Published on 25 Oct 2022 11:01 am (UK Time)
Premier League matchweek 13 saw Manchester City gain ground on league leaders Arsenal. The Gunners showed signs that their hectic schedule, including Europa League football, is starting to affect their domestic performances.
This article will focus on all Premier League games played across Sunday, 23 October and Monday, 24 October, whilst part 1 deconstructed the action from the five Saturday games of this matchweek, which saw Manchester United score a last-gasp equalizer at Stamford Bridge.
Premier League Matchweek 13 Roundup
Aston Villa 4 – 0 Brentford
This result is a massive kick in the teeth for Steven Gerrard. Aston Villa had scored just one goal in their last four Premier League games prior to their clash with Brentford, but, in their first game since Gerrard’s dismissal, Villa found the back of the net four times.
The Claret and Blues got off to a lightning-quick start when a neatly worked corner routine allowed Douglas Luiz to find Leon Bailey inside the Brentford penalty box, and the winger calmly guided the ball past a helpless David Raya. Bailey was involved again just five minutes later, rolling the ball across the six-yard box to allow Danny Ings to put Villa 2-0 up.
Aston Villa looked like a team rejuvenated, and they were 3-0 up in the 14th minute after Brentford conceded a clumsy penalty which Danny Ings smashed home to grab his second of the day.
It took him three attempts, one of which hit the woodwork, but Ollie Watkins eventually sealed the win for managerless Villa in the 59th minute, after Bailey excellently picked him out with a cross from the left wing.
Overall, Aston Villa thoroughly deserved the victory which sees them move up the table into fifteenth, whilst Brentford slip one place to eleventh.
Leeds United 2 – 3 Fulham
This game was destined to produce plenty of goals. These two sides had conceded a combined 35 goals in the league prior to this game, and neither defence was able to shut the opposing attack out.
The match saw its first goal in the twentieth minute when Rodrigo headed the home side in front, only for the visitors to peg them back just six minutes later via a Mitrovic header from an excellent Pereira corner. Fulham completed their comeback in the second half with two goals inside 10 minutes, the first saw Bobby Decordova-Reid score the third headed goal of the game in the 74th minute before ex-Chelsea and Arsenal winger Willian scored Fulham’s third in the 84th.
There was a consolation goal for Leeds in the 91st minute when Summerville slid the ball past Bernd Leno to give the home fans a glimmer of hope, but Marco Silva’s Fulham held on to secure their fifth win of the season.
The defeat sees Leeds slip into the relegation zone, whilst Fulham continue to prove the doubters wrong and move into seventh place.
Read More: Is It Time For Cristiano Ronaldo to Leave Manchester United?
Southampton 1 – 1 Arsenal
Arsenal are starting to show signs that Europa League football on a Thursday is starting to take its toll on their squad.
The Gunners burst out the blocks and for much of the first half, the Saints struggled to cope with the quality and intensity of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. Granit Xhaka scored his second goal in four days as he smashed home a Ben White cross with his right foot in the eleventh minute; it appeared as though Arsenal were cruising towards yet another victory in the Premier League. It would have been a symbolic one too, given that the Gunners’ shock 1-0 away defeat to Southampton at the back end of last season was one of the reasons they failed to achieve a top-four finish.
However, the North London club failed to replicate their first-half performance after the break as energy levels clearly took a huge dive. Arteta’s substitutions were unable to give the side the boost they needed, and the Saints scored the equalizer in the 64th minute through an excellent passing move finished off in style by Stuart Armstrong.
Arsenal will feel hard done by as they saw multiple penalty shouts waved away by the referee, however, the truth of the matter is that they simply did not perform well enough in the second half to merit the three points.
Despite the draw, Arsenal remain top of the Premier League, clear of the reigning champions Manchester City by two points, whilst Southampton fall to sixteenth.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 – 4 Leicester City
Finally, Leicester City have decided to perform in the Premier League this season. They’ve shown glimpses of what they can do in phases, but this game was the real deal and showcases exactly why Brendan Rodgers’ side need to stay in the Premier League.
Youri Tielemans opened the scoring for the away side after just eight minutes, with what is quite possibly the finest goal the Belgian will ever score. With the ball bouncing towards him, the midfielder caught the ball perfectly to smash it into the top left corner and fire Leicester ahead. If you haven’t seen the goal already, I thoroughly recommend you watch it.
Harvey Barnes doubled their lead 11 minutes later with a clever finish after a neat one-two with Dewsbury-Hall and two goals after the break from Jamie Vardy and Jamie Maddison respectively sealed an impressive 4-0 victory for the Foxes.
It was a much-needed win for Leicester, who have now leapfrogged their opponents and have now climbed out of the relegation zone and sit in seventeenth place. For Wolves though, their form is of huge concern who have now lost four of their last five Premier League games and are now in nineteenth position.
Read More: Chelsea news and transfer rumors: Ziyech possible exit, Mount on a new contract, Lukaku situation
Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 2 Newcastle United
A Hugo Lloris disaster-class helped Newasctle secure a statement 2-1 victory over Tottenham, in what was Spurs’ first home defeat of the season.
Lloris was directly at fault for Newcastle’s opener, failing to deal with a bouncing ball and colliding with Callum Wilson, which ultimately allowed the striker to score into an open net in the 31st minute. Eddie Howe’s men then found themselves two up just nine minutes later after Lloris misplaced his pass, which allowed Miguel Almiron to drive at the Tottenham defence before finding the back of the net.
Spurs did improve after the break, and early goal via a Harry Kane header, his tenth Premier League goal of the season, tested Newcastle’s resolve. The remainder of the match largely conisted of Tottenham pinning Newcastle back, but for every question that the North London club asked, the Newcastle defence had the answer.
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With Dejan Kulusevski and summer signing Richarlison both injured, Tottenham lacked any real firepower from the bench and Newasctle were able to shut them out and hold on for the victory.
The three points was a massive statement to the rest of the league as it saw Newcastle climb above both Chelsea and Manchester United and currently occupy a place in the top four. The defeat was Tottenham’s second in a matter of days, and them squander the opportunity to gain ground on peace setters Manchester City and Arsenal.
West Ham United 2 – 0 Bournemouth
This game wasn’t much on the eye, but it still had moments of controversy sprinkled into the match.
Firstly, and most importantly, there was the handball drama surrounding West Ham’s openerl. The handball in question occurred during the build up to the goal, which saw Thilo Kehrer accidentally handle the ball. Bournemouth players and fans alike were convinced the goal should have been ruled out, but controversially, it stood.
There was yet more commotion surrounding the Hammers’ second goal, with referee David Coote required to go the VAR monitor in order to award David Moyes’ side the penalty in the 92nd minute. Benrahma made no mistake and smashed the ball into the side netting to secure an important 2-0 victory for the home side.
Thew result means West Ham move up to tenth in the table, whilst Bournemouth fall to fourteenth, in what has been an impressive season by them so far.
