Arsenal Records First Defeat in the Season
By Tanko Bauka
Arsenal FC were beaten for the first time this season as William Saliba’s red card played a key role in their shocked 2:0 defeat at AFC Bournemouth in the Saturday late kickoff at the Vitality stadium.
Saliba was sent off for a professional foul on Evanilson after the half-hour which finally cracked the gunners in the closing stages as Ryan Christie put AFC Bournemouth ahead before Justin Kluvert’s penalty ensured Arsenal would lose for the first time since April when they were defeated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second leg in Munich.
The Gunners would have leapfrogged Liverpool to the top of the league table with a win before Liverpool took on Chelsea on Sunday, but the bitter defeat has opened up a five points gap between Arsenal and Liverpool, who beat Chelsea FC 2-1 on Sunday at Anfield stadium.
Manchester United had to come from 1 goal down to beat Brentford 2-1 to ease pressure on Erik Ten Hag, who has come under fire for the Red Devils’ poor results in the league this season.
Manchester City snatched a late win through a header by John Stone at Wolverhampton Wanderers to compound their woes as Wolves are yet to record a win this season.
Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa
Newcastle, Everton, Brighton Albion and Leicester City all picked up three points in their respective wins in the week 8 fixtures.
In the Spanish LA Liga, FC Barcelona continued to set the pace as they continued with their free-scoring form by hammering Sevilla 5-1, while their arch-rival Real Madrid laboured to a 2-1 win against Celta Vigo to stay within the reach of FC Barcelona who are three points ahead of Real Madrid.
In the Italian Serie A, Napoli continued their fine form as they sat atop of the league with a 1-0 against Empoli while the defending Champion Inter Milan pipped AS Roma to keep the pressure on Napoli.
Juventus and AC Milan also defeated Lazio and Udinese, respectively, to boost their chance for the league title.
Harry Kane revived his scoring career by scoring a hat trick in Bayern Munich’s 4-0 demolition of Stuttgart to return to the top of the German Bundesliga after RB Leipzig temporarily occupied the position with a 2- 0 win over Mainz 05.
Results across Europe
English Barclay Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 4- Fulham 1
Ipswich Town 0- Everton 2
Machester United 2- Brentford 1
Newcastle 0- Brighton Albion 1
Southampton 2- Leicester 3
AFC Bournemouth 2- Arsenal 0
Wolves 1 – Manchester City 2
Liverpool 2- Chelsea 1
Spanish LA Liga
Deportivo Alaves 2- Real Valladolid 3
Athletic Bilbao 4- Espanyol 1
Osasuna 1- Real Betis 2
Girona 0- Real Sociedad 1
Celta Vigo 1- Real Madrid 2
Mallorca 1- Rayo Vallacano 0
Atlectico Madrid 3- Laganes 1
Villarreal 1- Gatafe 1
Barcelona 5- Sevilla 1
Italian Serie A
Como 1- Parma 1
Genoa 1- Bologna 2
AC Milan 1- Udinese 0
Juventus 1- Lazio 0
Empoli 0- Napoli 1
Lacce 0- Fiorentina 6
Venezia 0- Atalanta 2
Cagliari 3- Torino 2
AS Roma 0- Inter Milan
German Bundesliga
Dortmund 2- FC St Pauli 1
Bayern Leverkusen 2- Eintrach Frankfurt 1
Hoffenheim 3- VFL Bochum 1
SC Freiburg 3- FC Augsburg 1
Mainz 05 0- RB Leipzig 2
Monchenglabach 3- Heidenheim 2
Bayern Munich 4- Stuttgart 0
Holstein Kiel 0- Union Berlin 2
Wolfsburg 2- Werder Bremen 4.
