Shock and disbelief at the Emirates Stadium in London. Arsenal lost to Aston Villa 0-2 and – like Liverpool – significantly complicated their situation in the context of the fight for the English championship. Manchester City is the leader after this round.
Tomasz Galiński
April 14, 2024, 19:28
Getty Images / Mike Hewitt / In the photo: Aston Villa won against Arsenal, which may have major consequences for I don’t think even Pep Guardiola expected that he would be able to kill two birds with one stone in one weekend. Manchester City won their match against Luton Town on Saturday, and on Sunday came perfect news from the perspective of the English champions.
First, Liverpool lost sensationally against Crystal Palace, and then Arsenal lost against Aston Villa 0-2. This means that “The Citizens” took the lead in the Premier League with six rounds remaining. Arsenal fell to second place, Liverpool to third.
In the first half, Arsenal had a large advantage, but they were unable to document it by scoring a goal. After the break, the pace dropped significantly and the rivals began to make their voices heard more and more often. It didn’t take long to translate into anything concrete, but their ending was killer. First, Leon Bailey scored a goal, and after a few minutes Ollie Watkins finished a perfect counterattack and the fans gathered at the Emirates Stadium were shocked. The English championship was close, and now nothing depends on the Gunners.
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The guests had one great opportunity in the first half and that was after an individual error, because Gabriel Magalhaes skipped and hit Oleksandr Zinchenko in the back. Ollie Watkins could have given his team the lead, but his shot hit the post.
However, there were too few such attempts. Arsenal had a huge advantage and created significantly more chances. The only thing missing was a goal. There were absolutely no objections to the game, but the finishing did. Kai Havertz made a mistake and Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka shot into the side net. However, Leandro Trossard wasted the best opportunity when he shot straight at Emiliano Martinez from five meters.
However, after the break, the hosts slowed down. In fact, it’s hard to recall any convenient situation. More was happening on the other side of the field. Youri Tielemans was unlucky as he shot a great shot, but it hit both the crossbar and the post. The closer to the end of the match, the more and more confident the visitors felt on the pitch and were able to translate it into goals.
First, Bailey shot into an empty net after a flat pass from the left side, and three minutes later Watkins used his speed and effectively lobbed David Raya, ending Aston Villa’s great counterattack. And then the guests played like a concert.
Poles played no role in this meeting. Jakub Kiwior and Matty Cash spent the entire match on the bench.
Arsenal FC – Aston Villa 0:2 (0:0)
0:1 Leon Bailey 84′
0:2 Ollie Watkins 87′
Compositions:
Arsenal: David Raya – Ben White (67′ Takehiro Tomiyasu), William Saliba – Gabriel Magalhaes, Ołeksandr Zinczenko (87′ Eddie Nketiah) – Martin Odegaard (Emile Smith Rowe 79′), Declan Rice – Kai Havertz – Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus 79′ Jorginho, Leandro Trossard (67′ Gabriel Martinelli).
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez – Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne – John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Nicolo Zaniolo (80′ Alex Moreno) Ollie Watkins – Moussa Diaby (61′ Leon Bailey).
Yellow cards: White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Havertz (Arsenal) and Rogers (Aston Villa).
Judge: David Coote.
Premier League
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