Premier: Brighton-Liverpool 2-2, West Ham-Newcastle 2-2

While waiting for Arsenal-City, Sunday of the 8th round of the Premier League features three draws in three games with 10 goals in total, including Brighton-Liverpool. Only the big match at the Emirates can take Tottenham away from first place in the table.

brighton-liverpool 2-2

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From Liverpool to Liverpool. From a 3-3 at Anfield which made him discover the Premier League to a 2-2 at home with which he tries to start again after a negative period. Roberto De Zerbi makes 50 matches as Brighton manager against the same team with which he began his English adventure: his seagulls make too many mistakes at this stage, but as in the week against Marseille they showed the character needed in big matches, what the Italian coach asks of his players. The point is needed for both to get back into the league table: Brighton, fresh from the 6-1 defeat against Aston Villa, rises to 16 points; Liverpool, who lost last Saturday amid controversy against Tottenham, are now on 17. The Reds applaud Mo Salah, author of a brace at the end of the first half, the Seagulls their captain, Lewis Dunk, who in the 78th minute he signed the equal.

De Zerbi’s team takes the lead in the 20th minute with Adingra, who intercepts a short pass from Van Dijk to Mac Allister in the attacking midfield and then passes Alisson with a very precise shot from outside. Brighton play better and seem to be in control, but in the 40th minute they collect an equalizer from Salah, who passes Verbruggen with a precise diagonal left foot into the area served by Nuñez after the first serious error in the construction from below. In the second, Liverpool doubled their lead: Gross made amends by knocking out Szoboszlai in the area and Salah made it 2-1 from the spot in the 45th minute. Klopp starts again with Gravenberch for Elliott and the new arrival makes it 3-1 in the 54th minute, firing a great assist from Szoboszlai onto the crossbar into an empty net. De Zerbi lost former Fiorentina player Igor to injury in the 62nd minute, replaced by Van Hecke, but in the 78th minute he found a deserved equalizer with Dunk, who from March’s free kick from the right slipped through the Liverpool defense and beat Alisson. João Pedro could also do it in the 84th minute, but two steps away from Alisson he sends it incredibly high. And the result no longer changes.

west ham-newcastle 2-2

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Goals and spectacle. It ends equal at the London Stadium, with West Ham taking the lead first and grabbing an equalizer in the 89th minute and Sandro Tonali’s Newcastle stopping after 3 consecutive victories in the league despite Alexander Isak’s brace, which makes the Magpies 2-1 he sent the ball of his third goal crashing into the post. West Ham remain ahead in the table, 14 points to 13, and have shown all the character that Moyes asks of them. The equalizer interrupts the magical moment for the Magpies, fresh from a 4-1 win over PSG in the Champions League. The home team took the lead in the 8th minute with Soucek, who collected an assist from Emerson into an empty net, launched beyond the defense by a splendid intuition from Paquetá. Newcastle, who had not conceded a goal in the league for 297 minutes, ended the first half with 71.5% of ball possession, but restarted 1-0 down. The equalizer came in the 58th minute, when Isak (in a position that the VAR certified as regular) collected a loose ball in the area and put it past Areola. The center forward is celebrating again after 4′, after having collected a splendid turning assist from Trippier just a stone’s throw from the goal. Isak could have made it three shortly after, but after missing Areola he was denied the goal by the post. It is an error that turns out to be decisive, because West Ham finds the equalizer in the 89th minute with Kudus, who passes Pope with an unstoppable left-footed shot from the edge. It’s the goal that seals the result.

Wolverhampton-Aston Villa 1-1

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Not even a final attempt by Nicolò Zaniolo broke the tie between Wolverhampton and Aston Villa. The blue team, fresh from the 6-1 win over Brighton and Thursday’s struggle in the Conference League, stops at Molineux, on the pitch where Manchester City fell a week ago. The Villans reach 16 points with the fourth useful result in a row but interrupt the streak of 3 successes. the Wolves, launched again by Hwang, City’s executioner a week ago, reach 8 with their second draw of the season. The guests created a lot in the first half, but were unable to break the deadlock. The result changes twice between the 53rd and 55th minutes: Wolverhamtpon hits first thanks to Hwang, Aston Villa equalizes after 3′ with Pau Torres, ready to take advantage of an assist from Watkins. Despite the attempts of Emery’s team, the result no longer changes.