Match Week 11 Results: Liverpool Topples Manchester City; Arsenal Extends Lead By Beating Leeds; Spurs and Chelsea Win; Goalless At Old Trafford; Wolves Score !

Liverpool announced its season is far from done as the Reds toppled Manchester City in a tense 1-0 contest at Anfield. The much-maligned Liverpool defense played its best match of the season in shutting down the league’s leading scorer Erling Haaland. Virgil van Dijk was once again a force in the heart of the Reds’ defense, fellow center back Joe Gomez improved on his recent poor performances, and 36-year-old James Milner, filling in for Trent Alexander-Arnold, worked tirelessly at right back to thwart the City attack. Mohamed Salah, his confidence boosted by a midweek Champions League hat trick, scored the winner for Liverpool in the 76th minute.

pic.twitter.com/rumnw7f7Vb

— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) October 17, 2022

Salah’s goal came off a long ball assist from goalkeeper Allyson in a reminder of the difference in style between the two clubs as Manchester City much prefers to work from the back via short passes. Erling Haaland’s record breaking goal scoring exploits were temporarily put on pause and the striker was also guilty of a foul which negated a goal by teammate Phil Foden. The debatable infraction by Haaland seemed inconsistent with referee Anthony Taylor’s willingness to allow other marginal fouls to go uncalled in the hotly contested match. Emotions flared on the pitch and in the stands throughout the match with Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp being sent off late for his protestations of an uncalled foul against Salah. Counterpart Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, was vocal after the match regarding the Haaland foul which deprived his club of a point.

Arsenal extended its lead in the table to four points over Manchester City with a 1-0 win at Leeds. Leeds striker Patrick Bamford missed a first half penalty which would have put his club in front. The match was then temporarily halted for an extended period due to a power outage at Elland Road. Bukayo Saka scored for the Gunners when the clubs returned to the pitch and Arsenal survived a late scare when a potential penalty committed by Arsenal defender Gabriel, which would have provided Bamford with a chance to make amends, was overruled by VAR in stoppage time. Arsenal won a fourth consecutive match and for a ninth time in ten matches this season.

Tottenham Hotspur remained four points behind the Gunners and are now level on points with Manchester City after a 2-0 defeat of Everton. A scoreless first half was followed by a Harry Kane second half penalty, his fifth goal in his last five matches, and a clinching 89th minute goal by Spurs’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

🤝 Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg x Rodrigo Bentancur is incredible.

🤩 That finish by Hojbjerg too… unbelievable composure.#THFC || #COYS || #TOTEVEpic.twitter.com/1IKg2YldTv

— Inside Spurs (@InsideSpurs1) October 15, 2022

Spurs’ 23 points after 10 matches represents the highest point total at this stage in the club’s Premier League history. Everton will rue missing two first half scoring opportunities before a second half in which the Toffees were unable to put a shot on target.

Graham Potter remains undefeated as Chelsea manager after a 2-0 win at Aston Villa. Mason Mount scored a goal in each half to provide the margin in Chelsea’s fifth consecutive win across all competitions under Potter. Aston Villa failed to score for a fourth time this season and have the joint second lowest goal total in the league as the pressure increased on Manager Steven Gerrard. Mauricio Pochettino has recently emerged as a rumored replacement possibility for the embattled Gerrard.

A goalless draw between the clubs at Old Trafford kept fifth place Manchester United one point ahead of visiting Newcastle. A frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo put two balls in the net, but both were disallowed, the first for a conventional offside infraction but the second disallowance occurring in a much more unusual manner. Ronaldo snatched up a ball residing at the feet of Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope and fired into the net as everyone else on the pitch looked on in confusion. Ronaldo’s contention that another Newcastle player had put the ball in play before Pope prepared to take an awarded free kick was rejected by the referee who rendered a yellow card on Ronaldo for his ambitious, but time-wasting action. Newcastle earned a point at Old Trafford for the first time in seven years.

Brighton lost a second consecutive match to remain winless under Manager Roberto de Zerbi as the Seagulls fell 2-0 at Brentford. Ivan Toney scored twice for the Bees to further make the case that he should be included in England Manager Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans. Brentford ended a three-match winless run to move back into the top half of the table, just a point below Brighton.

Fulham came form behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage versus Bournemouth. Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic labored throughout the match with an injured foot before securing the point with his second half penalty kick. Fulham remained a point behind 10th place Bournemouth as the Cottagers ended a two-match losing run. The Cherries, meanwhile, remain undefeated in six matches under interim manager Gary O’Neil.

Declan Rice saved a point for West Ham when his second half goal equalizer delivered a 1-1 draw at Southampton. Complaints regarding referee decisions voiced by West Ham Manager David Moyes could not mask what was a poor performance by the Hammers who would have hoped for more from their visit to the coast. Southampton snapped a string of four consecutive defeats as left back Romain Perraud scored his first Premier League goal.

Wolves increased their season’s goal total by a third in a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. Wolverhampton’s fourth goal of the season came on a second half Ruben Neves penalty kick which lifted his club from the relegation places.

Forest dropped to the league basement, trailing Leicester on goal differential after the Foxes grabbed a point in a lackluster goalless home draw with Crystal Palace. Supporters at King Power expressed their frustration both vocally and with banners asking for action from the Leicester Board as the job security of Manager Brendan Rodgers seems to hang by a thread. Crystal Palace was poor as well despite earning an away point. The Eagles generated just a solitary shot on target.