Arsenal has booked a hard-fought victory in the Premier League on Sunday evening. At home, the team of Mikel Arteta against Tottenham Hotspur fell 0-1 halfway through the first half by a nice goal from Erik Lamela, who was eventually turned by Martin Ödegaard and Alexandre Lacazette: 2-1. The outcome of the North London derby does not cause any changes in the ranking: Arsenal remains tenth with 41 points; Tottenham occupies seventh position with four points more.
Interestingly enough, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did not appear at the kick-off at the Emirates Stadium due to a disciplinary suspension of Arteta. On the other hand, José Mourinho suffered a serious setback quite early in the game. Heung-Min Son sprinted towards the enemy goal after twenty minutes, when the attacker suddenly had to stop his rush due to a muscle strain. His honors were taken care of by Erik Lamela, who impressively found the opening goal after more than half an hour of play.
After a cross from the left, the leather ended up at the feet of Lamela via Lucas Moura, who found legs of Thomas Partey through the far corner with a rabona between the legs and left the Arsenal defense behind: 0-1. Arsenal, which was the parent party, then explicitly went in search of the equalizer. The attacking spirit was rewarded right before half time, when Ödegaard outwitted goalkeeper Hugo Lloris near the penalty spot and on a pass from Kieran Tierney.
After half time turned the Gunners the thumbscrews a little further, and it was Lacazette who gave Arsenal the lead from eleven meters halfway through the second half. A flying tackle by Davinson Sánchez on Lacazette was reason enough for referee Michael Oliver to award the penalty kick, even after watching the video images. The chances of a favorable end result for Tottenham dwindled fifteen minutes before time, when Lamela was presented with a second yellow card after an elbow in the face of Tierney and was allowed to leave. Although Harry Kane shot a free kick on the post, the score did not change anymore.
Erik Lamela breaks Arsenal – Tottenham Hotspur open with this bizarre goal! ??????
Posted by football zone on Sunday, March 14, 2021
Leicester City – Sheffield United 5-0
It was the first game at the helm of Sheffield United for manager Paul Heckingbottom, who takes over from the fired Chris Wilder. Although the visitors lost in the first act, the damage at half time was limited with a 1-0 score. Kelechi Iheanacho was responsible for the opening goal in the 39th minute, when the striker was able to easily tap in a cross tailored to Jamie Vardy. That hit was the gate of the dam, because in the second half Leicester would still work hard on the goal difference. The margin was doubled after more than an hour of play by Ayoze Pérez, who shot diagonally from outside the box: 2-0.
The third hit of the Foxes followed five minutes later. The 3-0 was a copy of the opening goal, as Iheanacho again rounded off a cross from Vardy from the left. The Nigerian attacker even scored his third goal of the afternoon fifteen minutes before the final signal, when he surprised goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale with a shot from about 25 meters into the short corner: 4-0. The final chord was played by Ethan Ampadu, who outwitted his own final post after a hard and low cross from Vardy: 5-0. It was Sheffield United’s biggest league defeat since April 2002, when Blackburn Rovers were tied for victory in the Championship.