A round-up of the reports and results from this weekend’s Premier League action.
SATURDAY:
Manchester United 1 Bournemouth 1
Man United: Rojo (23’)
Bournemouth: King (40’ pen)
Red card: Surman (45’)
• Manchester United spurned a chance to move into the top four after striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw against 10-man Bournemouth.
The result left United in sixth position on 49 points while Bournemouth, who had Andrew Surman sent off on the stroke of half-time for charging at Ibrahimovic, stay 14th with 27 points.
Argentina defender Marcos Rojo fired the home side ahead in the 23rd minute with his first Premier League goal before Joshua King, a Manchester United academy product, levelled against the run of play with a 40th-minute penalty.
Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc shone with a string of excellent saves, denying a below-par Ibrahimovic three times before he parried the Swede’s feeble spot-kick after Adam Smith handled Paul Pogba’s acrobatic cutback.
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 1
Liverpool: Firmino (9’), Mané (40’), Wijnaldum (90’+1)
Arsenal: Welbeck (57’)
• Liverpool punished Arsene Wenger’s selection gamble with a crucial 3-1 win over Arsenal that saw them replace their opponents in one of the coveted top four places.
Wenger sprang a major surprise by leaving Alexis Sanchez on the bench and the Chile forward was badly missed as Arsenal were blown away in the first half at Anfield.
With Mesut Ozil also absent, due to illness, Arsenal were ill-equipped to match Jurgen Klopp’s fired-up side, who took the lead in the ninth minute when Roberto Firmino met Sadio Mane’s cross with a cool finish at the far post after sloppy Arsenal defending.
There was worse to come for Wenger in the 40th minute as Firmino teed up the unmarked Mane and the Senegal winger drilled his shot past Petr Cech.
Wenger sent on Sanchez at half-time and inevitably he made an impact, sending an astute pass through to Danny Welbeck, whose deft chip reduced the deficit in the 57th minute.
But Georginio Wijnaldum finished a lethal Liverpool counter attack in the 90th minute to condemn Arsenal to a third defeat in their last four league matches.
Leicester City 3 Hull City 1
Leicester: Fuchs (27’), Mahrez (59’), Huddlestone (90’ og)
Hull: Clucas (14’)
• Leicester City made it two wins from two since the sacking of Claudio Ranieri with a 3-1 victory over fellow strugglers Hull City.
Hull, who beat champions Leicester on the opening day of the season, took the lead when Sam Clucas bundled home after Kasper Schmeichel could only parry Kamil Grosicki’s cross in the 14th minute.
Buoyed by their impressive 3-1 victory over Liverpool on Monday, Leicester equalised in the 27th minute through defender Christian Fuchs who exchanged passes with Jamie Vardy before stroking home.
Riyad Mahrez scored Leicester’s second in the 57th minute before Tom Huddlestone’s own goal in the 91st minute ended a good week for Leicester. The champions move up to 15th on 27 points, six points above 19th-placed Hull.
Stoke City 2 Middlesbrough 0
Stoke: Arnautovic (29’, 42’)
• Marko Arnautovic’s first-half double gave Stoke City a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough and sent the visitors into the relegation zone for the first time this season.
A piece of brilliance from Arnautovic put Stoke ahead as he flicked Glenn Whelan’s long ball past two defenders with a superb first touch before skipping past the onrushing Victor Valdes and slotting the ball high into the net.
Peter Crouch rose highest to meet Whelan’s corner and head the ball into the path of Arnautovic who flicked it past Valdes to double Stoke’s lead in the 42nd minute.
Middlesbrough have now failed to score in four successive games and their winless run in the league was extended to 10 matches.
Swansea City 3 Burnley 2
Swansea: Llorente (12’, 90’+2), Olsson (69’)
Burnley: Gray (20’ pen, 61’)
• Fernando Llorente proved Swansea’s match-winner again in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Burnley after referee Anthony Taylor had taken centre stage by awarding one of the most controversial penalties of the season.
Spain striker Llorente, who has scored precious goals this season against Liverpool and Crystal Palace, headed home a 90th-minute winner to ease Swansea’s relegation fears.
Earlier, Andre Gray’s double, either side of goals from Llorente and Martin Olsson, looked like handing Burnley some rare away-day joy.
But the contest will unfortunately be remembered for the 20th-minute penalty Burnley were awarded when George Boyd’s corner escaped everyone before striking the arm of Burnley striker Sam Vokes.
Television replays showed Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson appealing for handball against Vokes, and there did not appear to be any other offence in a congested six-yard box.
But Taylor incensed Swansea players by pointing to the spot and Gray’s straight-down-the-middle kick cancelled out Llorente’s 12th-minute header.
Watford 3 Southampton 4
Watford: Deeney (4’), Okaka (79’), Doucouré (90’+4)
Southampton: Tadic (28’), Redmond (45’+2, 86’), Gabbiadini (83’)
• Manolo Gabbiadini became the first Southampton player to score in his first three Premier League matches for the club as his goal helped down Watford 4-3.
The Italian took his tally to six goals in four games in all competitions since joining Southampton from Napoli in the January transfer window following a seven-goal thriller at Vicarage Road.
Nathan Redmond added two for Southampton and Dusan Tadic also scored while Troy Deeney, Stefano Okaka and Abdoulaye Doucoure netted for Watford as both sides remained in mid-table.
An already thrilling game exploded into life with four goals in the final 10 minutes — including Gabbiadini’s historic strike.
West Bromwich Albion 0 Crystal Palace 2
Crystal Palace: Zaha (55’), Townsend (84’)
• Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend scored brilliant goals for Crystal Palace as Sam Allardyce’s strugglers ruined West Brom counterpart Tony Pulis’s 300th match as a Premier League manager with a 2-0 win.
Albion’s five-match unbeaten run came to an abrupt conclusion 10 minutes after half-time once Zaha controlled a superb long diagonal ball from Yohan Cabaye on his chest before striking a fine angled finish past Ben Foster.
England international Townsend then doubled the lead, going on a mazy run before a deflected shot that secured a second straight League win for Allardyce’s men and moved them out of the bottom three.
Palace deserved the victory, having already enjoyed the best chance in the first half when Chris Brunt was forced to nod Christian Benteke’s goal-bound header off the line, with Salomon Rondon’s appeal for a penalty being Albion’s best shout.
* Reuters
Still to come:
SUNDAY
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton (5.30pm)
Sunderland v Manchester City (8pm)
MONDAY
West Ham United v Chelsea (midnight)
