Tue, Dec 10, 2024 page6

• Chelsea down Spurs after Arsenal stumble

  • AFP, LONDON
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  Chelsea on Sunday roared back from two goals down to defeat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3, moving just four points behind English Premier League leaders Liverpool after Arsenal were held by Fulham.

  The Gunners and Chelsea both started the day seven points adrift of Arne Slot’s side, whose game this weekend was postponed due to stormy weather.

  Arsenal were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw, but Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, kicking off later on Sunday, mounted a stunning comeback at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

  

  Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, left, scores against Tottenham Hotspur in their English Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday.

  Photo: EPA-EFE

  Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski put Spurs two goals up inside 11 minutes, but Jadon Sancho quickly pulled one back with a fine strike and the second half belonged to the visitors.

  Cole Palmer equalized from the penalty spot in the 61st minute and Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea ahead 12 minutes later.

  Palmer’s ice-cool “Panenka” penalty gave the visitors a two-goal cushion, before Son Heung-min added a late third for Spurs.

  

  Arsenal’s William Saliba celebrates scoring against Fulham in their English Premier League match at Craven Cottage in London on Sunday.

  Photo: Reuters

  Second-placed Chelsea now have 31 points after 15 games, two points ahead of London rivals Arsenal. Liverpool, with a game in hand, are on 35 points.

  “The plan or the idea is to not let the players slow down,” Maresca told Sky Sports. “They cannot drop because they know another player is waiting to come in.”

  However, the Italian, in his first season at Stamford Bridge, played down his team’s title chances.

  “Arsenal, [Manchester] City and Liverpool probably don’t slide like [Chelsea defender Marc] Cucurella did. To be serious, we are not ready, we are far from these teams, but we focus on [the] day-by-day and trying to improve the team.”

  The defeat is a disastrous result for under-pressure Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, whose side hammered champions Manchester City 4-0 just two weeks previous.

  “It is a sore one, a painful one,” said the Australian, whose team are now 11th in the Premier League table after their seventh defeat.

  Earlier, Bukayo Saka had a late winner ruled out for offside by a video assistant referee review as the Gunners’ four-match winning streak was halted in west London.

  Raul Jimenez fired Fulham into an early lead, before William Saliba leveled after yet another Arsenal goal from a corner.

  “We are very disappointed not to win the game — overall we absolutely dominated the game from start to end,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told the BBC. “We did all the things that we wanted to do during the game and unfortunately we concede one goal in one shot. The way the team played, the way the team wanted to win, it was unbelievable.”

  Arsenal were still without influential defensive pair Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori through injury, and Fulham exposed a makeshift left side of the Gunners’ backline to take the lead.

  Kenny Tete’s ball in behind was pounced on by Jimenez, who drove forward and fired brilliantly across David Raya into the far corner on 11 minutes.

  Arsenal underlined their threat from set-pieces when they scored twice from corners to beat Manchester United 2-0 last week.

  Yet for all their preparations, Fulham were still powerless to prevent the corner kings from striking again.

  Saliba stabbed home Kai Havertz’s header from close range for Arsenal’s 23rd goal from corners since the beginning of last season.

  Another corner should have led to the winner, but Thomas Partey nodded wide when unmarked from another pinpoint Declan Rice delivery.

  Saka did head in at the back post as stoppage-time approached, but Gabriel Martinelli had strayed offside before supplying the cross.

  Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City struck twice late on to deny Brighton & Hove Albion in a 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium.

  Tariq Lamptey opened the scoring in spectacular fashion with a looping effort into the top corner from outside the penalty area and Yankuba Minteh looked to have sealed the three points for the Seagulls, but Jamie Vardy started the comeback on 86 minutes before teeing up Bobby De Cordova-Reid to snatch a point in stoppage-time.

  AFC Bournemouth also scored twice in the dying minutes to deny struggling Ipswich Town a first home win in the top flight for 22 years in a 2-1 win at Portman Road.
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