Manchester City twice missed penalties in a 1-1 draw with Everton yesterday as 10-man Arsenal went level with them on points at the top of the Premier League table after seeing off Swansea 3-2. Arsenal leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur into second place after their arch north London rivals also dropped points in a 1-1 draw away to West Bromwich Albion.
Following fouls by Phil Jagielka, Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg saved penalties from Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero – his second spot-kick failure this week after he was off target in Argentina’s World Cup qualifying defeat by Paraguay.
Romelu Lukaku then fired the visitors ahead in the 64th minute at Eastlands before substitute Aguero’s miss.
But City, who’ve now gone three games without a win in all competitions, equalised in the 72nd minute when Nolito headed in Silva’s cross as former Barcelona teammates turned managers Pep Guardiola (City) and Ronald Koeman (Everton) had to settle for a point apiece.
“We did absolutely everything – Everton create just one chance which was a goal,” said Guardiola. “The players have all the qualities to score penalties but we miss a lot. Hopefully we will score more of them in future.”
At the Emirates, Theo Walcott scored twice as Arsenal defeated Swansea for a sixth straight win in all competitions. Walcott struck in the 27th minute after Jordi Amat failed to clear Hector Bellerin’s headed cross.
The England international doubled the Gunners’ lead seven minutes later following Hull’s failure to clear a corner.
Swansea, in former United States manager Bob Bradley’s first game in charge, saw Gylfi Sigurdsson equalise in his 100th appearance for the Welsh club with a 38th-minute curling shot
But Mesut Ozil marked his 28th birthday by restoring Arsenal’s two-goal advantage with a 57th minute-volley.
Swansea saw Borja Baston pull a goal back and Arsenal had to play the final 20 minutes a man down after Granit Xhaka received a straight red card for a challenge on Modou Barrow.
“We could never capitalise on the two-goal cushion but at least we got the three points,” said Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager.
Tottenham dominated possession at The Hawthorns only for former Spurs star Nacer Chadli to put the Baggies ahead eight minutes from time. But Dele Alli’s 89th-minute equaliser preserved Spurs’ unbeaten league record.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “We missed the opportunity to achieve three points but in the same way it was a difficult game.”
Liverpool will go level with the top two if they beat bitter rivals Manchester United tomorrow.
Chelsea hammered champions Leicester City 3-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Victor Moses.
Defeat meant the Foxes had won just two of their eight league games this season and manager Claudio Ranieri, a former Chelsea boss, said: “Our approach to the match was not good.”
The result gave Antonio Conte, Ranieri’s fellow Italian, a much-needed win after speculation he was about to be sacked as Chelsea manager.
“From the start I asked them to play well with intensity and to try to do what we are doing in training,” said Conte. “This is the best game for us.”
Stoke won in the league for the first time this season as Wales international Joe Allen made it four goals in his last three games by scoring twice in a 2-0 win at home to basement club Sunderland.
Meanwhile West Ham climbed out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win away to London rivals Crystal Palace in Saturday’s late kick-off. Manuel Lanzini’s 19th-minute goal proved decisive in a match where Palace’s Christian Benteke missed a penalty on the stroke of halftime.
