EBPL: Arsenal’s defense finally carved in by Sunderland
By Tanko Bauka
The waterproof defensive line of Arsenal FC have finally been breached and in the process, conceded two goals.
Before the Sunderland match, Arsenal FC had gone 8 matches without conceding a goal, but Sunderland made life so difficult for the Gunners as they ran riot, demonstrating that their previous impressive performance was not a fluke.
They cut Arsenal defense at will and their pressure and persistence finally paid off as they broke the deadlock in the 35 minutes of the first half and the first half proceedings ended 1-0 in favour of Sunderland but on resumption of the second half, Arsenal took charge of proceeding and level up through Bukayo Saka wearing the Captain’s arm band in place of injured Martin Odergard.
Leandro Trossard gave the Arteta boys a deserved lead, and they were cruising to victory, not knowing Sunderland had a different plan. The spirited Sunderland players refused to relent, and they got their equaliser in the 94th minute of the match to share the spoils with Arsenal.
Arsenal would have gone 9 points clear with a win but Manchester City benefited immensely from Arsenal slip as they grabbed the opportunity to reduce the gap to four points with a comfortable 3-0 pounding of the defending Champion Liverpool FC at the Etihad Stadium and Liverpool were condemned to the 7th position on 17 points same as Manchester United which has earlier play out a two all draw with Tottenham Hotspurs in yet another poor home performance by the Thomas Frank boys.
Manchester United, on the other hand, would be pleased with the results as the last-minute leveller secured a point for them.
Chelsea showed some of the skills that make them the Club World Cup Champions as they swept aside manager-less Wolves 3-0 in a pulsating fashion at Stamford Bridge Stadium in London, and with the way the Enzo Maresca boys dispatched Wolves, it shows the qualities of this Chelsea team.
Aston Villa produce an emphatic 4-0 win against AFC Bournamount at Villa Park Stadium to send a warning signal to other teams that their building process is now beginning to take a shape and is yielding positive results while Nothingham Forest also were on the winning side as they came from behind to beat Leeds United 3-1 with West Ham United starting to impress as they defeated Burnley 3-2 to pocket all the three points as they battle to get out of the relegation zone.
Newcastle United put up yet again a shambolic performance as they allowed a 1-goal lead to slip to a 3- 1 defeat to Brentford.
Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion played out a drab goalless draw at Selhurst Park Stadium, while Everton bounced back to winning ways with a 2-0 win against Fulham.
In the Spanish La Liga Real Madrid missed the opportunity to extend their lead as they played out a drab goalless draw with Rayo Vallacano while FC Barcelona capitalised on Real Madrid’s blankness and grabbed all three points at stake by beating Celta Vigo 4- 2, and Atletico Madrid picked all three points with a 3-1 win against Levante.
Villarreal continued their impressive form in the league with a comfortable 2-0 away win against Espanyol, while Athletic Bilbao defeated Real Oviedo 1-0, and Sevilla pocketed all three points also with a win against Osasuna.
In the Italian Serie A, Inter Milan dethroned the league leader Napoli with a hard-earned 2-0 win against Lazio, as the league leader and the defending Champion Napoli had been beaten 2-0 by Bologna in a result that shocked the football world.
AS Roma had earlier defeated Udinese 2-0, while Juventus could not utilise the home advantage as they were forced to a goalless draw by Torino, as AC Milan failed to pick up all three points as they were held to a two-all draw by Parma, while Sassuolo cruised to victory against inconsistent Atalanta.
In the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich’s one-hundred per cent record was put to the test as they laboured so hard to earn a two-all draw against Union Berlin.
Borussia Dortmund were held to a one-all draw by newly promoted Hamburg, while RB Leipzig lost 3-1 to Hoffenheim, as Bayer Leverkusen demolished Heidenheim 6-0, with Stuttgart winning 3-2.
Results across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Tottenham 2- Manchester United 2
West Ham 3- Burnley 2
Everton 2- Fulham 0
Sunderland 2- Arsenal 2
Chelsea 3- Wolves 0
Nottingham 3- Leeds United 1
Crystal Palace 0-Brighton 0
Brentford 3- Newcastle 1
Aston Villa 4- Bournamount 0
Manchester City 3- Liverpool 0
Spanish La Liga
Elche 1- Real Sociedad 1
Girona 1- Deportivo Alaves 1
Sevilla 1- Osasuna 0
Atletico Madrid 3- Lavente 1
Espanyol 0- Villarreal 2
Athletic Bilbao 1- Real Oviedo 0
Rayo Vallacano 0- Real Madrid 0
Valencia 1- Real Betis 1
Mallorca 1- Gatafe 0
Celta Vigo 2- FC Barcelona 4
Italian Serie A
Pisa SC 1- Cremonese 0
Lacce 0- Hellas Verona 0
Como 0- Cagliari 0
Juventus 0- Torino 0
Parma 2- AC Milan 2
Atalanta 0- Sassoulo 3
Genoa 2- Fiorentina 2
Bologna 2- Napoli 0
AS Roma 2- Udinese 0
