Slot’s team, down to 10 from the 17th minute due to Robertson’s expulsion, saved themselves four minutes from time. The Gunners hit Everton’s wall. And tomorrow Maresca’s Chelsea can move to -2 from the top
Liverpool can also slow down: a 2-2 draw with Fulham at 10 against 11 for almost the entire match is worth the second consecutive draw in the Premier League. Arsenal, stopped at home by Everton, don’t take advantage of it, Maresca’s Chelsea could take advantage of it tomorrow evening, who by beating Brentford at home would go -2 behind the leaders. Tomorrow is above all the day of the crisis derby, the one in Manchester between City and United.
Liverpool 2-2 Fulham
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As it was, down twice and with 10 against 11 from the 17th minute due to the naive expulsion of the disastrous Andy Robertson, a draw could be fine for Liverpool. For what Slot’s team wants to do, this point taken on a cold afternoon at Anfield feels like a step backwards: because for the Reds it is the second consecutive draw in the Premier League (in between the victory in the Champions League in Girona, where, as Slot writes In the Match Programme widespread at Anfield, the leaders of England and Europe were not up to their standards), and in the second half, after having straightened out the situation, they conceded the goal to give Fulham the new lead in their best moment and then had to equalize again . Liverpool remains top of the class, with 36 points and without defeats in all competitions since mid-September, but the idea is that these last ten days are a slowdown compared to the very high standards that Slot’s team has held up to now. In the second half, which opened with Salah’s 100th assist for Gakpo, Liverpool were the better team despite having one less man. In the end, Diogo Jota had to save it in the 86th minute, finding the goal in his first Premier League appearance in almost two months. Fulham deserved this point: they struck in the 11th minute with Pereira, they found a way to keep Liverpool constantly worried with Robinson and Iwobi on the left (Alexander-Arnold disastrous on that side), they built on that axis with Muniz the goal of the new lead in the 76th minute after having risked going down. Silva’s team rises to 24 points and emerges with two draws from the matches with Arsenal and Liverpool: it confirms its solid, balanced formation, capable of causing difficulty for anyone. And to stop the leaders of England and Europe who seemed unstoppable.
arsenal-everton 0-0
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The Gunners dominate, they hold Everton without even a shot on target but fail to score, having to settle for a 0-0 which is worth the second consecutive draw and a new slowdown in the chase for the title. Arteta, still without Calafiori, renews his trust on the left in Lewis-Skelly, an impressive young talent in the Champions League victory over Monaco, but this time the magic is not repeated: the Gunners attack more often, keeping control of the game with ball possession close to 75%, but they fail to break through. They rise to 30 points in the standings, which is not even enough to temporarily overtake Chelsea in second place. Everton, who will officially become Friedkin’s next week following the ratification of the agreement by the Premier League, are at 15, with their second useful result in a row
the others
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With Sandro Tonali starting again (third time in four games, Howe reiterated yesterday that the Italian will not be sold in January and is a fundamental piece of the team’s growth project), Newcastle takes a walk on Leicester, who implode at the start of the second half giving the Magpies a 4-0 which is worth 23 and their first success in 4 games and leaves the Foxes at 14 with their first knockout after two games. Ipswich takes on a direct clash in the 94th minute to avoid relegation with Wolverhampton: Taylor’s goal makes it 2-1. The Wolves are on their fourth defeat in a row and could sack Gary O’Neil. The Tractor Boys go up to 12. Nottingham Forest-Aston Villa at 6.30pm closes the Premier Saturday menu.
the program
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Matchday 16 continues tomorrow, with the spotlight from 5.30pm on Manchester City-Manchester United, a derby between two teams desperately trying to get out of their respective crises. Premier League Sunday starts at 3pm with Brighton-Crystal Palace and ends with two unusual evening postponements from 8pm: Chelsea-Brentford, with Maresca’s team trying to close in on Liverpool, and Southampton-Tottenham, with Spurs in difficulty they return to a stadium engraved in the memory for the outburst that closed the Antonio Conte era.
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