Arsenal move seven points ahead with Brighton win

LONDON (AP):

Arsenal moved seven points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after scraping a 1-0 win at Brighton, while their title rivals drew 2-2 at home to struggling Nottingham Forest yesterday.

Right winger Bukayo Saka’s ninth-minute goal was enough for Arsenal, who have played one game more than City. Saka broke down the right and his scuffed strike from the edge of the penalty area went through the legs of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

Erling Haaland returned for City after having sat out the 1-0 win at Leeds on Saturday with a minor injury but was ineffective.

City struggled to break Forest down until Rayan Cherki made a fine run down the right and floated over a cross which Antoine Semenyo expertly volleyed in at waist height with his left foot.

But Forest hit the home side in the 52nd with a classic counter-attack which went almost the length of the field. It culminated in a brilliant back-heeled finish from midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White after Brazil forward Igor Jesus had nodded down a right-wing cross.

Forest’s joy was short-lived when former Ballon d’Or winner Rodri rose to head home from a corner six minutes later.

Forest stunned City again, however, when midfielder Elliot Anderson curled in a superb shot from just outside the penalty area into the bottom-right corner with 13 minutes left.

City almost won it eight minutes into stoppage time when substitute Savinho had a shot cleared near the line.

Manchester United’s unbeaten run under new coach Michael Carrick ended at seven games following a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, who had midfielder Jacob Ramsey sent off in first-half stoppage time and scored in the 90th minute through substitute William Osula.

Harry Maguire was in the United defence on the day he was given a 15-month suspended sentence over a nightclub scuffle involving police officers on the Greek island of Mykonos in August 2020.

Striker João Pedro grabbed a hat-trick as Chelsea moved above Liverpool into fifth place with a 4-1 win at Aston Villa. Chelsea are only three points behind fourth-placed Villa in the race for Champions League places next season.

Villa scored after two minutes when Ollie Watkins let Leon Bailey’s cross from right go through his legs and midfielder Douglas Luiz deftly flicked the ball in from close range.

Chelsea equalised in the 35th when Pedro turned in Malo Gusto’s right-wing cross. After Watkins had a goal ruled out for a narrow offside, Pedro clipped the ball in from close range during first-half stoppage time from Enzo Fernández’s pass.

Midfielder Cole Palmer drove in the third goal in the 55th, and Pedro tapped in Alejandro Garnacho’s cross to complete his hat-trick in the 64th.

Yesterday’s Results

Brighton 0-1 Arsenal

City 2-2 Forest

Fulham 0-1 West Ham

Villa 1-4 Chelsea