Arsenal responded to Manchester City’s 4-1 victory over Liverpool by easing past Leeds United by the same scoreline to maintain their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
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Gabriel Jesus was the hero for Arsenal, scoring twice for his first goals since 1 October and his return from his World Cup injury.
The striker opened the scoring against the run of play with a penalty, after he was fouled by Luke Ayling.
Ben White doubled the lead early in the second half before Jesus got his second after good work from Leandro Trossard, who supplied his ninth assist of the season.
Rasmus Kristensen pulled one back late on for Leeds but Granit Xhaka’s header from Martin Odegaard’s brilliant pass eased any home nerves.
No Haaland, no problem for City
Man City shrugged off the absence of 28-goal leading scorer Erling Haaland with a groin injury as they came from behind to cruise past Liverpool.
The champions conceded against the run of play from a 17th-minute Liverpool counter-attack converted by Mohamed Salah for his 12th goal of the season. It was also the Egyptian’s 56th Premier League goal away from home, a Liverpool record.
The lead lasted only 10 minutes as Jack Grealish, less than 60 seconds after denying Liverpool a second on the counter, set up Julian Alvarez, Haaland’s replacement, to equalise from close range in a stunning team move.
Within a minute of the second half starting Kevin De Bruyne put City ahead from Riyad Mahrez’s cross. The lead was doubled seven minutes later by Ilkay Gundogan after a blocked shot had fallen to him.
Grealish made it 4-1 with his first home league goal for City since 2021.
A fourth victory in a row for City, their best run of the season, was also a 100th Premier League home win for Pep Guardiola, and gives them 64 points, while an eighth away defeat of the campaign leaves Liverpool with 42 points, seven from fourth place.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Manchester City
MCI
|
38 | +61 | 89 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +45 | 84 |
Brighton and Brentford provide thriller
Two teams vying for unlikely European qualification shared a six-goal thriller at the Amex Stadium as Brighton & Hove Albion came from behind three times to prevent Brentford taking their sixth place.
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Brentford went ahead through Pontus Jansson’s header, but Kaoru Mitoma latched on to Jason Steele’s long ball to lob in Brighton’s equaliser. It was Mitoma's seventh league goal of the season, a record for Japanese players.
The scores were level for only a minute as Ivan Toney’s 17th Premier League goal of the season, seven seconds after the restart, restored Brentford’s advantage.
Back came Brighton, this time through a Danny Welbeck header from Solly March’s cross.
The goals continued after half-time as Ethan Pinnock stole in to put Brentford back in front, but, in the final minute of normal time, Alexis Mac Allister made it 3-3 from the penalty spot after Aaron Hickey’s handball.
Brighton, who had 33 shots, with 15 on target, stay seventh above Brentford on goal difference with 43 points.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Newcastle United
NEW
|
38 | +35 | 71 |
| 5 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +28 | 67 |
| 6 |
Brighton & Hove Albion
BHA
|
38 | +19 | 62 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +5 | 61 |
| 8 |
Tottenham Hotspur
TOT
|
38 | +7 | 60 |
Hodgson returns with victory
Roy Hodgson enjoyed a winning return to Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace came from behind to claim a first victory of 2023, beating Leicester City 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time winner.
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Palace dominated the opening 45 minutes, with 20 shots to Leicester’s none, but they lost their talisman Wilfried Zaha before half-time as he limped off.
Leicester stunned the Selhurst Park faithful through Ricardo Pereira’s fine shot after the break.
But Palace got their deserved equaliser as Eberechi Eze's wonderful free-kick hit the bar and went in off Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.
In the fourth and final minute of stoppage time, Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the winner with his first goal since August to keep Palace in 12th on 30 points, five points above Leicester, who slipped into the relegation zone after a fifth defeat in six matches.
Cherries climb out of the bottom three
AFC Bournemouth climbed out of the relegation zone all the way up to 15th with a turnaround victory over Fulham.
The visitors to the Vitality Stadium opened the scoring through Andreas Pereira’s first-time finish. But half-time substitute Marcus Tavernier levelled shortly after coming on with a tremendous long-range strike, before Dominic Solanke bundled in the winner 11 minutes from time.
The win lifts AFC Bournemouth four places and gives them 27 points, while a third consecutive league defeat for Fulham keeps them 10th with 39 points.
Wolves salvage a point
A late equaliser kept Wolverhampton Wanderers above Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Brennan Johnson struck first for Forest, with a fierce finish from a narrow angle for his eighth goal of the season. But in a fiery encounter, Daniel Podence levelled in the 83rd minute to give Wolves a point and keep them 13th on 28 points, a place and a point above Forest.
| 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 |
Villa climb into top half
In the day’s final match, Aston Villa climbed above Chelsea into ninth place and into the top half of the table for the first time since August as they stunned the Blues 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
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Ollie Watkins capitalised on a defensive error to lob Villa in front, becoming the club’s first player to score in five Premier League away matches in a row.
The lead was doubled in the second half by John McGinn’s superb long-range strike.
A first win at Chelsea since 2011 gives Villa 41 points, three more than Chelsea, who despite 27 shots slip into the bottom half, also for the first time since August.
McGinn's strike was the 26th goal of the day, the most there has been in a single day this season.
Huge double-header on Sunday
Both of Sunday's matches have huge implications at the top and bottom of the table.
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There's a relegation six-pointer between the table's bottom two sides as West Ham United aim to go five consecutive matches unbeaten at home when they host the only team beneath them, Southampton.
Newcastle United have the chance to leapfrog Manchester United into third as the two teams meet at St James' Park.