English football champions Manchester City made a bad mistake in the last game before the World Cup break.
When Erling Haaland returned to the starting eleven, Pep Guardiola’s team suffered their first home defeat since February with a 1-2 (1-1) loss to FC Brentford. Arsenal FC was thus already known as the “break champion” in the Premier League before their own game.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney made the decision in the seventh minute of added time. The Englishman, who had hoped in vain for a World Cup nomination on Thursday, put the guests ahead before the break (16th). England’s World Cup driver Phil Foden (45 + 1) scored the equalizer.
City winters in second place with 32 points. Leaders Arsenal extended their lead to five points with a 2-0 (0-0) win at bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the evening. Martin Ödegaard (55th/75th) made the victory perfect for the Gunners and thus refined a dreamlike second half of the year for the Londoners. Wolverhampton remains in acute danger of relegation and overwinters in last place.
Meanwhile, Liverpool FC defeated FC Southampton 3-1 (3-1) without Jürgen Klopp. A despised national player also scored at Anfield Road: Roberto Firmino, who had not made it into Brazil’s World Cup squad, gave the Reds an early lead (6′). After Che Adams equalized (9th), Uruguay’s world championship driver Darwin Nunez (21st/42nd) put the Klopp team on the road to victory.
Klopp was serving the ban he received in the stands after his red card in the top-flight game against Manchester City in October. At Southampton, Nathan Jones made an unsuccessful debut on the coaching bench, the coach brought from Luton is the successor to the dismissed Ralph Hasenhüttl.
Harry Kane in World Cup form
Chelsea FC say goodbye to the break with a negative series. At Newcastle United, the team of World Cup driver Kai Havertz lost 0-1 (0-0) and conceded the third defeat in a row. Havertz came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute but was unable to compensate for the goal of the day by Joe Willock (67th). While Chelsea are far below expectations in eighth place and could slip even further, Newcastle surprisingly spent the World Cup break in third place.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane also presented himself in World Cup form, scoring the goal to make it 1-1 (25th) in the 4-3 (1-2) against Leeds United. On the other hand, there are concerns about James Maddison: The English offensive player from Leicester City, who surprisingly received a ticket to Qatar, scored the early lead in the 2-0 (1-0) away win against West Ham United (8th), but had to be substituted in the 25th minute. According to team manager Brendan Rodgers, this was a precautionary measure.