Arsenal won the derby and caught up with Man City. But it is better to avoid those endings.
Kirill Zakatchenko August 22, 2023 00:25 UTC Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
In the final minutes, Arteta’s team had 18% possession.
The program for the 2nd day of the Premier League closed the match with the participation of two London clubs. Arsenal scored three points, but they did it with great difficulty.
In the opening round, Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest (2: 1), scoring two goals in the first half. Crystal Palace also started with a 1-0 win over Sheffield United. Mikel Arteta only made one change in the starting eleven compared to matchday 1, and it was forced. Yurien Timber broke through the crosses in the match with Nottingham, for which Takehiro Tomiyasu got a place on the left flank of the defense.
Who else was injured in the best leagues in Europe:
The season in Europe has just started, and the injuries are already full. Not only De Bruyne and Courtois flew
The first half turned out to be far from the most interesting. Fans who were counting on a large number of moments saw a very different picture. Before the break, two episodes were remembered at the gates of Sam Johnston, both with the participation of Eddie Nketia. First, the Arsenal striker hit the post, and a few minutes later he played smug. Nketia was left alone in front of the goalkeeper, however, he was too clever in the final phase and shot not only Johnston, but also the goal with a “bonus”.
Arsenal still got their way and did so at the start of the second half. An atypical free kick led to the designation of a penalty against Crystal Palace. Gabriel Martinelli, instead of a canopy, rolled up to Nketia, taking the hosts by surprise. The transfer turned out to be far from ideal, but the forward got ahead of the goalkeeper and was brought down last.
Referee David Kut signaled the “point”, but immediately after, his video assistants joined the case. The fact is that at the time of the transfer, Thomas Party, in the style of basketball, put a barrier on Mark Gekhi – the referees tried to understand whether the Arsenal player violated the rules. After seeing it he decided that everything is clean. Martin Odegaard, in turn, easily beat the goalkeeper from the “point” – Johnston flew into one corner, and the Norwegian sent the ball to another.
After 13 minutes, the joy of the Arsenal fans was replaced by disgust. Tomiyasu, who replaced the injured Timber, earned the second yellow card and went to the locker room. The first warning can only be called stupid. The Japanese did not enter the ball for too long because of the winger, and the referee awarded him a card for pressing time. Yes, yes, at minute 60. Just brilliant. After seven minutes, the referee decided that Tomiyasu interrupted the opponent’s attack in violation of the rules. The removal added to the nervousness of Arsenal fans. The game was already difficult, and here a nuisance.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, Crystal Palace had 82% of possession. It’s easy to imagine how tough that was for Arsenal. The hosts were powerfully crowded, and the guests squeezed into their own penalty area. At times, the guests were the entire team behind the line of the ball and did not even think about counterattacks. The referee threw seven minutes into the main time, but the guests were still left with the winning result. After two rounds, only three teams have the maximum number of points. Arsenal topped the table with Brighton and Manchester City.
Here’s why so many more minutes are being added to the Premier League than before:
The England referees have returned to practice for the 2022 World Cup. Why is there so much added time again?
