London, England (SportsNetwork.com) – It was a smash-and-grab performance from
Manchester United at the Emirates on Saturday as the Red Devils turned a drab
performance into a 2-1 victory over Arsenal.
Arsenal controlled large spells of the match, but an own goal from Kieran
Gibbs and a late strike from Wayne Rooney helped lift United to fourth place
in the table with 19 points.
The Gunners tested David De Gea with a flurry of early chances, but the United
goalkeeper was equal to the task, turning up with save after save to keep the
hosts at bay.
United eventually settled into the game but still found themselves second-
best, until a moment of fortune in the 56th minute allowed the visitors to
steal the lead against the run of play.
A cross into the box was punched away by Wojciech Szczesny, but the Arsenal
goalkeeper collided with Gibbs in the process. Antonio Valencia was arriving
to smash the loose ball toward goal and his attempt redirected off of Gibbs
and just inside the far post.
Hard done by the opener, the Gunners threw numbers forward in search of an
equalizer, and United punished them in the 85th minute when a well-
orchestrated counter saw Rooney get through on goal and chip a shot into the
back of the net.
United had another glorious chance early on in stoppage time when Angel Di
Maria found himself through on goal, but the Argentine failed to convert from
close range, sending his effort just wide of the post.
Arsenal would pull one back deep into stoppage time as substitute Olivier
Giroud latched on to a ball of the top and hammered a left-footed effort into
the top corner, but United held off the hosts to hand Louis van Gaal his first
away win in Premier League play.
Arsenal sees its 23-match home unbeaten run come to an end, leaving the
Gunners in eighth place on 17 points.
Chelsea remained firmly atop the Premier League by cruising to a 2-0 defeat of
10-man West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Blues produced early goals courtesy of Diego Costa in the 11th minute and
Eden Hazard in the 25th minute, and the Baggies were left no way back into the
match after Claudio Yacob earned himself a needless red card due to a rash
challenge in the 29th minute.
Chelsea improves to 32 points on the season to go seven points clear of
Southampton, though the Saints can close the gap again with maximum points at
Aston Villa on Monday.
Manchester City maintained third place in the table by coming from behind in a
2-1 victory over Swansea City.
The Welsh club had taken the lead after nine minutes when a well-worked move
resulted in Wilfried Bony turning in the opening, but Stefan Jovetic pulled
one back just 10 minutes later to bring the Citizens level.
The winner came in the second half thanks to Yaya Toure, who nabbed his second
goal of the season to put City on 24 points.
Everton bounced back from two successive draws to rally for a 2-1 victory over
West Ham United at Goodison on Saturday.
Romelu Lukaku gave the Toffees a first-half lead only to see Mauro Zarate
equalize 11 minutes into the second period, but Leon Osman made the most of
Samuel Eto’o’s superb square pass and tucked home a tidy finish for a 74th-
minute winner.
Rounding out Saturday’s action, Danny Ings scored twice in the span of a
minute to lead Burnley to a second consecutive victory with a 2-1 defeat of
Stoke City, Moussa Sissoko netted the lone goal in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over
QPR and Sunderland played to an uneventful 0-0 draw at Leicester City.
