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PL MATCHDAY 9 REVIEW: Ten Hag prints sack letter as Arsenal and Liverpool settle for a draw


By Esosa Osa

We were treated to another thrilling weekend in the Premier League. A 7-goal thriller at Brentford, late drama at the Amex and a top of the table clash at the Emirates.

Leicester City welcomed in-form Nottingham Forest under the lights on Friday night but didn’t feel at home as they were defeated 3-1. Ryan Yates opened the scoring for the visitors but Leicester Legend, Jamie Vardy equalised with his 194th goal for the club. Forest wrapped up the game with two Chris Wood goals within 15 minutes of the second-half.

In the weekend’s goal galore, Brentford defeated Ipswich 4-3. Kieran McKenna’s side raced into a two-goal lead by the half-hour mark to set up a possible upset. But a Yoane Wissa finish and a Harry Clarke own goal restored parity for the Londoners. Bryan Mbuemo took the lead for Brentford with a 51st minute penalty and with the Bees dominating proceedings, all seemed to be well but Liam Delap’s equaliser set up a dramatic end. The day went to Brentford as Bryan Mbeumo’s stoppage time curler secured a 4-3 victory.

Brighton fans will hope to quickly forget the 26th of October. The Seagulls were 2-0 up against Wolves by the 85th through Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson, who ended a 33-game goal drought. Wolves equalised through Rayan Aït Nouri in the 88th minute but looked to be in trouble with a 4v1 counter for Brighton. They won the ball back and in a matter of seconds, Matheus Cunha’s deflected shot was in the back of the net.

Manchester City could only conjure up a 1-0 win over relegation favourites Southampton thanks to an early goal by Erling Haaland. Aston Villa hearts were broken at the death with Evanilson’s header cancelling Ross Barkley’s opener. It was a similar story for Fulham as Beto’s close range header levelled matters after Alex Iwobi’s fine finish against his former club. Crystal Palace produced a spirited performance to claim their first win of the season against Tottenham thanks to a Jean-Philippe Mateta BOOM set up by a delightful touch from Eberechi Eze.

Chelsea earned a hard-fought 2-1 home win against Newcastle. Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring 18 minutes in from a counter-attack started with one of the passes of the season from Cole Palmer and supported by the blistering pace of Pedro Neto who set up Jackson. Alexander Isak equalised for the Magpies as both teams were tied at the break. Two minutes into second-half, Ice Cold Palmer lashed one past Nick Pope and it proved to be the winner as Captain Reece James defensive heroics saved Chelsea’s day.

Manchester United tasted defeat at the hands of West Ham. United missed a flurry of big chances in the first-half, the worst, a potential miss of the season by Diogo Dalot. Substitute, Crysencio Summerville struck gold for West Ham with his first goal for the club, accompanied with wild celebrations. United equalised through Casemiro but the match was to end controversially. Referee, David Coote awarded the home side a penalty after a VAR review for a foul by Matthijs de Ligt on Danny Ings but the ball appeared to hit Ings hand before contact from De Ligt. However, Jarrod Bowen slotted home the penalty for a West Ham victory. By Monday morning, Erik ten Hag was sacked.

The game of the weekend between Arsenal and Liverpool ended in a 2-2 draw. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring nine minutes in to perfectly kick-start an entertaining game. Virgil van Dijk made it 1-1 from the corner kick. But the current king of set-pieces took the lead through Mikel Merino. Arsenal took their foot off the gas after the break and were disappointed to see Gabriel Magalhães off injured. Mo Salah equalised with his 11th Premier League goal against the Gunners to wrap up Matchday nine. Man City sit top of the table with 23 points, a point ahead of Arne Slot’s men.

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