Author: Amrit Santlani
Arsenal – Manchester City – 1:0
Declan Rice scored early in the first half, but Arsenal couldn’t clear their lines. City recycled the ball and Ake wasted a glorious chance to score when he shot over the bar. Eddie Nketiah also shot wide of Ederson’s goal. The Arsenal striker received the ball near the edge of the box and shot off target.
Julian Alvarez and Martin Odegaard shot their respective balls over the goal in the first half, before Ake prevented Gabriel Jesus from doing any further damage.
In the second half, Nketiah and Martinelli had their shots saved by Ederson, before Arsenal opened the scoring four minutes before extra time.
Takehiro Tomiyasu headed a long pass into the feet of Kai Havertz, the German passed to Martinelli, who fired a shot that was deflected by Ake into his own net, fooling goalkeeper Ederson. The two substitutes, Havertz and Tomiyasu, made an immediate impact with the goal that secured Arsenal three precious points. Arsenal recorded their first win over Manchester City since 2015.
Brazilian defender Gabriel put in a solid performance to keep Erling Haaland in check, completing the full ninety minutes. His fellow countryman Jesus didn’t get the final touch, as he also played the whole match. Martinelli made an immediate impact after coming on and was excellent throughout the second half.
Ederson, for his part, didn’t have much to do during the whole contest, other than pick the ball out of his net. Matheus Nunes also took part in the second half, but was unable to influence the game.
Brighton – Liverpool – 2:2
At the Amex, Brighton started the game on a positive note: Alexis Mac Allister had his pocket picked, Adingra ran towards goal and curled a shot past a diving Alisson to score the first goal. Liverpool counter-attacked soon after, when Dominik Szoboszlai passed to Harvey Elliot, who slipped the ball to Mo Salah, who scored the equalizer.
Brighton found themselves in trouble trying to play through the back line, eventually giving possession back to Liverpool. Pascall Gross brought down Szoboszlai in the box, and the referee gave the visitors a penalty. Salah converted the penalty to give Jurgen Klopp’s side the lead in first-half stoppage time.
After the restart, Alisson made a great save from Adingra’s shot. Ryan Gravenberch hit the crossbar before Dunk punished Liverpool at the other end with a shot on goal from a free-kick. Brazilian midfielder João Pedro missed a golden opportunity when he shot over the goal, and the match ended in a draw.
Brazilian defender Igor Julio put in an average performance, not his most resolute display, as he was substituted 30 minutes into the second half. Alisson, for his part, was unable to stop Adingra’s goal, but made up for it with an excellent save at the end of the match.