MADRID, 26 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Arsenal did not fail and won (3-1) coming back from West Ham on ‘Boxing Day’ to remain firm at the top of the Premier League and continue enjoying his comfortable lead, while Julen Lopetegui made his debut in the English championship with an ‘in extremis’ victory (1-2) over Everton.
Mikel Arteta’s team remains unstoppable and consolidated its leadership this Monday by beating some ‘Hammers’ with work and forcefulness, who started well with a penalty from Said Benrahma after a VAR warning. The locals were not intimidated and already in the second half in just five minutes they turned that first scare around with goals from World Cup players Bakayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
The English winger was the most prominent of the ‘Gunners’ along with ex-Madridista Martin Odegaard, conductor of the Londoners’ good moment. Edward Nketiah completed Arsenal’s Christmas party by making it 3-1 when it was close to minute 70. It is the fourth consecutive victory and they have not lost since September 4, to add 40 points, seven above Newcastle and eight ahead of Manchester City.
At 6:30 p.m., Liverpool continued their particular rise to the top of the Premier League, beating Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who was left without a ‘gift’ from Santa Claus at home. Mohamed Salah put the ‘Reds’ ahead very soon and Virgil Van Dijk made it 0-2 before the break. Ollie Watkins gave the locals hope before the game hour, but Stefan Bajcetic, the second youngest Spaniard to score in the Premier (18), sealed the victory for Juergen Klopp’s men when he had only been on the field for two minutes.
Liverpool is sixth with 25 points, just one from European places, while Emery’s men remain twelfth with 18 points and move away from Europe, with four defeats in the last seven league games.
The day of ‘Boxing Day’ was opened by Brentford-Tottenham, a match in which Antonio Conte’s men ‘saved the furniture’, coming back in just five minutes halfway through the first part. The locals started much more plugged in, enjoying the best chances. Meanwhile, the ‘Spurs’ continued in their lethargy to suffer the first blow from Vitaly Janelt, who made it 1-0 after the first quarter of an hour.
With no time for a reaction, the ‘wasps’ stung again after the break with Ivan Toney’s 2-0 score at minute 54′, which seemed to end a duel in which Tottenham had not yet appeared. However, after the first hour of play, Harry Kane -13 goals this season in the League- brought his team back to life with a great header to close the gap. An inertia that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg took advantage of to equalize.
THE WOLVES COME BACK IN 95′ IN LOPETEGUI’S DEBUT AT THE PREMIERE
Julen Lopetegui made his debut in the Premier League with a ‘miracle’ in minute 95. Wolves beat Everton ‘in extremis’ and enjoyed a domestic victory that they had not celebrated since October 15. The match started badly for those of the Spanish coach, with an early goal from Colombian center-back Yerry Mina, who would leave injured in the second half.
Earlier, at 22′, Daniel Podence achieved a tie that would last until the last seconds of the duel. With equality reigning throughout the second third of the game, the last quarter of an hour went to Frank Lampard’s men, who turned their heads to win the three points. This created spaces at the back that Wolves took advantage of with the speed of Adama Traoré, who in a transition from the right with a minute to spare served the ball to Rayan Ait Nouri to generate madness.
It is Lopetegui’s second consecutive victory in an official match at the helm of the English team, after already beating Gillingham FC of the Fourth Division (2-0) in the Carabao Cup. , which precisely marks Everton with 14 points.
For their part, Newcastle continued their good work after the World Cup with a 3-0 win against Leicester to place second with 33 points. It is the eighth consecutive victory in an official match, and the ‘Urracas’ have already linked 13 duels without losing, since August 31. Chris Wood, Miguel Almirón and Joelinton sentenced in the first part, while the ‘Foxes’ are placed thirteenth and see the red zone only four units away.
Southampton-Brighton clarified the short-medium term destination of both teams, with a resounding victory (1-3) for the visitors, driven by a great Solomon March. The ‘Seagulls’ are seventh in their competitive return with 24 points with Europe on the horizon, while the ‘Saints’ have nothing to celebrate after remaining bottom with only 12 points and four consecutive defeats in the League. Finally, Fulham beat Crystal Palace (0-3) to gain more oxygen and add 22 units.