Match Day 12 of the English Premier League (EPL) began with a lunch time kickoff between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur in a game that saw Wolves striking twice late on to condemn Tottenham to a back-to-back PL defeat.
The visitors took an early lead as Brenan Johnson received a delightful pass inside the box from Pedro Poro before slotting the ball past the goal keeper to Spurs ahead inside three minutes.
The hosts gradually came into the game and nullified all of Tottenham’s attacking threat for the remainder of the first half as Spurs went into the break leading the tie.
The second interval began with Spurs still finding it difficult to add to their lead as the Lilywhites missed many glorious chances to increase their lead. The time ticked away and with Spurs thinking they’ve won it, a late drama ensued.
On the first minute of stoppage time, Wolves’ Pablo Sarabia restored parity for Wolves with a brilliant shot into the left side of the goal after being released inside the box by a superb lofted pass from Matheus Cunha.
With both teams now levelled, they kept searching for a winner and surprisingly, it fell for Wolverhampton. A precise cut back on goal line from Pablo Sarabia found Mario Lemina right in front of goal which he easily burried the ball into the bottom left corner to change the scoreline to 2-1.
Lemina’s goal was the eventual winner as Wolves extended their unbeaten run against Tottenham to four. The lost means Spurs are now 4th on the league table while Wolves sits 12th on the log.
Arsenal picked up a comprehensive 3-1 over Burnley to keep their sight on the PL race.
The host started this game on the front foot with Arsenal’s attackers causing havoc for Burnley’s defense. Despite the Gunners dominance, it was not until stoppage time of the first half, they were able to break the Clarets defense as Leandro Trossard scored with a fine header that went into the far post giving the goalkeeper no chance With the Belgian’s goal, Arsenal went into the break one-nil up.
Arsenal picked up where they had left it in the first half but their good display was given a heavy scare as Burnley’s Josh Brownhill restored parity for the visitors in the 54th minute. After a VAR review to see if there was an infringement in the build up to the goal, the goal was eventually allowed to stand.
Burnley’s joy didn’t last long as three minutes later, William Saliba headed Arsenal in front from a Leandro Trossard corner kick. Arsenal protected their lead for long period of time before Oleksandr Zinchenko added Arsenal’s third of the day after breaking through the Burnley’s defense tp struck a shot inside the right post.
The goal confirmed Arsenal’s victory as leave them 3rd on the league table, level in points with Liverpool who are second with a slight goal difference, Burnley are bottom of the log with just four points from 12 games.
At Old Trafford, Manchester United meandered a one-nil win courtesy of Victor Lindelof’s timely arrival for a rebound goal.
The Red Devils went into this encounter off the back of that disappointing 4-3 lost to Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions and with growing concerns from the fans, a win here was paramount. After a barren first half, that saw United having difficulty in breaking the Hatters defensive set up, the second half began more optimistically United and in no time, Lindelof profited from a lose ball to riffle home the ball into the top of the net giving the host the lead in the 59th minute. The goal secured all three points for United who have now won four of their last five PL games and are placed 6th on the log with 21 points from 12 games while Luton Town are in relegation deeper waters sitting 18th in the log.
At Merseyside, a goal in each half for Mo Salah and a superb strike from Diogo Jota ensured Liverpool gave Liverpool a comprehensive win as they returned to winning ways.
The star match of the weekend was the blockbuster clash between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
The game which lived up to its prematch hype saw both teams matching each other like for like as they settled for a 4-4 scoreline. A brace from Erling Haaland, goals from Manuel Akanji a d Rodri ensured City were levelled with Chelsea who saw goals from Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, Nickolas Jackson and a stoppage time penalty from Cole Palmer.
The stalemate ensured Chelsea failed to take all three points off Chelsea for the first time in their last four encounters as the Cityzens maintain top spot with 28 points from 12 games while Chelsea are 10th after accumulating 16 points from 12 games.
Chelsea’s eight goal thriller against City closed the curtain for match day 12 of the PL as players return to their national team base to participate in the last international break of the year.
