Manchester Metropolis’s Erling Haaland reacts after failing to attain a penalty shot through the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester Metropolis and Everton on the Etihad stadium in Manchester, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Picture/Rui Vieira)
Erling Haaland’s failure from the penalty spot and Bruno Fernandes’ newest purple card compounded the woes of Manchester Metropolis and Manchester United on one other powerful day for the 2 Premier League giants.
There have been no such issues Thursday for Liverpool, which rallied to a 3-1 win over Leicester in foggy situations at Anfield and moved seven factors clear atop the standings approaching the midway level of the marketing campaign.
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Metropolis dropped extra factors in its improbably poor run of kind by drawing 1-1 at house to Everton, with Haaland having a spot kick saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford within the 53rd minute.
READ: Guardiola adamant Man Metropolis stoop not all about Haaland
The four-time defending champions have solely received considered one of their final 13 video games in all competitions and supervisor Pep Guardiola acknowledged he must spend within the January switch window to reverse Metropolis’s slide.
“The switch window within the winter just isn’t simple, however even the gamers know that we now have so as to add some new gamers,” mentioned Guardiola, who has needed to cope with no host of key gamers, together with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, via harm this season.
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Whereas Metropolis is languishing in seventh place, United is even additional adrift in 14th place after a 2-0 loss at lowly Wolverhampton.
United performed nearly your entire second half with 10 males after Fernandes collected his second yellow card within the forty seventh minute. It was the United captain’s third sending-off of the season, although one was rescinded.
After seeing second-place Chelsea additionally drop factors after conceding within the fifth minute of stoppage time to lose 2-1 at house to Fulham, Liverpool recovered from conceding within the sixth minute in opposition to Leicester to increase its lead. Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool’s targets.
Nottingham Forest received 1-0 in opposition to Tottenham and is an enormous shock in third place.
Metropolis ache
Metropolis secured solely its fifth level within the league for the reason that finish of October however that shall be scant comfort to Guardiola, whose beleaguered crew squandered a successful place after going forward via Bernardo Silva’s deflected shot within the 14th. Iliman Ndiaye equalized within the thirty sixth.
Haaland’s penalty failure means the Norway worldwide has solely scored as soon as in his final seven video games. He headed in from the rebound after his spot kick, however the aim was dominated out for offside.
Haaland, who final week admitted his kind had not been adequate throughout a run that has seen Metropolis’s season unravel, held his head in his palms after his failure to attain from the spot. He nonetheless has 18 targets in 25 appearances this season, however has not scored in a win for his membership for the reason that 1-0 victory in opposition to Southampton on Oct. 26.
READ: Erling Haaland scores his a centesimal aim for Manchester Metropolis
“We shoot lots within the 18-yard field, however sadly we couldn’t get the outcomes that we wished,” Guardiola mentioned.
Metropolis’s damaging run has seen it slip down the standings within the league and crash out of the English League Cup. Guardiola’s crew can be in peril of lacking out on qualifying within the Champions League — sitting only one level above the cut-off level with two video games left.
Purpose from a nook
Wolves’ first aim in opposition to United got here direct from a nook, with Brazil striker Matheus Cunha seeing his kick curl over the pinnacle of goalkeeper Andre Onana and into the far nook within the 58th minute.
“I used to be taking pictures — we practice to shoot,” Cunha mentioned.
Such targets are uncommon, although United additionally conceded from a nook in its 4-3 loss to Tottenham within the English League Cup this month. Son Heung-min scored on that event.
Wolves added a second via Hwang Hee-chan within the ninth minute of stoppage time and have received two straight video games since Vitor Pereira changed Gary O’Neil as supervisor. Cunha has 10 targets this season.
Salah scores once more
Salah moved three targets away from second-place Haaland within the race for the Golden Boot, his sixteenth of the marketing campaign finishing Liverpool’s restoration after Gakpo curled within the equalizer in first-half stoppage time and Jones made it 2-1 within the forty ninth.
Salah has scored at the very least one aim in 9 of his final 10 league matches, and has 19 targets in all competitions this season.
Liverpool is unbeaten in its final 20 matches in all competitions, the one defeat all season below new supervisor Arne Slot coming at house to Forest within the league in September.
“This 12 months feels completely different,” Salah mentioned of Liverpool’s title possibilities, “however an important factor is we have to keep humble.”
Chelsea stoop
Chelsea has dropped factors in successive video games, after drawing 0-0 at Everton final week.
The Blues gave up a lead earned by Cole Palmer within the sixteenth as Harry Wilson equalized within the 82nd and Rodrigo Muniz grabbed a late winner for Fulham, which received at Stamford Bridge for the primary time in 45 years.
Arsenal can now soar from fourth to second with a win in opposition to Ipswich on Friday.
Forest wins once more
Forest’s exceptional season reveals little signal of slowing after Anthony Elanga’s winner in opposition to Tottenham on the Metropolis Floor. Forest is a degree behind Chelsea.
Aston Villa was already a aim right down to Newcastle after Anthony Gordon’s strike within the second minute when Jhon Duran was despatched off within the thirty second. Alexander Isak and Joelinton added targets for the hosts in a 3-0 win.
West Ham had to deal with first-half accidents to defender Max Kilman and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, however nonetheless received 1-0 at Southampton.
