WHAT a match in the Emirates! Arsenal and Manchester United were involved in a five-goal thriller that was settled by a stunning goal to cut the Gunners’ lead at the top to four points. Since Michael Carrick took over as temporary manager, United have beaten Manchester City and Arsenal to sit in fourth place. The Premier leaders took the lead thanks to an own goal in the 29th minute, but Bryan Mbuemo equalized eight minutes later. Dorgu put United ahead with a piledriver from the crossbar and Merino leveled with six minutes to go. United hit back and on 87 Matheus Cunha hit a low shot from 25 yards that beat David Raya to secure the points. Lots of long faces at the Emirates, but Arsenal are still favorites to win the Premier League title. City won 2-0 against Wolves, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden left on the bench at the start. Antoine Semenyo has maintained his form since arriving at the club with a new goal. Chelsea won 3-1 at Crystal Palace, but Liverpool lost ground with a 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth. Aston Villa kept up the challenge with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United, Emchano Buendia and Ollie Watkins scoring for Unai Emery’s men.
Premier League
1: Arsenal, P 23, points 50
2: Man City, P 23, Pts 46
3: Aston V, P 23, Pts 46
4: Man.Utd, P 23, Pts 38
Bundesliga: What happened at Bayern?
BAYERN Munich were defeated in the league for the first time this season, losing 2-1 to Augsburg at the Allianz Arena. Augsburg had gained one point from their previous seven away games, but they were unimpressed by their visit to leaders Bayern, who took the lead through Ito in the 23rd match.rd minute. Arthur Chaves, who joined Augsburg on loan two days earlier, scored on his first appearance to level the scores after 75 minutes and Han-Noah Messengo added a second five minutes later. Michael Olise almost saved the day for Bayern when he hit the woodwork with almost the last kick of the match. Bayern manager Vincent Kompany referred to his team’s busy schedule and injury list to explain the shock defeat: “If you have seven games in 20 days, every player who is out for a week misses three games. And when he comes back, he needs time to get back to full fitness.” Both Dortmund and RB Leipzig won 3-0 away at home, against Union Berlin and Heidenheim respectively. Stuttgart also won comfortably by three goals at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Hamburg derby between St. Pauli and HSV ended goalless.
Bundesliga
1: Bayern, P 19, Pts 50
2: Dortmund P 19, points 42
3: Hoffenheim P 19, points 36
4: Stuttgart P 19, Pts 36
Serie A: Inter comeback with six
With ALMOST 74,000, Inter extended their lead at the top of Serie A to five points after coming back from two down to beat Pisa 6-2 at San Siro. The visitors took the lead in the 11e Minue when Stefano Moreo lobbed Yann Sommer and 12 minutes later he headed a second for Pisa. Inter responded dramatically: Piotr Zielinski and Lautaro Martínez made it 2-2 and Pio Esposito gave Inter a half-time lead. Inter missed a lot of chances in the second period, but finally added some sparkle to the scoreline with three goals in the final ten minutes from Federico Dimarco, Bonny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Second-placed Milan drew 1-1 with Roma, with Luka Modric creating a goal for Koni De Winter but Lorenzo Pellegrini equalizing from the penalty spot. Napoli suffered a blow to their title hopes as they were defeated 3-0 at Juventus, with Antonio Conte warning fans that the club’s injury crisis will not end anytime soon. Como played excellent football, beating Torino 6-0 and Atalanta beating Parma 4-0.
Series A
1: Inter, P 22, Pts 52
2: Milan, P 22, Pts 47
3: Roma, P 22, Pts 43
4: Napoli, P 22, Pts 43
La Liga: Big three at number
BARCELONA took advantage of defensive weaknesses to beat Oviedo 3-0, with Danni Olmo, Raphinha and Yamal Lamal on the scoresheet in the second half. Real Madrid is only one point behind after the 2-0 victory over Villareal. Kylian Mbappe scored both goals for Real, taking his total for the season to 21. His second goal was an extra-time penalty, taken “Panenka” style in tribute to his teammate Brahim Diaz, who missed a crucial penalty in the Africa Cup of Nations. Atlético defeated Mallorca 3-0 at the Metropolitano to jump to third place. Valencia won against Espanyol by a single goal in five minutes, with Largie Ramazani scoring the winner from the penalty spot in extra time. Ramazani is on loan from Leeds United. A penalty from Seville’s Akor Adams was enough to beat struggling Athletic Bilbao.
The League
1: Barcelona, P 21, Pt 52
2: Real Madrid, P 21, Points 51
3: Atlético, P 21, Pts 44
4: Villareal, P 20, Pts 41
Ligue 1: PSG knocks Lens off the top
LENS, who had won eight games in a row before the weekend, suffered a blow to their confidence when they were defeated 3-1 in Marseille. Armine Gouiri scored twice for the home side and on-loan Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri scored on his debut for the club. Rayan Fofana scored a consolation goal for Lens. Marseille’s victory was the only home success of the weekend in Ligue 1. PSG recovered from their midweek defeat at Sporting to win 1-0 in Auxerre with a goal from Bradley Barcola. Lyon won 5-2 at bottom-placed Metz, with Endrick, who is on loan from Real Madrid, scoring a hat-trick. There were also away wins for Lorient, Nice, Toulouse and rampant Strasbourg, who won 4-1 at out-of-kind Lille.
League 1
1: PSG, P 19, Pts 45
2: Lens, P 19, Pts 43
3: Marseille, P 19, Pts 38
4: Lyon, P 19, points 36
Attendances
1:75,000 – Bayern vs Augsburg
2:73,594 – Inter vs Pisa
3:63,582 – Roma vs Milan
4:62.077 – Schalke v Kaiserslautern
5:60,296 – Arsenal v Manchester United
And elsewhere…
Hearts and Celtic drew 2-2 at Tynecastle in the big match of the weekend in the Scottish Premiership. A goal from Cláudio Braga three minutes from time saved the day for Hearts against a Celtic side that had sent off Auston Trusty in the 77e minute. Hearts remain top with a four-point margin, Rangers are second and Celtic third, six points behind the leaders.
PSV Einhoven were held to a 2-2 draw at home by strugglers NAC Breda, but still have a 14-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie. Ajax defeated Volendam 2-0 thanks to two goals from defender Youri Baas.
Sporting and Benfica kept up the pressure on Portuguese leaders Porto, with the reigning champions winning 2-1 at Arouca and José Mourinho’s Benfica winning 4-0 against Estrela. Two of their goals came from top scorer Vangelis Pavlidis.
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