IMAGE: Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez in action with Arsenal’s William Saliba. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
Arsenal laid down their title credentials with an impressive performance in an intense 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday and will top the Premier League table at Christmas.
Mikel Arteta’s team, last season’s runners-up who have won five of their last seven matches but not tasted victory in a league game at Anfield since 2012, have 40 points from 18 games. Liverpool are second on 39 points, ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference.
In 10 of the last 14 seasons, the leaders on Christmas Day have gone on to win the title. Champions Manchester City are fifth, but have played one fewer game.
Klopp had urged fans to crank up the volume at Anfield after a couple of uncharacteristically quiet games at the Merseyside stadium.
Although the fans obliged, Arsenal took an early lead when Gabriel outwitted Cody Gakpo to head in a floated pass from captain Martin Odegaard in the fourth minute.
Liverpool forward Mohammed Salah scored a brilliant equaliser in the 29th minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold found him with a pinpoint long pass. Salah stepped easily around Oleksandr Zinchenko before unleashing a fierce left-foot shot into the net.
Salah’s goal was his 151st in the Premier League to put him 10th on the all-time list and the hosts had great chances to net the winner.
Liverpool were screaming for a penalty after what appeared to be a blatant hand ball by Odegaard and Salah led a full-speed counter-attack to set up Trent Alexander-Arnold whose shot struck the crossbar.
Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka curled a shot wide in the dying minutes that deflected off Virgil van Dijk’s back, but both teams had to settle for a point, a good result for Manchester City.
Liverpool lost Kostas Tsimikas to what Klopp said was a broken collarbone in the first half when Saka barrelled into the defender near the touchline, taking down Klopp as well. Tsimikas walked gingerly off the pitch with the aid of medical staff clutching his shoulder.
United hit new low with 13th loss of season
IMAGE: West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen celebrates scoring their first goal. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters
Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus’ second-half goals gave West Ham a 2-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League’s early game on Saturday, as the Hammers briefly moved into the top six.
Bowen bundled home from close range in the 72nd minute after a lovely one-two with Lucas Paqueta, who played in Kudus six minutes later to settle the game with a sharp finish.
West Ham, recovering from a bruising 5-1 defeat to Liverpool in the League Cup in midweek, move up to sixth on 30 points. United, who have not scored in their last four games in all competitions, drop to eighth on 28 points.
“We didn’t start particularly well but we kept ourselves in the game,” Hammers boss David Moyes said.
Moyes said his side’s return of 30 points at this stage in the season was “a brilliant number of points for us”.
He added: “We are not going to be a club who’s going to be rattling right at the top – we’ll try to – but until we grow, keep growing, keep improving, try to improve a bit every year, that’s all we can do.
“I think we’re making pretty good strides and I think today was another good victory.”
IMAGE: Manchester United’s Antony in action with West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
The first half was low on quality and its best chance fell to Alejandro Garnacho in the 35th minute, but the winger lost his balance and shot straight at Alphonse Areola.
West Ham nearly scored immediately afterwards, with a dangerous cross from Bowen forcing Jonny Evans into a smart block as the first half ended with more urgency.
Bowen nearly opened the scoring shortly after the break with a good header from a James Ward-Prowse corner, but his attempt was well saved by Onana.
The winger finally broke the deadlock, however, with his 11th league goal of the season, taking Paqueta’s dinked ball in his stride before Onana’s save rebounded off the forward and into the net.
Paqueta then capitalised on Kobbie Mainoo’s mistake in midfield to set up Kudus, who fired home past Onana to secure all three points for the hosts.
IMAGE: Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka in action with West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters
The defeat, United’s eighth in the league and 13th in all competitions, will pile further pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, who was taunted by the jubilant West Ham fans before the final whistle.
Ten Hag said he thought his side was “controlling the game” before they conceded. “We didn’t give West Ham United anything and we created three good chances and we didn’t take them,” Ten Hag told reporters.
He called on his players to “take responsibility”, but backed them to turn United’s fortunes around and start scoring again.
“We have players who can do it, they proved it in the past, they can do it but we also have to acknowledge the facts that we didn’t do (it) as a team and so we have to take responsibility,” Ten Hag said.
IMAGE: Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak scores a disallowed goal. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
Townsend on target
Winger Andros Townsend netted his first goal for Luton Town as they beat his former club Newcastle United 1-0 at Kenilworth Road on Saturday to make it three defeats in their last four Premier League games for the Magpies.
Townsend put his side in front in the 25th minute by heading home Ross Barkley’s flick-on from a corner and Barkley almost netted a second eight minutes later, unleashing a powerful shot that hit the underside of the crossbar.
IMAGE: Newcastle United’s Dan Burn in action with Luton Town’s Alfie Doughty. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
Alexander Isak thought he had equalised for Newcastle in the 61st minute when he slotted home from Miguel Almiron’s pass, but he was flagged offside and a VAR review confirmed the original decision to disallow the goal.
Though they remained dangerous on the break, Luton were forced to defend for much of the rest of the game as they hung on for a win that left them in 18th spot on 12 points after 17 games, Newcastle dropped to seventh on 29 points.
IMAGE: Tottenham Hotspur’s Giovani Lo Celso in action with Everton’s Nathan Patterson. Photograph: Tony Obrien/Reuters
Spurs move into top four
Tottenham Hotspur ended Everton’s excellent Premier League run with a typically entertaining, high risk-reward 2-1 home victory on Saturday that capped their own impressive December and took them back into the top four.
Goals by Richarlison and Son Heung-min had Spurs 2-0 up inside 20 minutes but things are never straightforward for the home side and, as Everton took command in the second half, they ended up hanging on desperately when Andre Gomes made it 2-1 eight minutes from time.
They did so, just, to secure their third win in a row – following a five-game winless run – that lifted them above champions Manchester City into fourth place.
Everton will wonder how they got nothing from the game after dominating the second half and continue to hover just above the relegation zone thanks to their 10-point deduction.
