Casemiro & Rashford Cement Fourth Spot For In-Form Man Utd
04 January, 2023
Manchester United 3-0 Bournemouth
Manchester United went up to within one point of second-placed Manchester City in fourth spot on the log after beating Bournemouth 2-0 at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag's charges were on the front foot early on and Casemiro eventually broke the deadlock on 23 minutes with a lovely volley from a free-kick by Christian Eriksen.
After defending resolutely, United were forced to make a change at half-time, as Van de Beek limped off injured and he was replaced by Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho's presence for the Red Devils was immediately felt in the second stanza as he setup Luke Shaw to fire home the second goal.
Rashford made the points safe with the third goal for United in the dying minutes with a strike from range.
Arsenal 0-0 Newcastle United
Arsenal missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table to ten points after they were held to a goalless draw by Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta's charges were met by a compact resistance from the Magpies in the early stages and only carved out their first opening on 34 minutes after Gabriel guided Granit Xhaka's free-kick from a header just wide of the far post. Eddie Howe's men waited for their moments and nearly went ahead on the stroke of half-time but Joelinton could not direct Kieran Trippier's corner after he peeled off at the back post.
The Magpies contained Arsenal well in the second stanza but the Gunners were more threatening in the dying minutes as Nketiah went clear on goal in the box but was denied by goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Leicester City 0-1 Fulham
Fulham registered their third straight win since the restart after edging Leicester City 1-0 at King Power Stadium.
The Cottagers had a bright start as Aleksandar Mitrovic gave them the lead on 17 minutes with a sweet volley in the box after a lifted pass by Willian.
Leicester had a flurry of chances after that but they lacked the finishing touches in the box.
After constant heroics by goalkeeper Bernd Leno, Youri Tielemans thought he had finally snatched the equaliser for the Foxes ten minutes before time with a dipping volley that came off the crossbar.
Everton 1-4 Brighton and Hove Albion
Brighton and Hove Albion clinched their first victory of the New Year after drubbing Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park.
Kaoru Mitoma gave Brighton the lead on 14 minutes with a low drilled shot after cutting inside the box.
Evan Ferguson doubled the lead for the Seagulls six minutes from the break with a shot in the box against the run of play.
Solomon March put Roberto De Zerbi's men out of sight three minutes later against another good attacking move.
The Toffees were capitulating, as a mistake at the back just before the hour-mark led to Pascal Gross firing home the fourth goal for Brighton.
Demarai Gray scored a consolation goal for Everton in stoppage time.
Source: www.snl24.com