Battling Saints hold league leaders Arsenal to 1-1 draw

Granit Xhaka scored a superb early goal but Premier League leaders Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton on Sunday as Stuart Armstrong netted a deserved second-half equaliser for the home side.
The result moved Arsenal to 28 points from 11 games, two ahead of second-placed Manchester City, while Southampton are 15th with 12 points from 12 games.

The visitors looked untouchable in the opening 15 minutes as they launched wave after wave of attacks on the home goal, and were rewarded with an excellent opener from Xhaka, who also netted their winner in the midweek Europa League win over PSV Eindhoven.

Bukayo Saka’s flick set right-back Ben White away down the right flank and his cross was thundered into the roof of the net by Xhaka.

Southampton will have been relieved to be only 1-0 down at the break, but were much brighter in the second period and were deserving of their equaliser, perhaps profiting from an Arsenal side who looked increasingly weary from their midweek exertions.

A quick counter-attack on 65 minutes drew reward when Mohamed Elyounoussi slipped the ball into the path of Armstrong, who was composed with his finish past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Ings nets brace as rampant managerless Aston Villa rout Brentford 4-0
Danny Ings scored twice in the opening 14 minutes as Aston Villa bounced back from the sacking of manager Steven Gerrard with a dominant 4-0 Premier League win over Brentford at a jubilant Villa Park on Sunday.

Villa, who fired Gerrard after Thursday’s 3-0 loss to Fulham left them 17th in the table, took the lead just over a minute into the game when Leon Bailey hammered home a first-time shot from a well-worked corner.

Bailey turned provider a few minutes later, sliding the ball into the path of the unmarked Ings for him to rifle it into the net, much to the delight of caretaker boss Aaron Danks.

Things went form bad to worse for the visitors when Norwegian defender Kristoffer Ajer pulled on the shirt of Tyrone Mings to concede a penalty in the 12th minute, and Ings slammed the spot kick straight down the middle to make it 3-0.

Ollie Watkins got the fourth in the 59th minute but it took him three efforts to do so as David Raya saved the first and the second hit the post before he buried the ball in the back of the net via the foot of Ethan Pinnock to complete the rout.

Villa’s third win in 12 league games lifts them to 14th spot in the table on 12 points, while Brentford, who held Chelsea to a scoreless draw in midweek, are 10th on 14 points.

Leeds’ problems deepen with home defeat by Fulham
Leeds United sank to a 3-2 defeat at home to Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday, leaving them in the relegation zone and heaping more pressure on coach Jesse Marsch.

Leeds, who are without a league win since August, are 18th in the standings on nine points after a fourth consecutive defeat. Fulham meanwhile climbed up to seventh on 18.

The home side went ahead in the 20th minute with a close-ranged header from Spanish forward Rodrigo but Fulham responded four minutes later when Aleksandar Mitrovic headed home from an Andreas Pereira corner to score his ninth goal of the season.

Leeds had the bulk of the chances in an entertaining second period as both sides went in search of a winner, with Luke Ayling, Rodrigo, Brenden Aaronson and substitute Patrick Bamford all squandering promising opportunities.

Fulham also wasted two clear efforts but took the lead in the 74th minute when full-back Bobby Decordova-Reid headed in another cross from Pereira.

The goal led to Leeds fans quickly turning on American coach Marsch, some chanting “You’re getting sacked in the morning”. The anger in the stadium rose further when Willian struck Fulham’s third goal in the 83rd after the visitors had run the hosts’ defence ragged.

Substitute Crysencio Summerville gave Leeds hope of a fightback when he slid to poke the ball home in added time, but it was too little, too late for Marsch’s side.

Leicester maul Wolves to move out of relegation zone
Leicester City thrashed Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 in the Premier League on Sunday for their first points away from home this season to move off the bottom of the standings and out of the relegation zone.

Back-to-back wins moved a clinical Leicester up to 16th in the standings while struggling Wolves fell to a fifth defeat in six games to drop to 19th as the home fans booed Steve Davis’ side at the final whistle.

Wolves started brightly but it was Leicester who drew first blood when a clearance fell to skipper Youri Tielemans and the midfielder fired a volley from more than 20 yards out that arrowed into the top corner.

A buoyant Leicester side then cut open the Wolves defence 11 minutes later as Harvey Barnes played a one-two pass with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall before firing a shot from an angle past goalkeeper Jose Sa to double the lead.

Leicester’s top scorer James Maddison put the game to bed in the second half when he made room for himself at the edge of the box before whipping in a low shot past Sa for his sixth goal of the season, leaving Wolves deflated.

Brendan Rodgers’ side completed the rout when they won the ball back from a sloppy Wolves side, with Timothy Castagne’s uncontested cross turned in by Jamie Vardy as the 35-year-old striker scored their fourth goal and his first of the season.