Fulham 0-3 Arsenal
Man Utd 0-0 Southampton
Westham 1-1 Aston Villa
Newcastle 2-1 Wolves
Arsenal Restore Five Point Lead With Win At Fulham
Arsenal restored their five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League in outstanding fashion with a ruthless victory at Fulham.
Mikel Arteta’s side responded to Manchester City’s narrow victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday night by wrapping up this win by half-time as they opened up a 3-0 lead with a devastating attacking display.
Gabriel Martinelli had already had a goal narrowly ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), before defender Gabriel headed in Leandro Trossard’s corner after 21 minutes – the first of a trio of assists for the Belgian.
Trossard then crossed for Martinelli to beat the static Antonee Robinson to head home at the far post five minutes later, before providing the delivery for captain Martin Odegaard’s cool finish in first-half stoppage time.
Fulham mounted a belated threat after the break as visiting keeper Aaron Ramsdale denied Bobby de Cordova-Reid, while Tosin Adarabioyo headed against the woodwork.
Arsenal, however, were always in control and Arteta was able to re-introduce influential striker Gabriel Jesus for the first time since he required knee surgery after being injured playing for Brazil against Cameroon at the World Cup for a 13-minute cameo.
Trossard stands out as Gunners pass another test
This had all the hallmarks of a hazardous fixture for Arsenal given Fulham’s impressive campaign and the pressure on after Manchester City reduced their lead to two points.
But, once again, the steel, character and skill that has characterised their season was on show.
The £21m capture of Trossard from Brighton in January looks increasingly shrewd by the week and he ran riot down Fulham’s right flank, taking on the role of creator-in-chief before being substituted to a standing ovation in the closing stages.
Arsenal have been presented with examinations of different types on a regular basis in this impressive attempt to win a first title since 2004 – and they passed this one with flying colours.
The Gunners dug deep to come from two goals down to beat Bournemouth in the 97th minute in last weekend’s game at Emirates Stadium, while here they stamped their authority all over a lacklustre Fulham from the first whistle.
Manchester City had asked the question by winning at Selhurst Park. Arsenal provided the answer at Craven Cottage with their fifth successive Premier League win. BBC
Casemiro Sent Off For Second Time This Season In Entertaining Goalless Draw
Manchester United and Southampton played out a thrilling goalless draw at Old Trafford after Casemiro was sent off in the first half.
The United midfielder was shown a second red card of the season in the 34th minute for a studs-up tackle on Carlos Alcaraz and is now set for a four-game ban. The Brazilian was initially shown a yellow card for the foul by referee Anthony Taylor, only for VAR to send Taylor to the pitchside monitor and after reviewing the incident he gave Casemiro a straight red card.
United felt further aggrieved with the officials as they had several penalty appeals turned down during the game.
Both sides came close to scoring as Bruno Fernandes smashed the post for United, while Southampton hit the woodwork twice and had an effort cleared off the line.
The two goalkeepers – David de Gea and Gavin Bazunu – also made some outstanding saves to keep it scoreless.
It is a vital point for bottom-side Southampton, who are now two points from 17th place, although they will feel they could have taken a shock victory at Old Trafford.
United, meanwhile, failed to strengthen their grip on third place and now sit just two points ahead of fourth-placed Tottenham, who they have a game in hand on. SkySports
West Ham Out Of Relegation Zone After Villa Draw
West Ham lifted themselves out of the relegation zone with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa after being awarded a penalty for Said Benrahma’s equaliser that Unai Emery described as being “very soft”.
After Bournemouth’s shock win over Liverpool on Saturday, West Ham started the game in the bottom three and it looked as though they would stay there when Ollie Watkins headed Villa in front (17), scoring in his fourth consecutive Premier League away game.
But West Ham were handed a lifeline when Villa forward Leon Bailey conceded a penalty after very minimal contact on Lucas Paqueta. Benrahama made no mistake as he smashed in the equaliser (26).
“I respect the referees 100 per cent,” said Emery. “But my opinion today is that it is a very soft penalty.
The result takes David Moyes’ side out of the relegation zone and above Bournemouth on goal difference as they ended Villa’s two-game winning streak to alleviate some of the pressure that was building after last Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing at Brighton. SkySports
Raphinha Strike Lifts Barcelona Back To Nine Point Lead
Barcelona restored their nine-point lead at the top of La Liga with a narrow victory at Athletic Bilbao.
Raphinha hit the winner with a drilled effort in first-half injury-time.
Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made several fine stops to deny Bilbao, who had a late Inaki Williams goal ruled out for handball after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check.
Oier Zarraga’s effort was also cleared off the line by Jules Kounde in added time as Barca clung on.
It meant Xavi’s side extended their advantage over rivals Real Madrid, who had briefly cut Barca’s lead to six points after beating Espanyol on Saturday,
The two rivals are set to meet in El Clasico at the Nou Camp on Sunday.
Ernesto Valverde’s Bilbao side, meanwhile, stay ninth after a 10th defeat of the season, although they can consider themselves unlucky after a spirited performance.
Barca top scorer Robert Lewandowski, back in the side after recovering from injury, had an early opportunity when he broke clear on goal but his shot was smothered by the onrushing Julen Agirrezabala.
That seemed to spark Bilbao, who went close twice in quick succession when Williams’ shot was saved by Ter Stegen and Raul Garcia’s header from the resulting corner hit the bar.
Barca went ahead when Sergio Busquets’ probing pass was collected by Raphinha in the area and the former Leeds forward fired across Agirrezabala and into the far corner for his second goal in successive games.
The Brazilian’s celebrations were initially cut short by the assistant referee’s flag, but replays showed he was well onside and VAR overturned the decision.
Bilbao were the stronger side in the second half, but efforts from Alex Berenguer and Iker Muniain were superbly saved by Ter Stegen.
Bilbao thought they had the equaliser their pressure deserved when Williams raced onto a pass over the top and powered the ball home, but the goal was eventually chalked off for a handball by Muniain in the build-up. BBC
…As Real Madrid Back Corruption Charges Against Barca
Real Madrid say they will support the corruption charges faced by Barcelona over money paid to the vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee.
Real are prepared to “defend their interests” when proceedings are opened.
On Friday, a court heard Barcelona have been indicted for “corruption”, “breach of trust” and “false business records”.
Prosecutors allege Barca paid 8.4m euros (£7.4m) to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira and his company in return for favourable refereeing decisions.
Barcelona, who deny any wrongdoing, acknowledged the payments were made to Dasnil 95 between 2001 and 2018.
The Catalan club described the company as “an external technical consultant” which was paid to compile video reports related to professional referees “with the aim of complementing the information required by the coaching staff”.
Former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as Negreira, have also been indicted alongside the club.
The lawsuits were brought by the Barcelona public prosecutor’s office.
“FC Barcelona obtained and maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira so that, in his capacity as vice-president of the technical arbitral committee (CTA) and in exchange for money, the latter carries out actions tending to benefit FC Barcelona in decisions by the referees,” prosecutors said.
A senior Barcelona official said the club had expected the prosecutors’ complaint and described it as “nothing more than an absolutely preliminary investigative hypothesis”.
Real Madrid held a board meeting on Sunday to discuss the issue, outlining their position after having “inspected the serious accusations”.
“Real Madrid wishes to express its utmost concern regarding the gravity of the facts and reiterates its confidence in the legal system,” said the reigning Spanish champions.
“The club has agreed that, in defence of its legitimate rights, it will appear at the trial when the judge opens it up to the affected parties.”
Barcelona president Joan Laporta responded by insisting the club is the “victim of a campaign” to “harm its honourability”, urging fans to remain “calm”.
“It is no surprise and we will defend Barca and prove that the club is innocent,” he tweeted. BBC
