Vital wins for Leeds and West Ham
A look back at Saturday’s Premier League action, with key wins for Leeds and West Ham at the bottom of the table.
- Goalscorers: Lerma 83′; Alvarez 15′, Haaland 29′, Foden 45′, Mepham OG 51′
Manchester City kept the pressure on Arsenal at the top Premier League table with a comfortable 4-1 win over Bournemouth.
Julian Alvarez – one of four changes since last week’s tie against Forest – opened the scoring when he converted from close range after Erling Haaland’s shot hit the bar.
Haaland then got one himself before Phil Foden capitalized on a loose pass to give the champions a confident 3-0 lead at the break.
Alvarez was denied a second as his shot was ruled wide when he hit Chris Mepham before finding the back of the net early in the second half.
Jefferson Lerma converted late but it was no more than a consolation in a contest that looked decided after just 30 minutes.
- Goalscorers: Ings 70′ 72′, Rice 78′, Antonio 85′
A notable late blitz from West Ham emphatically secured the crucial three points in a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Reports in the week leading up to the competition turned to David Moyes and his future, with key outlets believing that a defeat here would have sacked him.
His team reacted in the best possible way as Danny Ings’ quick-fire brace unleashed an avalanche of goals. Declan Rice and Michail Antonio grabbed the others – the latter did so a minute after coming on.
It’s a result that pushed the Hammers out of the relegation zone after Everton dropped points at home to Aston Villa.
Javi Gracia’s tenure as Leeds manager began in the best possible way with a crucial three points in a 1-0 win over fellow contenders Southampton.
Junior Firpo’s late strike gave the Whites their first league win since November 5, a performance that would have brought both relief and cheering at Elland Road.
Leeds were largely dominant in their first game under the new head coach, as Gracia’s side were well organized and had much-needed structure, which was lacking for large parts of the season.
Southampton remain bottom of the Premier League – now four points adrift of safety. Their dire situation would have been far worse if Chelsea had taken any of the numerous chances last week.
Arsenal secured top spot in the Premier League with a 1-0 away win at Leicester.
Gabriel Martinelli’s goal just after half-time was the difference between the two sides, with Bukayo Saka seeing a goal less than ten minutes later that was ruled out for offside.
His goal made it twice after the empty net against Aston Villa last time out – his first in a run of six straight league games without a goal.
It was a one-sided affair in terms of chances being created – as could be expected pre-game – with Arsenal’s ability to limit chances being as impressive as their work to create them at the other end.
- Goalscorers: Watkins (pen) 63′, Buendia 81′
Aston Villa put a frustrating couple of weeks behind them to secure a 2-0 away win at the struggling Everton.
Ollie Watkins’ penalty just after the hour mark gave them the lead before Emi Buendia’s shot late in regulation secured the crucial three points, ending a three-game losing streak.
It’s now two wins and two losses for Everton under Sean Dyche, with the Toffees unable to follow up on last week’s three points against Leeds with a repeat in front of their own supporters.