Eze’s double gets Arsenal title bid back on track
IMAGE: Eberechi Eze celebrates with team-mate Declan Rice after scoring Arsenal’s third goal against Tottenham Hotspur in London on Sunday. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
Key Points
- Victory lifted Arsenal to 61 points from 28 games with Manchester City, who have played one game fewer, on 56.
- Eberechi Eze, who joined Arsenal for 67 million pounds ($90.28 million), made it five goals in two games against Tottenham Hotspur.
- Liverpool are sixth in the table on 45 points, level with Chelsea and Manchester United, who occupy fourth and fifth spots.
- Alexis Mac Allister latched on to a rebound in the 97th minute and lashed it into the net to score the winner for Liverpool.
Eberechi Eze timed his return to the Arsenal scoresheet to perfection with two goals in a 4-1 derby rout of Tottenham Hotspur that calmed his side’s Premier League title nerves on Sunday.
The forward had not scored since a hat-trick in the reverse fixture in November but struck in each half while Viktor Gyokeres also netted twice as Arsenal moved five points clear of second-placed Manchester City.
Eze, who almost signed for Tottenham last August, volleyed in a 32nd-minute opener only for Randal Kolo Muani to equalise two minutes later after a mistake by Declan Rice.
Gyokeres restored Arsenal’s lead shortly after the interval with a sublime curler and Eze’s second, a tap-in, gave his side breathing space. Gyokeres then capped a fine display with his second goal sealing the deal in stoppage time.
Victory lifted Arsenal to 61 points from 28 games with City, who have played one game fewer, on 56. Tottenham, for whom new manager Igor Tudor was in charge for the first time, remain in 16th place, only four points above the relegation zone.
Successive draws against Brentford and bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, the latter after leading 2-0, had raised the spectre of Arsenal allowing a first Premier League title since 2004 to slip through their fingers.
City’s 2-1 defeat of Newcastle on Saturday had cranked up the pressure, so a visit to a woefully out-of-form Tottenham, who have not won in the league in 2026, suddenly looked like a treacherous assignment.
IMAGE: Eberechi Eze scores Arsenal’s third goal past Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
Tottenham did show some of the fight Tudor had promised and they gave Arsenal some anxious moments, but Eze’s timely brace means Mikel Arteta’s side will be breathing easier.
Arsenal dominated the opening half an hour with Gyokeres going close before Eze showed great athleticism to volley past Guglielmo Vicario after a cross from Bukayo Saka bounced up.
Tottenham were gifted a way back from an unlikely source as the usually reliable Rice dallied in his own area and was dispossessed by Kolo Muani who drove a shot past David Raya to send the home fans into delirium.
After a comically delayed start to the second half caused by a failure of the match officials’ communications, the second of the game, Tottenham had an early chance through Xavi Simons.
But Arsenal soon took charge.
Gyokeres, for whom the goals are at last beginning to flow, was allowed too much time to control Jurrien Timber’s pass before firing right-footed past Vicario.
Eze, who joined Arsenal for 67 million pounds ($90.28 million) having looked certain to sign for Spurs, made it five goals in two games against Tottenham, firing in from close range after poor defending, much to the derision of the home fans.
By the time Gyokeres struck again in stoppage time the celebrating Arsenal fans were already in full voice.
Lacklustre Liverpool snatch late win at Forest
IMAGE: Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister scores the winning goal against Nottingham Forest, at The City Ground, Nottingham. Photograph:Chris Radburn/Reuters
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister struck a winner deep into stoppage-time as his side snatched a scarcely-deserved 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League on Sunday.
After a pedestrian 90 minutes in which they barely managed a shot on target, Mac Allister lit the fuse with a stoppage-time effort that was ruled out for handball before rifling home a rebound in the 97th minute to snatch the win.
Liverpool’s attacking struggles began before the game when Florian Wirtz suffered an injury in the warm-up, and was replaced by Curtis Jones.
Callum Hudson-Odoi had an early chance for the home side but Alisson stood tall to thwart him, and Elliot Anderson spurned a couple of decent chances as the visitors barely threatened at all.
Liverpool’s best chance in normal time came in the 54th minute when Mohamed Salah headed a deep cross back to Jones, but Forest keeper Stefan Ortega got a foot to his shot to avert the danger, and the home side looked to be headed for a draw in their first league game under new manager Vitor Perreira.
However, Mac Allister had other ideas and he thought he had given his side the lead in the second minute of stoppage time when the ball cannoned off him and into the net, but a VAR review showed the ball striking his elbow.
Undeterred, Mac Allister latched on to a rebound in the 97th minute and lashed it into the net.
Lucky Liverpool Survive Scare
IMAGE: Alexis Mac Allister celebrates scoring the winner. Photograph:Chris Radburn/Reuters
Liverpool are sixth in the table on 45 points, level with Chelsea and Manchester United, who occupy fourth and fifth spots. Forest are 17th on 27 points, two above the relegation zone.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot was well aware of how close his side came to losing more ground in the race for Champions League football.
“It was fine margins, we really struggled in the first half. We were the lucky ones, scoring in the extra time,” he told the BBC, and though Mac Allister was happy to get the three points, he was far from pleased with how his side performed.
“Mixed feelings, I love scoring, I love winning, but I don’t think we played very well. It’s always nice when you win,” he told Sky Sports.
“We need to analyse what we did well and what went wrong. The intensity wasn’t there, but we did what we did to win.”
