Newcastle United on Saturday inflicted a sixth English Premier League defeat of the season on Manchester United as Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 to extend their lead at the top to four points.
Anthony Gordon scored the only goal at St James’ Park to lift Newcastle up to fifth in the table and within two points of the top four.
By contrast, Manchester slipped to seventh and have yet to beat any side in the top nine of the Premier League this season.
Photo: Reuters
Newcastle deserved to win by a bigger margin despite missing 11 first-team players due to injury or suspension and losing goalkeeper Nick Pope late on to a shoulder problem.
Kieran Trippier’s free-kick came back off the underside of the bar and Alexander Isak’s effort was deflected inches wide before the break.
Gordon finally made the breakthrough 10 minutes into the second period when he was picked out by Trippier to convert at the back post.
“I couldn’t be happier with the players tonight,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said after his under-strength side took seven points from three games in a week against Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester.
“The performances we put in against three top teams were brilliant so that will give confidence, and when we get some players back we can push on even further,” Howe said.
Arsenal were made to survive a late scare despite getting off to a flying start at the Emirates.
Goals from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard put the Gunners 2-0 up inside 13 minutes.
Yet they failed to put the game to bed and were made to sweat when Wolves forward Matheus Cunha found the top corner in the 86th minute to set up a tense finale.
Despite the wobble, Arsenal, last year’s runners-up, held on to notch their 10th win in 14 league games, which moves them four points clear of champions Manchester City, who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
“I can only praise the players,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “They were excellent. We played against a really good side and generated so much and conceded almost nothing. The scoreline should have been very different. We were very unlucky because we hit the post three times I think.”
“At the end we made an error close to the goal — in the Premier League you get punished big time for that. Then it’s game on. Overall I’m really happy with how we performed again,” he said.
At the other end of the table, Burnley got their first home win of the season in style with a 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United.
Luton Town, just outside the drop zone, sank to a 3-1 defeat at Brentford & Hove Albion, while Everton boosted their survival hopes, despite being hit by a swingeing 10-point deduction, with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS