Arsenal on Sunday rekindled their bid for a first English Premier League title in 20 years by beating leaders Liverpool 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium as Chelsea succumbed to another embarrassing defeat, 4-2 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Liverpool’s hopes of sending off manager Juergen Klopp as a champion of England were dented as Arsenal closed to within two points at the top of the table.
Mikel Arteta said before the game that his side could not afford a repeat of their 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Liverpool last month if they were to keep their title hopes alive.
Photo: Reuters
As in the cup tie, Arsenal dominated the opening stages, but this time got their reward with the opening goal. Bukayo Saka stroked home after Alisson Becker denied Kai Havertz.
Liverpool did not have a shot on target in the first half, but leveled after a defensive mix-up, when Gabriel Magalhaes turned Luis Diaz’s cross into his own net.
The visitors repaid the favor after halftime as Alisson collided with Virgil van Dijk when he rushed out from his goal and presented Gabriel Martinelli with the simple of task of rolling the ball into an empty net.
Liverpool missed the presence of Mohamed Salah in their push for an equalizer and were left with a mountain to climb when Ibrahima Konate was sent off for a second yellow card after fouling Havertz.
Leandro Trossard then took advantage of the space on the right side of the Liverpool defense as he surged forward and blasted beyond Alisson.
“We were ruthless when we had a chance and it feels like a big win,” Arteta said. “It gives us momentum and the way we have done it we are back on [the title race]. [I’m] really excited.”
Defending champions Manchester City remained just five points off the top, but had two games in hand.
Mauricio Pochettino apologized to the Chelsea fans after Matheus Cunha’s hat-trick handed Wolves their first victory at Stamford Bridge since 1979.
The Blues were booed off by furious fans after dropping into the bottom half of the table.
Chelsea were thrashed by Liverpool 4-1 on Wednesday last week and their week to forget finished with an even more embarrassing loss as Wolves completed the double over the woeful west Londoners.
Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead with a composed angled finish from Moises Caicedo’s defense-splitting pass in the 19th minute, but Chelsea’s lead lasted just three minutes, with Cunha’s shot taking a hefty deflection off Thiago Silva to leave Blues goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic wrong-footed.
Pochettino wore an exasperated look in the 43rd minute when Rayan Ait Nouri’s shot deflected in for an own-goal off Chelsea defender Axel Disasi.
The already fraught atmosphere turned even more toxic in the 63rd minute when Pedro Neto teed up Cunha to drive in Wolves’ third goal.
Cunha’s 82nd-minute penalty, awarded when he was fouled by Malo Gusto, capped a miserable afternoon for Pochettino, who took no consolation from Silva’s close-range finish in the 86th minute.
With trips to Aston Villa in the FA Cup and Manchester City among their next three games, Chelsea could be in complete disarray by the time they face Liverpool in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on Feb. 25.
“We are not matching the history of the club,” Pochettino said. “It is a different project and it is a matter of time, but it is difficult for me to always say [we need more] time.”
Manchester United climbed into sixth with a 3-0 win over West Ham United as Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho gave the Red Devils a glimpse of a bright future.
Hojlund failed to score in his first 14 Premier League games, but now has four in four as he marked his 21st birthday with a thumping strike to open the scoring.
Garnacho’s deflected effort made it 2-0 early in the second half, before the Argentine rounded off the scoring six minutes from time.
“The goals today showed young players with high potential,” United coach Erik ten Hag said. “They get used to the Premier League standards. Every game they are growing and improving, and adapting to a higher level.”
However, victory came at a cost for United as Lisandro Martinez suffered a serious looking knee injury.
Nottingham Forest moved two points above the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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