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02/22 12:42 CST Eze hurts Tottenham again to reignite Arsenal's title hopes and
Liverpool grabs late winner
Eze hurts Tottenham again to reignite Arsenal's title hopes and Liverpool grabs
late winner
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
Eberechi Eze reignited Arsenal's title ambitions in the Premier League by being
the scourge of Tottenham once again.
Three months after scoring a hat trick against Spurs, the England midfielder
netted two more goals against Arsenal's fiercest rival in a 4-1 away win on
Sunday. Viktor Gyokeres also scored twice for the leaders.
Eze came close to joining Tottenham in the summer, only for Arsenal --- his
boyhood club --- to swoop in and sign him instead for a reported 60 million
pounds ($80 million). Spurs are suffering even more now --- his only goals
since the start of November have come against them.
Arsenal rebounded after two straight draws that have let second-place
Manchester City back in the title conversation.
The Gunners regained their five-point lead but City has a game in hand and
still has to host Mikel Arteta's team in the league in mid-April. They also
meet in the English League Cup final on March 22.
It proved to be a tough start to life as Tottenham manager for Igor Tudor, who
has made a habit of picking up good results early in his tenures at previous
clubs.
Not this time, though. Tottenham did equalize two minutes after conceding the
opener to Eze when Randal Kolo Muani dispossessed Declan Rice and drilled home
a finish for 1-1 in the 34th.
Gyokeres made it 2-1 with a shot from the edge of the area in the 47th and Eze
stretched the lead in the 61st with a rebound after Bukayo Saka's shot was
saved. Gyokeres scored again in stoppage time.
Arsenal has 10 league games remaining in its bid for a first top-flight title
since 2004.
Mac Allister grabs late winner for Liverpool Alexis Mac Allister just didn't give up. After having an 89th-minute goal disallowed following a VAR check, the Argentina midfielder scored again in the seventh minute of stoppage time --- and this time it survived a video review --- to earn Liverpool a 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest. The dramatic end at the City Ground centered completely on Mac Allister, who thought he'd scored without knowing anything about it after turning his back on a clearance by Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina. The ball rebounded off Mac Allister and into the net, but the VAR spotted it had struck his arm and the goal was scrubbed out. However, he was on hand off virtually the last kick of the game when Virgil van Dijk's header was spilled by Forest goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. Barely six meters out, Mac Allister could hardly miss as he sidefooted the ball into the net. There was a VAR check to see if Van Dijk was offside but the goal was given. Liverpool stayed in sixth place but was tied on points with fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Manchester United, whose game in hand is at Everton on Monday. Palace wins as doubts swirl around Glasner's future With doubts swirling around the future of Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, his team dug out a 1-0 win over last-place Wolverhampton thanks to a last-minute goal. Evann Guessand prodded home a far-post finish after coming on as a substitute. Ahead of the game, Glasner, who led Palace to FA Cup glory last season, was non-committal about whether he would be staying at the club until the end of the season. He has already said he'll be leaving in the summer. The Austrian coach also urged Palace's supporter base to "stay humble" and fans made their feelings about those comments known on Sunday, raising a banner that read, "Opportunities missed - board inept. Fans disrespected - Glasner finished." Wolves stayed 17 points off safety. Sunderland has lost its home comforts It wasn't long ago that Sunderland was the only Premier League team with an unbeaten home record. Now, the Black Cats have lost two straight at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland was defeated 3-1 by Fulham, which had two goals from Mexico striker Raul Jimenez --- one of which was from the penalty spot. Ten days ago, Sunderland lost 1-0 to Liverpool for its first home defeat of the season. ___ Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80 ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer |
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