Arsenal responds to City: 4-1 at Leeds. De Zerbi’s Brighton comeback Brentford: 3-3

City trims a poker to Liverpool, Arsenal does the same at home against Leeds. After the national break, the Premier League restarts with a question and answer between Guardiola and Arteta’s teams: the Citizens win 4-1 in the match at 1.30pm, but Arsenal remain ahead by 8 points (with one game less to play ) thanks to goals from Jesus (brace), White and Xhaka. De Zerbi’s Brighton drew in extremis against Brentford (3-3), while the match between Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton ended 1-1. Bournemouth did well (2-1 against Fulham and out of the relegation zone) as did Roy Hodgson’s Palace: a debut to remember for the coach, who won with a goal in the 94th minute.

Arsenal 4-1 Leeds

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After City’s success against Liverpool, the Gunners need to win to secure first place. In the first half hour at the Emirates Stadium, however, Leeds – without Gnonto, injured – played the game: Kristensen, Summervile and Ayling made the Arsenal fans tremble and forced Ramsdale to show off with a couple of decisive saves. The Peacocks are compact in the defensive phase, but in the 35th minute they go behind due to the ingenuity of their captain: Ayling, ex from the match, lands Jesus in the penalty area. The Brazilian shows up on the spot and makes no mistake. At the start of the second half White doubled his lead by deflecting Martinelli’s cross-shot into the net, then the match went downhill. In the 55th minute Trossard serves Gabriel Jesus in tow who signs the trio. Kristensen closed in with a shot from the edge of the box deflected by Zinchenko. In the final Xhaka, with a header, sets the final score at 4-1.

BRIGHTON-BRENTFORD 3-3

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If De Zerbi is there, there is entertainment: just look at the first half hour of today’s match, between two teams competing for a place in the Conference League. Brentford got off to a good start and in the 10th minute went ahead with a goal from Jansson. The answer from the Seagulls comes in the 21st minute with Mitoma, launched deep directly by his goalkeeper. The Japanese sprinted to the edge of offside and, from the edge of the area, equalized with a lob. A minute later Brentford recovered the ball centrally, verticalized and scored with Toney. On 28′ Welbeck scores the 2-2 with a gore. The pace was the same even after the break: in the 49th minute Pinnock made it 3-2 for the Bees following a free kick. The challenge remained open until the last minute, in the 87th minute Hickey touched the ball with one arm in the area: the referee reviewed the action at the Var, then pointed to the spot. MacAllister made no mistake, Brighton equalized and remained in the running for a place in Europe, in sixth place in the table.

BOURNEMOUTH 2-1 FULHAM

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The hosts have a chance to move away from the relegation zone. Fulham have already reached their safety quota, play without pressure and do better than the Cherries in the first half. Andreas Pereira stamped the 0-1 in the 16th minute, concluding with a first intention shot an excellent action that developed on the left. In the 23rd minute Robinson shook the crossbar with a missile from distance: Fulham failed to double and Bournemouth took advantage of it. In the 50th minute, Tavernier scores the goal of the weekend: dribbling on the right and “tiraggir” at the far post, with the ball hitting just below the seven. In the 79th minute Solanke completes the comeback with a winning tap-in, which launches O’Neil’s team to fifteenth place in the standings.

CRYSTAL PALACE 2-1 LEICESTER CITY

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The Hodgson cure works and Palace, knocked out for four games and never winning in 2023, is starting to reap the benefits. In the first half against Leicester, the Eagles are just missing the goal. The bad news concerned Wilfried Zaha, who was injured in the 46th minute and left the field in tears. In the second half, the former Atalantino Castagne assisted Pereira to make it 0-1, but Palace equalized three minutes later through Eze. The 24-year-old’s free-kick shot over the barrier, kissed the inside of the crossbar, slammed into the goalkeeper and into the net. To make Hodgson’s return to the bench unforgettable, Jean-Philippe Mateta, on the pitch from the 86th minute, scored the 2-1 goal in full stoppage time.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1-1 WOLVERHAMPTON

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Wolves get the ball rolling. Freuler and his teammates let them do it and, when they recover it, they immediately aim for the opponent’s goal. In the first half, the wolves showed only with a cross from Matheus Nunes which, deflected by Niakhate, hit the crossbar. Forest took the lead in the 38th minute thanks to a diagonal shot by Brennan Johnson from a tight angle. The 1-0 lasted for almost an hour, but was canceled out by a shot from Podence in the 83rd minute: the Portuguese’s shot went past Keylor Navas. At the triple whistle the score is 1-1: Nottingham and Wolverhampton waste the chance to win three fundamental points to get closer to the goal-salvation.