England: Arsenal Holds Strong Against City's Pressure, Liverpool Continues Winning, Chelsea Struggles

Arsenal secured a narrow victory against Everton (1-0) on Saturday night, maintaining their top spot in the English Premier League with a two-point lead over Manchester City, who triumphed over West Ham (3-0). This 17th matchday also saw Liverpool edge out Tottenham (2-1) while Chelsea managed to earn a point against Newcastle (2-2).

Arsenal Remains Steadfast
Despite a dip in form in recent weeks, Arsenal continues to adhere to their principles and finds ways to win, even without excelling. Against Everton, Mikel Arteta's side demonstrated their strength by neutralizing nearly all of their opponent's attacks.

This was especially evident in the first half, where Everton's expected goals (xG) were an astonishing 0.00. Arsenal was not significantly more effective, scoring only from a penalty taken by Viktor Gyökeres after an absurd handball by Jake O'Brien during a corner (27th minute, 1-0). The Gunners controlled their opponent with ease for the remaining 45 minutes.

City Gaining Momentum
As rumors of Pep Guardiola's potential departure at the end of the season grow, Manchester City remains unfazed, achieving another victory on Saturday against West Ham (3-0).

The Citizens have now secured seven consecutive wins across all competitions, a feat not accomplished since April-May 2024 during their last title chase. Erling Haaland contributed to all three goals, scoring an early opener (5th minute), assisting Tijani Reijnders following a collective move initiated by Rayan Cherki (38th), and adding a third goal (69th). With 19 goals in 17 matches, the Norwegian is well ahead of Igor Thiago, who has 11 goals, in the scoring charts.

Liverpool Struggles to Victory
Almost exactly one year after a stunning 6-3 victory at the same venue, Liverpool bears little resemblance to the team that ended the season as champions. Their narrow win against Tottenham (2-1), despite being a man up for much of the match, allows Arne Slot's team to reclaim fifth place, though the performance was far from reassuring, especially after the red cards for Xavi Simons (33rd minute) and Cristian Romero (90+3).

Alexander Isak, who entered in the second half, provided the breakthrough with a goal in the 56th minute but suffered a knee injury due to a dangerous tackle from Micky van de Ven. Hugo Ekitiké doubled the lead ten minutes later (66th minute, 2-0) before Richarlison made it a tense finish with a goal for Tottenham (83rd minute, 2-1). Tottenham now finds themselves in 13th place, further jeopardizing the position of their Danish manager Thomas Frank.

A Breather for Maresca
Chelsea managed a fortunate draw against Newcastle (2-2) after a strong second-half response, but this did not mask a disastrous start to the match (the Magpies were up 2-0 by the 20th minute, with a brace from German Nick Woltemade) and the inability of Enzo Maresca's players to develop coherent collective play, which has drawn heavy criticism in recent weeks.

This result pushes Chelsea further away from the title race (ten points behind leaders Arsenal). It is not a great outcome for Newcastle either, remaining in the lower half of the table (11th place, six points from the Champions League qualifying spot). Newcastle thought they were safe with two goals from Woltemade (4th, 20th), who narrowly missed a chance for a third before halftime. After Reece James reduced the deficit with a perfect free-kick (2-1, 49th), Chelsea ramped up the intensity and miraculously equalized through Joao Pedro (66th) after a slip from Malick Thiaw.

AFP