Chelsea held Manchester City as Arsenal and Aston Villa fine form continue
By Tanko Bauka
Arsenal’s impressive form continue with yet another 3-2 win against AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to extend their lead to six points ahead of Manchester City, who were held to a one-all draw by Managerless Chelsea, which just parted company with their head coach Enzo Maresca.
Arsenal entered the encounter fully aware of the threat from their host, and during the match, a costly mistake by Gabriel Magalhaes, who passed the ball blindly to Evanilson, gifted AFC Bournemouth its first goal.
Still, Gabriel Magalhaes immediately made amends when he latched onto a blocked shot to level up for the Gunners.
Declan Rice combined beautifully with Martin Odergard to take the lead and was also on hand to tap in from a pull-back from Bukayo Saka to ensure that they pocketed all three points going into a very crucial game with the defending Champion Liverpool on Thursday at the Emirates Stadium in London.
Aston Villa had earlier defeated Nothingham Forest 3-1 to further push the Sean Dyche team close to relegation water as they have failed to win any encounter in as many matches while Wolves won for the first time in the league beating West Ham United 3-0 in the process to battle for survival as Brighton and Hove Albion defeated Burnley 2-0 the battle for survival would get interesting especially with Wolves now picking up points.
Manchester United failed to beat their host Leeds United at Elland Road as they were held to a one-all draw by the Daniel Farke boys, though the Ruben Amorim boys sit six points behind on the table.
Questions are still being asked if he is the right person for the Manchester United job.
Tottenham Hotspur falter again as they could not defend the solitary goal and were pegged back by Sunderland to share the points, while Fulham snatched a late equaliser to deny Liverpool all three at Craven Cottage Stadium in London. The encounter ended 2-2.
Newcastle United beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Saint James’ Park, while Everton lost 4-2 to Brentford.
In the Spanish La Liga, the defending Champion FC Barcelona defeated Espanyol 2-0 to extend their grip at the top of the league table, as their arch-rival Real Madrid also demolished Real Betis 5-1 to closely follow behind, while Real Sociedad held Atletico Madrid to a one-all draw.
Celta Vigo beat Valencia 4-1, Elche lost 1-3 to Villarreal, and Sevilla were beaten 3-1 by Levante.
Osasuna, Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo Alaves and Real Oviedo all settled for a one-all draw.
In the Italian Serie A, AC Milan defeated Cagliari 1-0 as Juventus failed to take home advantage against Lacce and were held to a one-all draw, while Atalanta defeated AS Roma 1-0.
The defending Champion Napoli beat Lazio 2-0, as Inter Milan also defeated Bologna 3-1, with Fiorentina picking up yet another three points as they continue their survival battles.
Results across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa 3- Nottingham 1
Wolves 3- West Ham United 0
Brighton Albion 2- Burnley 0
AFC Bournamount 2- Arsenal 3
Leeds 1- Manchester United 1
Newcastle 2- Crystal Palace 0
Tottenham 1- Sunderland 1
Fulham 2- Liverpool 2
Everton 2- Brentford 4
Manchester City 1- Chelsea 1
Spanish La Liga
Rayo Vallacano 1- Gatafe 1
Celta Vigo 4- Valencia 1
Osasuna 1- Athletic Bilbao 1
Elche 1-Villerreal 3
Espanyol 0- FC Barcelona 2
Sevilla 1- Lavente 3
Real Madrid 5- Real Betis 1
Mallorca 1- Girona 2
Deportivo 1- Real Oviedo 1
Real Sociedad 1- Atletico Madrid 1
Italian Serie A
Cagliari 0- AC Milan 1
Como 1- Udinese 0
Sassoulo 1- Parma 1
Genoa 1- Pisa SC 1
Juventus 1- Lacce 1
Atalanta 1- AS Roma 0
Lazio 0- Napoli 2
Fiorentina 1- Cremonese 0
Hellas Verona 0- Torino 3
Inter Milan 3- Bologna 1
Meanwhile, actions resumed on Tuesday in the Premier League with a mouth-watering encounter between the league leader Arsenal and the defending Champion Liverpool, while Manchester City host Brighton as Crystal Palace welcome Aston Villa, with Manchester United travelling to take on Burnley.
AFC Bournemouth ambushed Tottenham Hotspur at the Vitality Stadium, while West Ham United host Nottingham Forest as they fight for survival, and Brentford entertain Sunderland.
In the Italian Serie A, Pisa host Cesc Fabregas Como Lecce tackle AS Roma, and Sassuolo welcome Juventus.
Napoli engage Hellas Verona, with Bologna slugging it out with Atalanta, while Parma tackle Inter Milan, as Lazio host Fiorentina.
Torino welcome Udinese, while Cremonese tackle Cagliari, with AC Milan hosting Genoa.
Fixtures across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Tuesday
West Ham United vs Nothingham
Wednesday
Manchester City vs Brighton
Everton vs Wolves
Fulham vs Chelsea
Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa
Brentford vs Sunderland
AFC Bournamount vs Tottenham
Newcastle vs Leeds United
Burnley vs Manchester United
Thursday
Arsenal vs Liverpool
Italian Serie A
Tuesday
Pisa SC vs Como
Lacce vs AS Roma
Sassoulo vs Juventus
Wednesday
Napoli vs Hellas Verona
Bologna vs Atalanta
Torino vs Udinese
Parma vs Inter Milan
Lazio vs Fiorentina
