1-1 at Anfield, Tottenham's victory over Everton (2-1) and Manchester United's defeat at West Ham (2-0)
MADRID, 23 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Liverpool drew (1-1) at home with Arsenal and failed in their assault on the leadership of the Premier League, just as had happened the day before to Aston Villa, during a matchday 18 where this Saturday they also saw Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 victory over Everton and Manchester United's defeat (2-0) in their visit to West Ham United.
The Saturday round of matches opened at the Olympic Stadium in London, where West Ham injured a rival whose coach is in question. Not in vain, Erik ten Hag's charges conceded two goals during the second half in a period of six minutes, first by Jarrod Bowen (72') and then by Mohammed Kudus (78').
This poor harvest left the 'red devils' with 28 points, out of European positions and mired in a slump of four games without winning in all competitions. For their part, the Hammers reached 30 points to occupy sixth position and get closer to Manchester City, who are 34 and have a league match still pending.
Just above in the table, now with 36 points, is Tottenham thanks to a victory that was almost difficult for them at the end. Richarlison and Heung-Min Son scored goals for the Spurs in just over a quarter of an hour, but André Gomes reduced the deficit in the 82nd minute and this situation generated uncertainty in the local stands.
In that fight for the noble zone, Newcastle United gave ground on their visit to Luton Town, as the victory (1-0) remained at Kenilworth Road due to a single goal from Andros Townsend in the 25th minute. With 29 points the 'magpies' remain in seventh place and with 12 points Luton remains in relegation positions, hot after Burnley's 0-2 victory (11 pts.) in their visit to Fulham (21 pts.) .
The worst loser of the day was Nottingham Forest, seventeenth classified with 14 points, due to their 2-3 home defeat against Bournemouth. In this way, Andoni Iraola's pupils spoiled Nuno Espírito Santo's debut as the new coach of a Forest whose position establishes the limit of permanence in this 2023/24 Premier League.
Finally, the spotlights fell on Anfield at the end of the afternoon. A duel of impossible height, with the second receiving the leader, who struck first thanks to an accurate header from Gabriel Magalhães in a lateral free kick, taken by Martin Odegaard in the 4th minute. Liverpool recovered quickly and, as a result, He equalized with a goal from Mohamed Salah.
It was at half an hour, in a very long ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold that the Egyptian tamed on one side, he was outlined to dribble past Oleksandr Zinchenko and executed an impeccable left foot shot into the back of the net. The 'reds' showed better weapons than their opponent, but they missed a very clear scoring chance in the 72nd minute, following a counterattack guided by Salah and in which Alexander-Arnold crashed his shot against the crossbar.
Although Harvey Elliott later had another good opportunity when a shot was deflected into a corner by a defender, the scoreboard did not move. This situation left Arsenal at the top of the league with 40 points and Liverpool in second place with 39, the same number of points that Aston Villa led by Unai Emery accumulates in third place.
–RESULTS AND SCHEDULES OF DAY 18 IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE.
-Thursday.
Crystal Palace – Brighton 1-1.
-Friday.
Aston Villa – Sheffield United 1-1.
-Saturday, December 23.
West Ham – Manchester United 2-0.
Fulham – Burnley 0-2.
Luton – Newcastle 1-0.
Manchester City – Brentford Postponed.
Nottingham Forest – Bournemouth 2-3.
Tottenham – Everton 2-1.
Liverpool – Arsenal 1-1.
-Domingo 24.
Wolverhampton – Chelsea 14.00.