Sat, 15 Oct 2016 17:03:30 +0000
Manchester City twice missed penalties in a 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday as 10-man Arsenal went level with them on points at the top of the Premier League table after seeing off Swansea 3-2.
Arsenal leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur into second place after their arch north London rivals also dropped points in a 1-1 draw away to West Bromwich Albion.
Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg twice dived to his left to save penalties from Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero – his second spot-kick failure this week after he was off target in Argentina’s World Cup qualifying defeat by Paraguay.
Toffees defender Phil Jagielka gave away both penalties, the first on the stroke of halftime, and it seemed Everton’s luck was in when Romelu Lukaku fired the visitors in front in the 64th minute at Eastlands before substitute Aguero’s miss.
But City, who’ve now gone three games without a win in all competitions, equalised in the 72nd minute when Nolito headed in Silva’s cross as former Barcelona teammates turned managers Pep Guardiola (City) and Ronald Koeman (Everton) had to settle for a point apiece.
At the Emirates, Theo Walcott scored twice as Arsenal defeated Swansea for a sixth straight win in all competitions.
Walcott struck in the 27th minute after Jordi Amat failed to clear Hector Bellerin’s headed cross.
The England international doubled the Gunners’ lead seven minutes later following Hull’s failure to clear a corner.
Swansea, in former United States manager Bob Bradley’s first game in charge, saw Gylfi Sigurdsson equalise in his 100th appearance for the Welsh club with a 38th-minute curling shot
But Mesut Ozil marked his 28th birthday by restoring Arsenal’s two-goal advantage with a 57th minute-volley.
Swansea substitute Borja Baston pulled a goal back for the visitors and Arsenal had to play the final 20 minutes a man down after Granit Xhaka received a straight red card.
Tottenham dominated possession at the Hawthorns without scoring and were made to pay the price when former Spurs star Nacer Chadli scored eight minutes from time.
But Dele Alli’s 89th-minute equaliser preserved Spurs’ unbeaten league record.
Liverpool will go level with the top two if they beat bitter rivals Manchester United on Monday.
‘BEST GAME‘
Earlier, Chelsea dealt a fresh blow to champions Leicester City’s hopes of a successful title defence with a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Defeat meant the Foxes had won just two of their eight league games this season and manager Claudio Ranieri said: “We made mistakes…Our approach to the match was not good,” the former Chelsea manager added.
The result gave Antonio Conte, Ranieri’s fellow Italian, a much-needed win after speculation he was about to be sacked as Chelsea manager.
First-half goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard put hosts Chelsea in a strong position before Nigeria international Victor Moses’s effort 10 minutes from time set the seal on an impressive win.
“From the start I asked them to play well with intensity and to try to do what we are doing in training,” said Conte. “I am very happy because I had a good reply. This is the best game for us.”
Stoke won in the league for the first time this season as Wales international Joe Allen made it four goals in his last three games by scoring twice in a 2-0 win at home to basement club Sunderland.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth thrashed Hull 6-1 as Mike Phelan’s first game in fulltime charge of the Tigers ended in an a thumping defeat.
The Cherries needed just five minutes to score, Charlie Daniels following up after Junior Stanislas’s 20-yard free-kick rebounded off the post.
Hull’s Ryan Mason equalised in the 34th minute with a deflected shot.
Bournemouth regained the lead thanks to Steve Cook’s header and they were 3-1 up ahead of the break when Stanislas scored from the penalty spot.
Stanislas made it 4-1 before Callum Wilson and Dan Gosling both scored late on.
London rivals Crystal Palace and struggling West Ham are in action in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Middlesbrough are at home to Watford on Sunday when Southampton face Burnley.
