Ten-man Arsenal hold on for draw against Leeds
TEN-MAN Arsenal hung on for a 0-0 draw at Leeds United in the Premier League after their winger Nicolas Pepe was sent off in the 51st minute yesterday.
VAR officials spotted that Pepe had headbutted Ezgjan Alioski and referee Anthony Taylor took a quick look at the monitor before brandishing the red card. Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds had been the better side even before the sending off with striker Patrick Bamford twice forcing Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno into action.
Leno did well again to keep out a fierce drive from Stuart Dallas and then substitute Rodrigo crashed a shot against the bar from the edge of the area.
Arsenal nearly grabbed a winner, against the run of play, when Hector Bellerin put Bukayo Saka through on goal but he was unable to round Leeds keeper Illan Meslier.
Leeds struck the woodwork twice in the latter stages with Bamford heading against the post and Raphinha also striking the upright deep in stoppage time.
Arsenal are 11th on 13 points from nine games after their first draw of the season with Leeds 14th on 11.
Meanwhile, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti said they have to plug their leaky defence after snapping a run of three straight defeats with a narrow 3-2 win at Fulham in the Premier League yesterday.
A double from Dominic Calvertand Abdoulaye Doucoure’s first goal for the club put them 3-1 ahead at the break, but they had to endure a nervy end to the contest as Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored in the second half after Fulham missed a penalty.
Everton last kept a clean sheet in the league on the opening day when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 and they have conceded 16 goals in eight games since.
They have the worst defensive record alongside local rivals and defending champions Liverpool among the top 10 clubs in the competition this season.
“We have to improve for sure,” Ancelotti told the BBC. “We were not so compact, we were not so close with the line. We have time to work this week on this.”
Ancelotti, who deployed a threeman defence featuring Yerry Mina, Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey, said he was pleased that the team could hold on to their advantage towards the end.