Anthony Gordon’s contentious second-half goal, which remained following a protracted VAR review, gave Newcastle United their passionate 1-0 home victory on Saturday, handing Arsenal their first Premier League loss of the season.
After a tussle in the goalmouth, Gordon scored in the 64th minute by blasting past custodian David Raya from close range.
Before Newcastle’s supporters could celebrate, there was a long delay while VAR checked to see if the ball went out of bounds, if there had been a foul in the build-up, and if there was an offside.
After 11 games, the Magpies, who have won their past seven league games, moved up to sixth place with 20 points. Arsenal, three goals behind leaders Manchester City, are in third place with 24, having failed to score for the first time this season across all competitions.
Newcastle’s triumph completed an incredible week after they defeated League Cup leaders Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday in their fourth-round match.
After a dismal few days in which his team lost 3-1 to West Ham United and was ousted from the League Cup, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was determined to turn things around.
The St. James’ Park match was intensely emotional but also poorly played for a large portion of the game, and there were several yellow cards given before halftime that caused tempers to flare up.
Kai Havertz of Arsenal was handed a yellow card for a careless tackle on Sean Longstaff, and both Longstaff and Fabian Schar received cards for their disagreement that Havertz ought to have been sent out.
Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle seemed on the verge of collapse when he elbowed Jorginho in the head, smashed the ball off Havertz, and then almost collided with Declan Rice.
It felt good to hear the halftime siren.
Dan Burns, a defender for Newcastle who was severely injured in a tackle, did not play again in the second half and was seen carefully making his way to the dugout.
But his teammates never gave up, and they were rewarded when Gordon scored after an aerial fight between Joelinton and Gabriel, the defender, and Joe Willock, who had recovered the ball on the byline, crossed the ball.
READ ALSO: EPL: Not putting up your best game, as usual Sagna defends the midfielder for Arsenal, Odegaard
After Manchester United stabilised the ship with a dramatic victory against Fulham on Saturday, Manchester City stormed back to the top of the Premier League with a 6-1 hammering of Bournemouth.
Champion City’s young Belgian winger Jeremy Doku was brilliant, setting up two goals and scoring the first as the faltering Bournemouth were destroyed at The Etihad.
After 11 games, Pep Guardiola’s squad has 27 points, one more than Tottenham Hotspur, who will visit Chelsea on Monday.
At the bottom, Burnley lost 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace, their sixth straight home loss, while Sheffield United won 2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers thanks to a last-minute penalty. This was Sheffield United’s first victory since being promoted.
Guardiola’s treble-winning team scored three goals in seven minutes to all but end the game after Doku’s strike in the thirtyth minute opened the floodgates.
Then, as Bernardo Silva scored a brace for the undefeated hosts, he assisted on two more goals.
Guardiola remarked of Doku, “What surprised me the most is how clever he is when he has to take a decision, it’s really good.”
“He takes criticism to heart and is a pretty good player. I have no desire to alter his nature; he has performed admirably in every game, particularly this one at home.
With eight losses from 15 games in all competitions, United has had its worst start to a season since 1962, putting manager Erik Ten Hag under a lot of pressure.
In the early kickoff of the day, his team struggled at times against Fulham and required some excellent goalkeeping from Andre Onana to level the score in the second half.
However, Bruno Fernandes, the captain, scored the game’s winning goal with 90 minutes remaining, setting off wild celebrations among the visiting players and supporters at Craven Cottage.
Naturally, I’m feeling terrific. It always is if you prevail. It was a good performance, though. “It’s an incredible victory and a strong showing,” stated Dutch player Ten Hag.
United, in eighth place after 11 games, with 18 points.
Sheffield United’s return to the top flight has been turbulent, but a penalty kick by Oliver Norwood ten minutes into stoppage time gave them a victory that will raise their spirits.
Cameron Archer raced to the edge of the area and sent a shot that went in off the bar to give the Blades the lead in the 72nd minute, but Jean-Ricner Bellegarde gave the visitors a minute’s notice to draw even.
After a rare Vitaliy Mykolenko goal had given the home team the lead early in the match, Brighton & Hove Albion managed to salvage a point through a late own goal by Ashley Young of Everton in their 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.
Burnley’s home problems persisted as they fell to Palace despite goals from Tyrick Mitchell and Jeffrey Schlupp. The struggling team of Vincent Kompany is tied with Sheffield United at the basement on four points. Luton Town has five when they play Liverpool on Sunday.
West Ham United lost 3-2 against Brentford, who had won three straight games to get into the top half of the standings, to suffer their third straight league loss.
Neal Maupay had given the home team the lead, but Jarrod Bowen’s tap-in and a Mohammed Kudus scissor kick put West Ham ahead 2-1. However, Brentford won the game thanks to an own goal by Konstantinos Mavropanos after the break and a header by Nathan Collins in the 69th.
By REUTERS
