Review

Arsenal restore five-point lead at the top

12 Mar 2023

Leandro Trossard creates all three goals in win at Fulham while Man Utd draw with Southampton

Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the table following a dominant 3-0 victory at Fulham.

FUL

0-3

ARS

The visitors took the lead on 21 minutes, Gabriel rising highest to head Leandro Trossard's corner beyond former Gunners goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Gabriel Martinelli added a second five minutes later, heading in an inviting Trossard cross.

Arsenal struck again in first-half stoppage time through Martin Odegaard. The captain expertly controlled a Trossard pass on his chest before steadying himself and firing in.

With that assist, Trossard became the first player in Premier League history to set up three goals during the opening 45 minutes of an away match.

Arsenal have 66 points, five more than second-placed Manchester City, having played the same number of matches.

The Gunners can go eight points clear next Sunday when they host Crystal Palace, with Man City not in action due to their participation in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
1	Manchester City MCI	38	+61	89
2	Arsenal ARS	38	+45	84

Manchester United drew 0-0 at home to Southampton after playing nearly an hour with 10 men after Casemiro was sent off for the second time this season.

MUN

0-0

SOU

The Brazilian was initially shown shown a yellow card in the 34th minute for his foul on Saints midfielder Carlos Alcaraz by referee Anthony Taylor, but it was upgraded to a red following a VAR review.

Casemiro will now miss Premier League matches against Newcastle United, Brentford and Everton, along with the FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham on 19 March.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was forced to clear off the line just after the break, when a cross from Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters deflected off substitute Scott McTominay.

Southampton again came close to an opener, but James Ward-Prowse's free-kick struck the crossbar, before Man Utd were denied by the woodwork, when Gavin Bazunu tipped Bruno Fernandes' strike on to a post in the 68th minute.

Just moments later, Walker-Peters also hit a post as neither side were able to break the deadlock at Old Trafford.

The result keeps Man Utd in third on 50 points while Southampton are bottom with 22 points.

Hammers out of the bottom three

Said Benrahma's penalty helped West Ham United come from a goal down to earn a point as they drew 1-1 at home to Aston Villa to move out of the bottom three.

WHU

1-1

AVL

Ollie Watkins put Villa in front on 17 minutes, when he headed in a cross from Alex Moreno.

It was the fourth successive away match in which Watkins had scored, making him only the second Villa player to do so, after Dwight Yorke.

A foul by Leon Bailey on Lucas Paqueta seven minutes later gave West Ham a chance to equalise from the penalty spot.

Benrahma stepped up and gave Emiliano Martinez no chance, as he fired his spot-kick into the roof of the net.

Both sides pressed for a winner in the second half, but neither could find a decisive goal.

West Ham climb to 17th on 24 points, with Villa remaining 11th on 35 points.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
12	Chelsea CHE	38	-9	44
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers WOL	38	-27	41
14	West Ham United WHU	38	-13	40
15	Bournemouth BOU	38	-34	39
16	Nottingham Forest NFO	38	-30	38
17	Everton EVE	38	-23	36
18	Leicester City LEI	38	-17	34
19	Leeds United LEE	38	-30	31
20	Southampton SOU	38	-37	25

Full table

Newcastle climb up to fifth

Miguel Almiron’s second-half goal was enough for Newcastle to earn a first win in seven Premier League matches as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1.

NEW

2-1

WOL

Alexander Isak’s glancing header from a Kieran Trippier free-kick gave Newcastle a 26th-minute lead.

Bruno Guimaraes almost added a second, but his headed effort hit the crossbar.

Wolves winger Daniel Podence then unleashed a low strike which came back off a post.

The visitors equalised through substitute Hwang Hee-chan, who scored only 57 seconds after coming on, capitalising on a mix-up between Trippier and Nick Pope to tap into an empty net.

But Almiron, who was left out of the starting XI for the first time this season, emerged from the bench to provide the decisive moment, his deflected strike with 11 minutes remaining putting the home side back in front.

Newcastle move up to fifth on 44 points, with Wolves staying 13th on 27 points, three points clear of the bottom three.

All eyes on the south coast

Matchweek 27 draws to a close on Wednesday with all the action taking place on the south coast.

Brighton & Hove Albion host rivals Crystal Palace, while at St Mary's, Southampton welcome Brentford knowing a victory would lift them out of the relegation zone.