Missed penalty keeps City from definitive lead
RIYAD Mahrez missed a penalty and Manchester City their chance of pulling ahead in the Premier League as the champions could only draw 0-0 with Liverpool in a tightly contested game at Anfield.
With Chelsea making up ground by winning 3-0 at Southampton, the league’s three unbeaten teams go into the international break locked together on 20 points.
City are top on goal difference, with Chelsea second and Liverpool dropping to third, two points ahead of Arsenal, who routed Fulham 5-1 for their ninth successive win in all competitions.
Mahrez has now missed five of his past eight Premier League penalties, one for City and four for his previous club Leicester City, and seems unlikely to get another chance after blasting the ball over the bar in the 86th minute.
City’s normal penalty taker, Sergio Aguero, had already been substituted when Virgil van Dijk clattered into Leroy Sane in what the defender admitted was “not a smart move”.
City defender John Stones said the players had decided among themselves that Mahrez would take the kick after impressing with his spot-kicks in training last week.
“Riyad feels deflated, he feels he has let us down,” he said.
There was no shortage of goals at Craven Cottage where Arsenal, who lost their opening two league games, provided further proof that they are starting to gel under new manager Unai Emery.
Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both scored twice, with Aaron Ramsey netting just 39 seconds after coming on as a second-half replacement.
Ramsey started and finished one of the goals of the season, scoring with the sort of flick that even Johan Cruyff would have approved of.
The Welshman also provided a delightful chipped pass for Aubameyang to run to for Arsenal’s fifth goal.
“For me it was very important for (Ramsey) to take confidence and take that first goal,” Emery said.
“He did not start in the first 11 today but when he was on he scored within a minute and that gives confidence for both him and us.”
Ross Barkley scored his first goal for Chelsea, with Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata also netting.
Hazard was once again at his imperious best to net his seventh league goal and remain this season’s top scorer.
The Belgian said he did not know if he had ever played better than this season.
“I’m playing good football because we are playing good football,” he said.
Southampton manager Mark Hughes said he believed they paid Chelsea “too much respect” and pointed to a firsthalf miss by Danny Ings, who blasted over from a couple of metres, as a game-changer.