North London rivals start new year on a high
●Giroud stunning goal leads Arsenal to victory and third place ●Harry Kane and Dele Alli are Spur’s inspiration
Olivier Giroud scored an exquisite goal from an overhead backheeled strike as Arsenal beat struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 yesterday to rise to third in the English Premier League.
"I have maximum luck," Giroud said of his "scorpion" kick. "It's just about luck."
Such a moment of exceptional quality could help Giroud convince manager Arsene Wenger to play him more. Opportunities don't come often for the France forward since dropping down the pecking order.
But with Mesut Ozil ill in bed, Wenger had little choice but to start Giroud for the second consecutive game in the packed festive program.
Giroud, who netted on his first league start of the season against West Bromwich Albion on Monday, beat Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey after 18 minutes.
Alexis Sanchez whipped in a cross from the left flank and Giroud connected with a backheeled flick that sent the ball up against the underside of the bar and into the net.
"It was the only thing I could do," Giroud said. "The ball was behind me and I tried to hit it with a back-heel."
Giroud had also played a role in the sweeping counterattack that started inside Arsenal's own half and ended with the opening goal.
Few goals will be as eye-catching all season. Scoring again, though, was important at the chilly Emirates Stadium to prevent Palace from mounting a comeback.
It took until the 56th minute when Nacho Monreal's cross was scooped in the air by Scott Dann's interception and Alex Iwobi headed past two Palace players on the goal-line.
Palace remains two points from the relegation zone with Sam Allardyce winless in his two matches in charge.
Arsenal's victory, combined with Tottenham's success at Watford, ensured Manchester City dropped out of the top four Champions League places.
Arsenal, which travels to Bournemouth on Tuesday, is nine points adrift of leader Chelsea and three behind Liverpool.
Harry Kane and Dele Alli both scored twice, sending Tottenham into the English Premier League's top four with a 4-1 victory over Watford.
"It was a solid performance from the start," Alli said, after making it 18 goals from 51 Premier League matches. "Watford started the game really quick and made it difficult for us but, after we got the first goal, it was a pretty comfortable win in the end."
Tottenham is seeking a route back into the Champions League next season, through a top-four finish, after being eliminated in the group stage on its return to the competition after a five-year absence.
Totttenham's four-match winning run comes ahead of Wednesday's home match against Chelsea, which is 10 points ahead of the north London club in top spot.
Chelsea ended Tottenham's title challenge last season when Kane and Alli's combined attacking force was so devastating in scoring and assisting 50 goals in the league.
Their chemistry was on display against a fragile Watford side on New Year's Day.
Watford, which was hamstrung by injuries, contributed to its own downfall with poor defending. Watford, which dropped to 13th, has kept only three clean sheets in its last 24 league games.
Watford hassled Arsenal but looked exhausted after half an hour, with Spurs finally making their pressure pay in the form of three goals in 14 minutes.
Moments after Alli had rattled the crossbar with a fizzing shot from 25 yards (meters), Kieran Trippier promptly slid Kane in behind a dozing Jose Holebas . Kane lifted the ball over former Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes at the near post in the 27th.
Tottenham doubled its advantage six minutes later with the same trio combining again. Alli looped a pass out wide to Trippier, who whipped a halfvolleyed cross to the back post where Kane beat Craig Cathcart to side-foot home.
Son Heung-min, unmarked at the near post, should then have steered in Christian Eriksen's free kick but Alli did find the net four minutes before the interval. Kaboul scuffed a clearance into the unsuspecting Cathcart, who was then outmuscled by Alli and the midfielder sent the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
The halftime whistle was greeted by boos from Watford supporters and Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris appeared almost apologetic as he hung an arm around fellow Frenchman and former teammate Etienne Capoue.
The home fans' discontent, however, had little impact. A minute after the restart, Spurs hit their fourth. Sebastian Prodl gifted the ball to Kane, who crossed to the back post where Alli had time to control and slide under Gomes.
The only consolation for Watford was Younes Kaboul bundling the ball in from close range in stoppage time. Tomorrow Bournemouth-Arsenal Crystal Palace-Swansea City Stoke City-Wa ord Wednesday To enham-Chelsea
Standings
P W D L F A Pts Chelsea 19 16 1 2 42 13 49 Liverpool 19 13 4 2 46 21 43 Arsenal 19 12 4 3 41 19 40 Tottenham 19 11 6 2 37 14 39 Man City 19 12 3 4 39 21 39 Man United 19 10 6 3 29 19 36 Everton 19 7 6 6 25 23 27 West Brom 19 7 5 7 25 23 26 Southampton 19 6 6 7 19 22 24 Bournemouth 19 7 3 9 26 31 24 Burnley 19 7 2 10 21 29 23 West Ham 19 6 4 9 23 33 22 Watford 19 6 4 9 23 34 22 Stoke City 19 5 6 8 22 32 21 Leicester 19 5 5 9 24 31 20 M’brough 19 4 6 9 17 22 18 Crystal Palace 19 4 4 11 29 35 16 Sunderland 19 4 2 13 17 35 14 Hull City 19 3 4 12 16 41 13 Swansea 19 3 3 13 21 44 12
Championship
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League One
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League Two
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