(Football news) In what was another new low for Manchester United, the Red Devils lost 1-0 to Everton at Goodison Park, thereby denting their Champions League hopes even further while the Toffees secured an important win in their pursuit of survival in the Premier League. Anthony Gordon’s deflected shot off Harry Maguire’s back in the 27th minute was enough to seal the win for the hosts who were the better side after a rather toothless performance by the Red Devils.
It was another disjointed and lethargic performance by Manchester United while Everton seemed to simply want it more and fought hard to win the second balls. The result means that Everton are now four points ahead of Burnley and are hovering just above the relegation zone. Goodison Park represents Everton’s best hopes of survival as Lampard’s five victories have come on home soil.
Meanwhile at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal suffered a 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion as the Seagulls ended their seven game winless run. Having already lost to Crystal Palace 3-0 last week, the Gunners couldn’t come up with an appropriate response as Leandro Trossard scored the opening goal in the 28th minute to give the visitors the lead. Gabriel Martinelli had a header disallowed for offside by the VAR in what was a very tight call and to make matters worse, Enock Mwepu scored from a half volley in the 67th minute to double Brighton’s advantage.
It was a nervy ending for the travelling supporters as Martin Odegaard’s long range deflected strike found the back of the net in the 89th minute and the Gunners upped the tempo in pursuit of a valuable equaliser to keep their top four hopes alive. Eddie Nketiah’s attempt deep into injury time was blocked by Robert Sanchez, ensuring that Arsenal couldn’t secure a point from this fixture while Brighton moved to 11th place.
Chelsea secured an emphatic 6-0 win over Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium with all their goals being scored in the opening 50 minutes. Having lost back-to-back games, Tuchel’s side needed to get back on track to maintain their third place in the Premier League and they did just that with a ruthless performance. Marcos Alonso opened the scoring in the 8th minute after being set up by Mason Mount who also found the back of the net in the 16th minute from the edge of the area.
With the Blues already two goals up, Timo Werner scored Chelsea’s third in the 21st minute after hitting the post and the crossbar earlier. The German struck the woodwork once again for the third time in the first half but Kai Havertz was on hand to capitalise on the rebound in the 31st minute. Forster was kept occupied after blocking attempts by Havertz and Rudiger before half-time but failed to stop Timo Werner in the 49th minute who scored in an empty net after the goalkeeper saved an attempt by N’Golo Kante.
Southampton had an opportunity to score a consolation goal through Che Adams but he was denied by Edouard Mendy while Werner could have had a hat-trick but the rebound after Forster’s save fell kindly on Mason Mount who tapped it in for Chelsea’s sixth goal. The result means that Chelsea are currently third with 62 points from 30 games while Southampton are 11th with 36 points from 31 games.
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