Tomas Rosicky salvaged a point for Arsenal with a stoppage-time equalizer to secure a 2-2 draw with Everton on Saturday.
The draw moved Arsene Wenger’s side to within three points of Premier League leaders Chelsea.
It had appeared the Gunners were about to suffer their second home defeat of the season when Steven Pienaar fired the visitors into a deserved 2-1 lead with just nine minutes remaining at a snow-covered Emirates Stadium.
Earlier, Leon Osman had put Everton ahead in the 13th minute, only for that advantage to be canceled out by Denilson’s deflected shot.
Fortune was again with the home side when Rosicky, who appeared as a second-half substitute, saw his late strike hit the legs of Everton’s Australia defender Lucas Neill and loop into goalkeeper Tim Howard’s net.
Everton’s failure to turn a succession of draws into wins meant they came into this game having won just one of their last eight league matches, although their form has been steadily improving in recent weeks.
With Landon Donovan now amongst their ranks following his loan switch from LA Galaxy, David Moyes’ side showed no lack of confidence as they set about disrupting Arsenal’s plans to increase the pressure on Chelsea.
Donovan had an immediate impact in his first Premier League start, operating effectively on the right.
With South Africa’s Steven Pienaar and Australia’s Cahill pushing forward down Everton’s left flank, the Arsenal defense was repeatedly stretched in the opening 45 minutes, creating space for striker Louis Saha.
The French forward got his first sight of goal in the seventh minute when he finished from close range only for the effort to be disallowed for offside.
Everton’s five-man midfield effectively smothered their opponents and when Arsenal did manage to work their way through, the visitors defense was equally resolute.
The Gunners were clearly missing Alex Song, the holding midfielder who has been so impressive this season and is now absent on international duty with Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations.
There was no excuse, however, for the rank bad defending that allowed Everton to take the lead after just 13 minutes.
Donovan swung in a routine corner from the right and Osman, one of the smallest players on the pitch, was allowed to run from deep and jump unhindered to head the ball past Manuel Almunia.
Everton were good value for the lead, with Arsenal struggling to create an opening of note, but Wenger’s men were given a route back into the game in the 28th minute courtesy of a fortunate deflection after Donovan’s failure to clear from his own area.
The ball fell to Andrey Arshavin and made its way to Denilson via Eduardo, and the Brazilian’s shot flew past the wrong-footed Howard after catching the back of Osman’s legs.
Arsenal were lucky to be on level terms, but Everton should have soon been ahead again when Cahill found space between Bacary Sagna and William Gallas at the far post, but was caught in two minds and wasted the headed chance.
The pattern of the game was maintained in the second half, with Everton’s defending becoming more impressive as Arsenal sought a winning goal.
By contrast the home side’s back-line looked increasingly fragile and they were completely caught out by Cahill’s 81st-minute pass that released Pienaar, who ran 50m before lifting the ball over Almunia.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS