Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa continue to pull away from the pack
By Tanko Bauka
The mental strength of the English Barclays Premier League was tested over the weekend as all three top teams, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Aston Villa, won their encounters to maintain their grip at the top of the league table as they charge towards the league crown.
Manchester City had overhauled the Gunners on top of the league table with a comfortable 3-0 win against West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium before Arsenal match putting pressure on Manager Mikel Arteta’s side on his return to his former club and his boys responded with a 1-0 win against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to return back to top of the league.
With Manchester City and Arsenal winning, the pressure shifted to Aston Villa, which is billed to take on Manchester United, and the Unai Emery side produced an emphatic 2-1 victory against their visitors to further compound the woes of Ruben Amorim, Manchester United’s head coach.
Arsenal sits top of the league with 39 points, with Manchester City following closely on 37 points, Aston Villa are third with 36 points, while Chelsea are occupying the fourth position on 29 points.
Newcastle United again failed to produce a win after going two goals up as they were pegged back by Chelsea to the disappointment of their supporters, while Tottenham Hotspurs again failed to sparkle as they were defeated 2-1 by a Liverpool side that is still trying to find their feet.
Brentford pocketed all three points at stake against relegation-bound Wolves, who are yet to record a single win this season, as Brighton and Hove Albion settled for a goalless draw against Sunderland.
AFC Bournemouth played out a one-all draw with Burnley while Leeds United humbled Crystal Palace 4-1.
In the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid seem to have rediscover their forms as they have started to deliver and this time around beat Sevilla 2-0 with Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe on the score sheet but despite Real Madrid winning, they are four points behind the league leader FC Barcelona pipped Villarreal 2-0 at the Yellow submarine stadium and the Catalan goals were scored by Raphinha and Lamin Yamal to hand Hansi Flick side all the three points.
Real Oviedo had earlier settled for a drabbed goalless draw with Celta Vigo as Lavente were also held to a one-all draw by Real Sociedad, while Osasuna defeated Deportivo Alaves 3-0.
Girona were hammered 3-0 by Atletico Madrid, and Elche produced a 4-0 demolition of Rayo Vallacano, as Gatafe fell apart against Real Betis with a 4-0 demolition also.
In the Italian Serie A, Juventus defeated AS Roma 2-1, while Atalanta piped Genoa 1-0, with Lazio failing to beat Cremonese as they both settled for a goalless draw, and Cagliari could only manage a two-all draw with Pisa SC.
The biggest win of the week was recorded in the encounter between Fiorentina and Udinese where a total of six goals were scored to the delight of the Fiorentina fans while Torino beat Sassuolo 1-0
In the German Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund defeated Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 while Cologne failed 1-0 to Union Berlin as Hamburger and Eintracht Frankfurt battled to a one-all draw.
The league leader Bayern Munich, yet to lose a match this season in the German domestic league, humbled their host Heidenheim 4-0, while RB Leipzig were defeated 3-1 by Bayer Leverkusen, as SC Freiburg beat Wolfsburg, with Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Mainz 05 and FC St Pauli all settling for a goalless draw.
Results across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Newcastle United 2- Chelsea 2
Wolves 0- Brentford 2
Manchester City 3- West Ham 0
Brighton Albion 0- Sunderland 0
AFC Bournamount 1- Burnley 1
Tottenham 1- Liverpool FC 2
Leeds United 4- Crystal Palace 1
Everton 0- Arsenal 1
Aston Villa 2- Manchester United 1
Spanish La Liga
Valencia 1- Mallorca 1
Real Oviedo 0- Celta Vigo 0
Lavente 1- Real Sociedad 1
Osasuna 3- Deportivo Alaves 0
Real Madrid 2- Sevilla 0
Girona 0- Atletico Madrid 3
Villarreal 0- FC Barcelona 2
Elche 4- Rayo Vallacano 0
Real Betis 4- Gatafe 0
Italian Serie A
Lazio 0- Cremonese 0
Juventus 2- AS Roma 1
Cagliari 2- Pisa SC 2
Sassoulo 0- Torino 1
Fiorentina 5- Udinese 1
Genoa 0- Atalanta 1
German Bundesliga
Dortmund 2- Monchenglabach 0
Koln 0- Union Berlin 1
Hamburger 1- Frankfurt 1
FC Augsburg 0- Werder Bremen 0
Wolfsburg 3- SC Freiburg 4
Stuttgart 0- Hoffenheim 0
RB Leipzig 1- Bayer Leverkusen 3
Mainz 05 0- FC St Pauli 0
Heidenheim 0- Bayern Munich 4
