By Reuters
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.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa started the post-Gerrard era with a 4-0 win against Brentford, Fulham beat Leeds 3-2 and struggling Leicester handed Wolves a 4-0 drubbing.
Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu is challenged by Arsenal’s William Saliba.Credit:Getty Images
At Southampton, the visitors looked untouchable in the opening 15 minutes as they launched wave after wave of attacks on the home goal. They were rewarded with an excellent opener from Granit Xhaka.
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.
Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, right, and Danny Ings celebrate their side’s fourth goal against Brentford.Credit:AP
At Villa Park, Danny Ings scored twice in the opening 14 minutes as the home side bounced back from the sacking of manager Steven Gerrard with a 4-0 win over Brentford.
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 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 from bad to worse for the visitors when Norwegian defender Kristoffer Ajer pulled 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.
Villa’s Douglas Luiz went close with a shot from outside the box on the half-hour mark, but his effort whistled just past the left-hand post as Brentford struggled to get a grip on the game.
Only a string of brilliant saves from goalkeeper David Raya prevented Brentford from going further behind as he swatted away an Ollie Watkins shot from point-blank range and then thwarted the same player again when he shot from distance.
Watkins persisted and got the fourth goal in the 59th minute, burying the ball in the back of the net via the foot of defender Ethan Pinnock to complete the rout.
Bryan Mbeumo summed up Brentford’s frustrating afternoon when he wasted a glorious chance to reduce the deficit two minutes later, firing wide with the goal at his mercy before being replaced by Mikkel Damsgaard.
“We owed the fans that performance and result,” Ings said. “It was a good reaction from the boys – you always see a reaction from a team when something happens like it has this week with the gaffer (Gerrard) leaving.
“For what we have in the dressing room, it was quite simply not good enough and hasn’t been for a long period of time.”
Pressure mounts on Marsch at Leeds
Leeds United sank to a 3-2 defeat at home to Fulham, leaving them in the relegation zone and heaping more pressure on coach Jesse Marsch, whose side are now without a league win since August.
Crysencio Summerville scores for Leeds against Fulham.Credit:Getty Images
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.
Meanwhile, Leicester City thrashed Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 for their first points away from home this season to move off the bottom of the standings and out of the relegation zone.
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.
Reuters
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