Arsenal on Monday moved into the Premier League top four, but made hard work of seeing off 10-man Watford 1-0 thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s fortunate early opener.
Aubameyang profited from an error by Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster as he blasted an attempted clearance in off the Gabon international.
Watford captain Troy Deeney was then shown a straight red card after just 11 minutes, but the Gunners failed to make the most of their man advantage and were fortunate as the hosts twice hit the woodwork.
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, Unai Emery’s men held out for a first clean sheet away from home in the Premier League this season to move ahead of Chelsea on goal difference into fourth.
“We didn’t control the match like I wanted,” Emery said. “The team was anxious because they could have taken some moment. The most important for us is to score the second goal, which we didn’t do.”
Arsenal also edge to within a point of north London rivals Tottenham Hostspur and two clear of Manchester United in the four-way battle for the two remaining Champions League places behind Liverpool and Manchester City.
FA Cup finalists Watford were already shorn of the man who helped book their place at Wembley against Manchester City next month, as Gerard Deulofeu missed out through injury and Javi Gracia’s side did themselves few favors early on.
First, Foster dallied as Aubameyang closed in to concede a comical opener.
“I’ve said sorry to the lads,” Foster said. “In hindsight you have to get rid as quick as you can, even if it goes into row Z.”
Within seconds, Deeney was punished for what the referee saw as an elbow into the face of Lucas Torreira.
“If it is a foul, I have a doubt — maybe a yellow card, but a red card? I don’t understand why the referee did it,” Watford boss Javi Gracia said.
However, the 10 men were still causing problems to a defensively vulnerable Arsenal at the other end.
Craig Cathcart’s shot was turned onto the post by Bernd Leno and the German goalkeeper was also a full stretch to turn an Etienne Capoue free-kick behind.
Emery introduced Mesut Ozil at halftime in an attempt to improve Arsenal’s final ball with so much space to counterattack into, but to little avail.
Alex Iwobi looked to have provided the perfect cross to pick out Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but Foster made amends for his earlier error by spreading himself to make a brilliant save from the Armenian.
Arsenal’s terrible away record is why they face such a tight battle to secure Champions League soccer next season.
They could have thrown away just a second away-league win since November last year, as Adam Masina crashed a 20m strike off the crossbar before Andre Gray foibled Daryl Janmaat’s pass when clean through on Leno.
Gray was then denied by a last-ditch challenge from Ainsley Maitland-Niles after rounding Leno, but without the firepower of Deulofeu and Deeney, Watford’s brave effort fell just short.
SERIE A
AP, BERGAMO, Italy
Atalanta BC on Monday came up empty, despite producing a whopping 32 shots — 18 of them on goal — in a 0-0 draw with relegation-threatened Empoli.
It was a valuable point for both clubs as sixth-placed Atalanta moved within two points of the Champions League spots, while Empoli moved within two points of escaping the drop zone.
Empoli goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski was in top form, denying shot after shot from Duvan Zapata, Alejandro “Papu” Gomez and Josip Ilicic.
His 17 saves were the most in a Serie A match in 14 years.
Still, Atalanta extended their unbeaten run to seven matches.
LA LIGA
AP, BARCELONA, Spain
Real Madrid on Monday needed Karim Benzema to salvage a 1-1 draw at CD Leganes.
Benzema again proved a bright spot in a disappointing season for the club, scoring his fifth goal in four matches to cancel out an opener by right back Jonathan Silva.
Madrid remain third in the standings, 13 points adrift of Barcelona, who are on course to retain their title with six games left and a nine-point lead over Atletico Madrid.
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas, whose future has been in doubt since the arrival of Thibaut Courtois last year, said that the players have more to play for than just trophies.
“We have our pride and our love for this shirt, which is worth more than any title,” Navas said. “It has been a complicated season for everyone. We have gone out there to win games, but they have gotten away from us. It is difficult to explain. We are all sad for the situation.”
Other than a shot by Marco Asensio saved by goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar, Leganes had little trouble keeping Madrid’s attack in check in the first half.
The hosts went ahead just before halftime when Martin Braithwaite won the ball in a crowded area and passed to Silva, who curled a shot around Navas into the corner of the net from the edge of the penalty box.
A flash of skill from Luka Modric then set up the equalizer in the 51st minute, when he turned quickly before slipping a pass through the defense to Benzema.
Benzema’s first strike was blocked by Cuellar, but he pounced on the rebound and fired it home.
It was Benzema’s team-leading 27th goal in all competitions this season.
His increasing status since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of last season is in stark contrast to the fall from grace of Gareth Bale.
Bale played only the last 10 minutes against Leganes and, after falling out with the fans this season, he could be one of the stars that the club would look to move on.
“I didn’t like our first half, but I think our second half was better,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “At the end we managed to draw, but we could have played much better. That is for sure. The sensation is not good.”
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