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Showing posts with the label Title Race

Premier League: City champions. Arsenal finish in 2nd

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 Arsenal 2 - 1 Everton Manchester City 3 - 1 West Ham United Manchester City are the 2023/2024 Premier League champions Arsenal narrowly missed out on their first Premier League title since 2004, despite securing a victory over Everton, as Manchester City ultimately clinched the title. For Arsenal to have been crowned champions, they needed to defeat Everton and hope that City failed to win against West Ham. 🎶 @LouisDunford ’s ‘The Angel’ rings around the Emirates Stadium before kick-off. 🎶 North London Forever 🎶 🎥 @jamesbenge pic.twitter.com/HFOGqwPOCg — afcstuff (@afcstuff) May 19, 2024 Arsenal faced an early setback when Idrissa Gueye’s deflected free-kick gave Everton the lead. However, Takehiro Tomiyasu equalised just three minutes later. While Arsenal eventually fulfilled their part with Kai Havertz's late winner, City's victory over West Ham dashed their title hopes. How the action unfolded in North London and East Manchester Phil Foden’s early brace for City a

Premier League: Title race will go to final day

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 Manchester United 0 - 1 Arsenal Arsenal ensured the title race will go to the final day with victory over a depleted Manchester United side at Old Trafford. The Gunners display was often unconvincing here but they got the job done. Their manager will be pleased with how they have kept the pressure on Manchester Citty. The only goal of the game came when Leandro Trossard struck after 20 minutes. Lazy defending from struggling veteran Casemiro played Kai Havertz onside, his cross was then turned in by the Belgian at the near post. Manchester United showed plenty of effort and endeavor. However, they suffered from a glaring lack of quality. The Red Devils never seriously tested Arsenal keeper David Raya, as their own hopes of European football next season faded further.  It's looking increasingly likely that they will only qualify for Europe if they beat Manchester City in the upcoming Fa Cup final. What impact will this have on the title race? Arsenal must now hope north London

Premier League: Arsenal keep the pressure on

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Arsenal 3 - 0 Bournemouth Arsenal comfortably defeated Bournemouth to keep the pressure on Manchester City. The Gunners remain one point ahead of their title rivals but the blues have played a game less.  The home side dominated the first half and broke the deadlock just before half-time from the penalty spot. Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers fouled Kai Havertz in the box. This resulted in a penalty for Arsenal that Bukayo Saka calmly converted.  In the 70th minute, Declan Rice set up Leandro Trossard for Arsenal's second goal. Trossard curled the ball beautifully into the net from inside the area. Rice then added to the score line in added time to give Arsenal a comfortable win.  Bournemouth look a decent side During the second half of the game, Bournemouth showed more aggression and put in more effort to score a goal. Dominic Solanke's shot was saved by David Raya, and Justin Kluivert missed the target with his attempt.  Antoine Semenyo did find the back of the ne

The most dramatic races to the Premier League title

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We all love a dramatic end to the season Let's explore some of the best and most iconic title races in the history of English football. Will the 2024 race for the title match any of those listed below? Leicester City, Tottenham and Arsenal in 2016 An odd one to choose perhaps, but this was a fascinating title race. It was a two-horse race for a period, but Spurs finished third. Leicester won the title that season thanks to the form of former Non-League player Jamie Vardy. Many described it as the greatest-ever sporting achievement.  Following this title win, Leicester players struggled to match what they achieved during that season. They were even relegated in 2023. They quickly recovered to win the Championship in 2024, once again being inspired by Vardy. Liverpool and Arsenal 1989 Throwback to 1989 when Arsenal managed to clinch their 9th league title at Anfield in the most dramatic night in club history pic.twitter.com/YSqyids0H9 — Throwback Arsenal (@ThrowbackAFC) August 22,

Premier League: Arsenal hold on against Spurs

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 Tottenham 2 - 3 Arsenal Arsenal secured a crucial victory against Tottenham in the highly-anticipated North London derby.  Tottenham  The Gunners had a three-goal lead by half-time thanks to Tottenham's defensive flaws. They had an own-goal from Højbjerg in addition to strikes from Saka and Havertz to thank for the comfortable lead.  However, Spurs got back into the game when David Raya made a poor clearance, allowing Cristian Romero to score.  In the closing minutes of the game, Son Heung-min scored from the penalty spot after Declan Rice fouled Ben Davies, causing nerves anxiety among Arsenal fans. In the end, Arsenal held on to their lead and continued to push forward in their pursuit of the Premier League title. Premier League news and stories: 2023/2024 (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Delight among the Arsenal fans Full-time scenes in N17 🤩 pic.twitter.com/mzYewCGpo3 — Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 28, 2024 At half-time and despite Tottenham's chances, Arsenal were

Premier League: West Ham hold Liverpool to a draw

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West Ham United 2 - 2 Liverpool  Liverpool's title hopes were dented again after Michail Antonio scored to rescue a point for West Ham at the London Stadium. Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring just before the break when he rose highest to meet Mohammed Kudus' cross. At this point, Liverpool were showing little evidence that their Merseyside derby loss in midweek had done much in the way of spurring them on. Klopp's side were much improved in the second half and Andy Robertson equalised when he scored from Luis Diaz's low pass into the penalty area. Liverpool were then rewarded again for their pressure when Cody Gakpo's effort from a corner deflected off Angelo Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek and Alphonse Areola before finding the back of the net. Antonio's fine header put the Hammers back on level terms two minutes before Liverpool brought on Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian couldn't win the game for Liverpool and appeared to have fallen out with the manager.  You can w

Premier League: Arsenal boost title hopes

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 Arsenal 5 - 0 Chelsea Arsenal gave their Premier League hopes a huge lift with a 5-0 thrashing over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. Goals from Trossard and two each from Ben White and Kai Havertz saw Arsenal cruise to the win. The home fans were in dreamland. Arsenal fans may have seen this meeting with Chelsea with a degree of nerves trepidation after they slipped badly and were outplayed by Aston Villa in their last league game at home. At times in that match, it looked like the tension of life at the top got to them.  Coupled with the Champions League exit against Harry Kane's Bayern Munich , Arsenal fans were getting worried that they'd end the season with nothing. However, they looked back to the best in this and will start looking forward to every match again. More Premier League news can be found here. You can watch highlights of the match in the video below. Footage from the Chelsea YouTube account The best reaction to this thrashing Frank, an Arsenal fan, told us

Premier League: Palace stun Liverpool again

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 Liverpool 0 - 1 Crystal Palace  Crystal Palace have done it against Liverpool again.  Older fans of the London club would have been taken back to the 1990 FA Cup semi-final. Younger fans would have been remembering that stunning comeback from 3-0 down in 2014 that wrecked their title chances. What is it about Palace and destroying Liverpool's trophy dreams? The reaction to the final whistle suggested that this was a hugely damaging week for Liverpool. Jürgen Klopp congratulated his opponent on a Crystal Palace victory that has reverberated at both ends of the table before puffing out his cheeks and shaking his head in despair.  At the end of the match, Andy Robertson looked like he was in a trance. The home fans filed out of Anfield in total silence. In a title race with the tightest margins, Liverpool have blinked first.  Arsenal, would of course, blink later on in the day. This ultimately makes it advantage for Manchester City. It's starting to look like the pressure is

Premier League: United and Liverpool play out another chaotic classic

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 Manchester United 2 - 2 Liverpool "I genuinely feared that we'd be beaten heavily by Liverpool again. I was pleasantly surprised by the result, especially after the first 45 minutes." Those words were sent to us by Liam, a Manchester United Season Ticket holder . He was in the Stretford End as United drew with Liverpool for the second time in the Premier League this season.  How did the drama unfold? Liverpool missed the chance to climb to the top of the Premier League in another thrilling match at Old Trafford. Manager Jurgen Klopp and his players will be left wondering how they failed to avenge the FA Cup quarter-final loss last month. The Anfield side missed numerous chances and were dominating the hosts for long periods. The away side only had a Luis Diaz strike to show for almost total first-half superiority in which they had 15 shots to none from United. The United boss Erik Ten Hag would have been thankful for the visitors' wastefulness and saves from keeper

Premier League: Arsenal prove title credentials again

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Brighton & Hove Albion 0 - 3 Arsenal Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League table (potentially only for one day) after a convincing away victory over Brighton, keeping their hope for their first title in 20 years alive. The returning Bukayo Saka, absent for Wednesday's 2-0 victory over Luton with a minor injury, kept his composure under pressure to slam in a first-half penalty awarded for Tariq Lamptey's foul on Gabriel Jesus. David Raya jumped to save Julio Enciso's long-range shot, which was Brighton's first on-target attempt, securing Arsenal's lead before halftime. It was the in-form Kai Havertz who gave the Gunners breathing space, slotting in from Jorginho's cut-back to settle nerves among the travelling Arsenal support after the hour mark. Leandro Trossard initially failed to score against Bart Verbruggen, but later on, he calmly lifted the ball over the Seagulls goalkeeper to seal the victory after being played through by Havertz. Tro

Premier League: City and Arsenal cancel each other out

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 Manchester City 0 - 0 Arsenal  Manchester City and Arsenal played out a goalless draw, giving Liverpool the advantage in the Premier League title race. Liverpool are now at the top of the table, two points ahead of Arsenal and three ahead of City . They came from behind to beat Brighton at Anfield, and their delight increased even more when their two closest rivals cancelled each other out. This game failed to live up to its billing as a potential classic, as Arsenal's defensive tactics shut down City while the Gunners had limited chances.  Nathan Ake came close with a header early on but it was saved by Arsenal keeper David Raya. City striker Gabriel Jesus posed an occasional threat for the away side. He nearly scored but failed to connect with Bukayo Saka's cross.  The best reaction Lewis, a Chelsea fan, gave us the perspective of a neutral fan: "Manchester City will remain confident in their ability to retain their Premier League title, but their manager, Pep Gua

Premier League: Dramatic scenes in North London

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 Arsenal 2 - 1 Brentford Arsenal moved once again to the top of the Premier League. Kai Havertz’s fourth goal in successive league games sealed a hard-fought win over Brentford. Having scored 21 times in their previous four league matches, the Gunners were quickly on the look for number 22, and just two minutes in Ivan Toney had to nudge a wicked Rice corner off his line to avoid suffering a quick concession. All the latest Arsenal news and stories from European Super Football can be found here But given their razor-sharp form in front of goal, it always looked like they would soon find the net, and that proved to be the case after 18 minutes. Ben White found Bukayo Saka on the right flank, who returned it to the full-back. He had ample time to put a pinpoint delivery into the area where Rice had got in front of Mads Roerslev to glance a fine header past Mark Flekken and net his sixth goal of the campaign - the best return of his career. Premier League news and stories: 2023/2024

Premier League: Chelsea hold Manchester City

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Manchester City 1 - 1 Chelsea Rodri rescued a for Manchester City to deny Chelsea victory and maintain his side's long unbeaten home record. Despite Liverpool and Arsenal securing convincing wins earlier in the day, City fell behind in the title race. Nevertheless, salvaging a draw against Chelsea must be seen as a positive outcome, considering the imminent threat of defeat. Raheem Sterling, facing his former club, put Chelsea ahead just before half-time with a superbly executed goal, capitalising on a swift counter-attack created by Nicolas Jackson. Throughout the game, Chelsea remained dangerous on the break, with Jackson missing a golden opportunity. Click here for the latest City news and stories Premier League news and stories: 2023/2024 Despite City creating numerous chances, they struggled to convert them or seriously trouble Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, despite mounting pressure in the second half. Erling Haaland was particularly guilty of squandering chances,

Premier League: Arsenal were ruthless against Burnley

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Burnley 0 - 5 Arsenal Following Liverpool's win in the early game against Brentford, The Gunners knew they had to win this match and they duly obliged.  Following their 6-0 victory at West Ham last week , Arsenal were soon among the goals again, with captain Martin Odegaard opening the scoring after four minutes with a precise strike into the bottom corner following Gabriel Martinelli's pass. Bukayo Saka converted from the penalty spot to double the lead after Lorenz Assignon fouled Leandro Trossard in the box. Saka secured his second goal just after the restart as Arsenal maintained the pressure, seizing on a clever pass from Odegaard, cutting inside, and firing a shot into the roof of the net. Havertz's scuffed effort was blocked in the box, but Trossard was alert to curl in his third goal in as many league games. Jakub Kiwior's long throw down the line then found an unmarked Havertz, who slipped in behind the defence and drilled past home goalkeeper James Traffor

Premier League: Arsenal thrash West Ham

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 West Ham United 0 - 6 Arsenal It was a disastrous afternoon for West Ham as they suffered a heavy defeat at home to Arsenal. The match kicked off with Arsenal dictating the pace, applying high pressure and keeping the West Ham players pinned in their own half. Arteta's unexpected tactical changes paid off from the get-go. Although the game was evenly poised for the first thirty minutes, Arsenal dominated possession.  More Premier League news can be found here Transfer News: Rice signs for Arsenal  In the 32nd minute, Rice delivered a corner kick, finding Saliba in the box who leapt and headed the ball into the net, putting Arsenal ahead 1-0. In the 41st minute, Saka was fouled in the box by Areola while advancing towards goal. Initially flagged offside, VAR intervened, confirming Saka's perfectly timed run and awarding Arsenal a penalty. Saka confidently stepped up and slotted the ball into the left side of the net, making it 2-0. Just three minutes later, Arsenal earned a