Connect with us

Sports

Arsenal bounce back to thrash Southampton 3-1 at Emirates

Published

on

Arsenal bounced back from conceding a goal to lowly Southampton to win 3-1 after a pulsating second half in their Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with winger Bukayo Saka instrumental in the Gunners’ victory.

Southampton were much-improved compared to their 3-1 drubbing against Bournemouth last Monday, but they had no answer to Saka’s boundless creativity as he created two goals and scored a third in an electric individual display.
After a dull first half, the visiting Saints, who came into the game in 19th place in the league with a single point to their name, took a surprising lead through Cameron Archer in the 55th minute as Arsenal were caught flat-footed by a rare counter-attack.
That lead turned out to be short-lived as Saka, who had looked lively from the start, teed up Kai Havertz to equalise less than four minutes later, making him the first Gunner since Robin van Persie to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions.

With Southampton struggling to play through Arsenal’s press, coach Mikel Arteta rang the changes up front and it did not take long before his side took the lead.

Brought on the pitch on the hour mark, substitute Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead nine minutes later with a brilliant first-time finish from close range after Saka picked him out at the back post with a superb cross.

Advertisement

All that was missing from Saka’s stellar performance was a goal of his own, and he duly got on the scoresheet himself in the 88th minute, capping off his fine individual display with a deft right-foot finish to put the game out of reach.

It was a tough one, but we showed our qualities – we know that they are a really good side and they played really well as well, to be fair, but we did well. We won the game, so we’re really happy with the result,” Gabriel Martinelli told the BBC.

The win means Arsenal head into the international break in third spot in the standings on 17 points, level with second-placed Manchester City and one behind leaders Liverpool.

Southampton coach Russell Martin was pleased with his side’s effort, despite another 3-1 defeat.

Advertisement

“I feel so much more positive and proud of my team than I did on Monday night, and we played against one of the best teams in the country. If we play like that in the next block of games I’d be very happy,” he said.

Reuters

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Just in: Aston Villa trounce Newcastle 4-1

Published

on

By

Aston Villa on Saturday dealt terrible blow on Newcastle thrashing the strong side 4-1.

Details shortly…

Continue Reading

Sports

Watch highlights of Manchester United’s 5-4 ‘comeback’ win over Lyon in Europa League

Published

on

By

Manchester United staged a remarkable comeback against French side Lyon, securing a thrilling 5-4 victory in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, April 17, 2025.

Midfielder Manuel Ugarte opened the scoring for United in the 10th minute, calmly slotting home a pull-back from a teammate. Before the end of the first half, defender Diogo Dalot netted a second goal to extend their lead.

However, Lyon mounted a strong second-half response. Corentin Tolisso capitalised on a spilled save from Andre Onana to pull one back, and Nicolás Tagliafico leveled the score with a composed finish past the goalkeeper.

In extra time, Ryan Cherki scored in the 104th minute to give Lyon the lead, followed by Alexandre Lacazette, who made it 4-2 with a well-placed effort.

Advertisement

United responded with renewed intensity. Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty to narrow the gap, Kobbie Mainoo equalized in the 120th minute, and a dramatic header from Harry Maguire sealed a stunning 5-4 victory at Old Trafford.

The Premier League side advanced to the semi-finals of the Europa League with a 7-6 aggregate scoreline.

Manchester United will face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals, scheduled for May 1 and May 8, 2025.

The other semi-final tie will feature Bodo/Glimt against Tottenham Hotspur.

Advertisement

Watch highlights of the match below:

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Champions League: Arsenal cut Real Madrid to size with 5-1 aggregate win

Published

on

By

Arsenal staved off Champions League holders Real Madrid’s superstars and rich history of unlikely comebacks to snatch a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals with a superb 5-1 aggregate triumph.

The Gunners’ 3-0 quarter-final first leg triumph last week gave them a vital cushion in the Spanish capital as they made the final four for the first time since 2009, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.

Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, sent Arsenal ahead and although Vinicius Junior levelled the 15-time winners were never close to making up the deficit.

Gabriel Martinelli rubbed salt in their wounds with a stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, who have never lifted the Champions League trophy.

Advertisement

“We knew we were going to suffer but we knew we were going to win,” Declan Rice, who netted two stunning free-kicks in the first leg, told TNT Sports.

“It’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club… we want to win this competition.”

Los Blancos, far more brittle than when they won a Champions League and La Liga double last season, were convinced they could turn the game around but created too little against Arsenal’s tight defence.

The Premier League side held their nerve to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history.

Advertisement

“It’s a difficult moment… it was a difficult game, we didn’t have all the chances we would have liked,” Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez told Movistar.

“We needed a bit more with the ball, maybe a bit more patience to be able to break through a very well organised defence — they did their job.”

Kylian Mbappe chested home in the opening stages but was clearly offside, with the forward gesturing to the crowd to turn up the volume to create the fabled aura which helps Madrid pull off near-impossible feats at the Santiago Bernabeu.

David Alaba was booked for hacking down Saka as Madrid tried to add the grit they badly lacked in their first leg demolition in London, and the Arsenal winger also had a drive fielded well by Thibaut Courtois.

Advertisement

Arsenal were awarded a penalty seemingly out of the blue when the VAR booth instructed French referee Francois Letexier to review an incident from an earlier corner.

Raul Asencio pulled back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the area and Letexier pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of the home crowd.

– Saka penalty saved –

Saka stepped up to take it but his poorly-executed Panenka, skewing off to the left, was saved by Courtois.

Advertisement

It spurred Real Madrid on and soon they had a penalty of their own, when Mbappe hit the turf after Rice tussled with him.

However after a lengthy VAR review Letexier was called to take a second look and he then decided Arsenal’s two-goal first leg hero Rice had not fouled the French superstar.

The breaks in play, along with Arsenal’s dallying at every opportunity, disrupted Madrid’s momentum and they struggled to threaten Gunners stopper David Raya.

For all of Madrid’s bluster the goalkeeper did not need to make a save in the first half.

Advertisement

Martin Odegaard, facing his former employers whom he joined as a ‘wonderkid’ a decade ago, helped forge Arsenal’s opening goal after 65 minutes.

The Norwegian linked with Merino, who slipped Saka in behind and the Englishman made amends for his penalty blunder with an ice-cool dinked finish.

Four goals ahead in the tie Arsenal thought their work was done, with defender William Saliba not concentrating on the edge of his box in possession.

Vinicius stole the ball away from him and beat the out-of-position Raya to level, two minutes after Saka’s opener.

Advertisement

Madrid’s increasingly slim hopes were dashed when Mbappe limped off with an ankle problem with 15 minutes remaining, and Martinelli made sure with a cool finish after Merino set him up.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News