By Yobel Petros ‘24
- Leicester vs Brentford
At King Power Stadium, Leicester City defeated Brentford 2-1 thanks to goals from Timothy Castagne and James Maddison. 20 minutes into his first appearance of 2022, Castagne broke the tie in a dramatic way. From the outside of the penalty box, the Belgian curled the ball into the top-right corner. Brentford almost equalized immediately after, but Kasper Schmeichel’s legs denied Mathias Jensen of a scoring opportunity. At 33 minutes, Leicester took the lead as Maddison curled a superb free-kick into the left corner of the net. Brentford opened the second half well, forcing Schmeichel into superb reaction stops from close-range headers from Pontus Jansson and Bryan Mbeumo, respectively. With another remarkable goal from beyond the box, Yoane Wissa set up a grandstand finale, but Leicester held on for the win, moving them up to 10th position with 36 points. Brentford is in 15th place with 30 points, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
- Wolves vs Leeds
Leeds United scored three goals in the final half-hour to upset the Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 at Molineux after coming back from a two-goal deficit.In the first half, the visitors lost Patrick Bamford, Diego Llorente, and Mateusz Klich to injury, the last due to concussion. Wolves also had to replace Ruben Neves with Francisco Trincao, who set up the first goal on 26 minutes by finding Jonny to sweep in. Trincao hit the post with a long-range effort before increasing the Wolves’ advantage towards the conclusion of the first half, scoring following a cutback from Daniel Podence. Early in the second half, Raul Jimenez was sent off for a second yellow card for a challenge on Illan Meslier, who had to be replaced by Premier League debutant Kristoffer Klaesson. On 63 minutes, after Luke Ayling had struck the post, Jack Harrison scored on the rebound to start the comeback. Leeds surged forward, and Rodrigo equalized three minutes later after the Wolves failed to clear the ball after Daniel James struck the post. It was Ayling who produced the thrilling winner in stoppage time, blasting home a high shot to give Leeds back-to-back victories. Jesse Marsch’s team, which is now in 16th position, has 29 points, seven more than the lowest three teams. Wolves remain in ninth place with 46 points after their first loss in three games.
- Spurs vs West Ham
Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United 3-1 to move into fifth place in the Premier League rankings, thanks to the offensive duo of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Spurs took the lead after nine minutes when West Ham defender Kurt Zouma, under pressure from Son, deflected Kane’s cross into his own net. The Hammers came close to a quick response, but Michail Antonio’s shot went just wide, and they were made to pay for it when Son latched on to Kane’s magnificent through-ball and finished high into the goal. Said Benrahma equalized just before halftime, volleying past Hugo Lloris after Craig Dawson’s corner header. Lukasz Fabianski blocked the ball at Kane’s feet before Antonio blasted over in the second half, maintaining the fast tempo. On 88 minutes, Son sealed the win by latching on to Kane’s flick-on from a long Lloris kick and finishing one-on-one. The north Londoners currently have 51 points, three less than Arsenal, who are in fourth position and have a game in hand. West Ham is now in seventh place with 48 points, having played one more match than Tottenham.
- Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Arsenal’s 2,000th Premier League goal was scored by Bukayo Saka in a dramatic 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park. On the half-hour, Arsenal’s strong start was rewarded when Saka scored from the edge of the box after Villa failed to clear a set-piece. After Manchester United and Liverpool, Arsenal became the third side to achieve the 2,000-goal milestone. After the half, Villa pushed for an equalizer and came close on 68 minutes when Ollie Watkins’ shot deflected off Kieran Tierney and struck the near post. For the first time since 2015, Arsenal has won five straight away games, putting them four points ahead of Manchester United, who are now in the fourth position with 54 points. With 36 points, Villa is in ninth place.