketiah. After a great move by Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli on the left, Nketiah received a low cross in the area and finished with the first shot to make it 2-0.
Lavish repertoire, Arsenal continued to dominate the match, creating plays in sequence and pressing Leeds for the third goal. To make matters worse, full-back Luke Aylling tackled Martinelli with both feet and was sent off after a VAR review. Another Brazilian, Raphinha, was very nervous about the referee’s decision and received a yellow card.
Odegaard almost scored the third from a free-kick, saved over the line by the Leeds defense. London’s dominance also continued in the second half. Gabriel Martinelli, who showed great football in the match, almost scored Arsenal’s third goal in two opportunities, which went out.
Needing a lot of the result, Leeds managed to get some breath to decrease the score. After a corner kick, Firpo deflected to the second post, where Diego Llorente appeared to complete for the goal, in the 21st minute. Arsenal were unable to regain their comfortable lead and Leeds went on the attack in the final minutes, even with the goalkeeper heading into the area. Despite the bet, Jesse Marsch’s team didn’t get the tie.
FIGHT IN Z3
Everton needed six minutes to leave the relegation zone. At practically the same moment that Leeds conceded Arsenal’s first goal, Liverpool’s blue team opened the scoring over Leicester with a goal from Mykolenko, who hit a beautiful first-time shot from the edge of the area.
In the 11th minute, Everton’s defense didn’t get along and Daka came out in front of the goal to equalize the score by 1 to 1 for Leicester. But Everton hardened the match and regained the lead in the 30th minute, after a corner kick and a sequence of headers, which ended with Holgate’s goal, winning 2-1 at the King Power Stadium in Leicester.
Everton, who have one game less than their rivals, move up to 16th position with 35 points and leave the relegation zone. The team has two straight wins. Between Leeds and Everton there is Burnley, in 17th, with 34 points. Leicester is 14th with 42 points. The team has not won in its last seven games, in all competitions.
In seventh place, West Ham won again against relegated Norwich after four setbacks. With two goals from Benrahma, one from Michail Antonio and another from Lanzini, West Ham passed easily with a 4-0 victory over the bottom and reached 55 points, approaching the spot in the Europa League. Relegated in the last round, Norwich has 21 points and is bottom.