London – Arsenal survived a massive scare in their pursuit of the Premier League title as they came back from two goals down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 with a last-gasp winner from Reiss Nelson, in a rip-roaring contest in north London on Saturday.
Relegation-threatened Bournemouth scored the second-quickest Premier League goal of all time after nine seconds of play through Philip Billing, and despite Arsenal’s domination, Marcos Senesi made it 2-0 for the visitors before the hour.
But then began an Arsenal comeback that could prove a pivotal moment in the title race.
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Arsenal fight back from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 with the last kick of the game!
The mark of the future champions? 👀 pic.twitter.com/eIz1a0EJ2w
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 4, 2023
Thomas Partey prodded a shot past Bournemouth keeper Neto just past the hour mark, and eight minutes later substitute Ben White’s volley crossed the line despite Neto’s desperate dive.
With the Emirates Stadium crowd roaring their side on it appeared Bournemouth had held on for a precious point in their fight against relegation, but substitute Nelson’s sensational strike seven minutes into stoppage time sealed a remarkable win.
"Incredibly happy, it was mad! Those feelings of happiness and joy!"
Mikel Arteta reacts to Arsenal's incredible win over Bournemouth 👏
He says this is his best result as the boss. pic.twitter.com/xhTYcVrY6G
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 4, 2023
Arsenal restored their five-point lead over Manchester City, who had won earlier, with 63 points from 26 games.
CHELSEA BACK TO WINNING WAYS
A leaping header from France defender Wesley Forfana earned Chelsea a rare goal and Premier League win against struggling Leeds United on Saturday, easing pressure on coach Graham Potter.
Chelsea were dominant in the first half and on-loan Portuguese Joao Felix rattled the bar but it was not until the 53rd minute that Fofana put away Ben Chilwell’s corner. Fans greeted the goal – only the second scored at home in 2023 – with surprise and relief.
It was the first win since Jan. 15 for Potter’s side who were forced to defend in numbers in the second half as Leeds, who have earned only six points away from home this season, sought an equaliser.
The narrow and not entirely convincing win leaves Chelsea in 10th place but is a boost before their second leg last-16 Champions League game with Dortmund at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, when they need to score twice to overcome a 1-0 deficit.
TRAORE ON TARGET AS WOLVES STUN WASTEFUL SPURS
Adama Traore was on target as a spirited Wolverhampton Wanderers stunned a wasteful Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in an entertaining game of two completely contrasting halves at the Molineux Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.
Raul Jiminez, brought on as a replacement for the injured Diego Costa, sent a powerful strike at Fraser Forster in the 82nd minute that the Spurs keeper could only parry into the path of Traore, who made no mistake with his finish.
The win moved Wolves up two places to 13th in the table, while Spurs stay fourth, four points behind third-placed Manchester United, who travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday.
Wolves, who lost Costa to an apparent knee injury in the first half and failed to muster a single shot before the break, were vastly improved in the second period after their manager Julen Lopetegui introduced Traore at halftime.
They came with inches of taking the lead in the 51st minute, when Nelson Semedo failed to connect Jimenez’s cross at the far post and could have been two goals ahead but for Forster, who denied Jiminez from close range after Traore’s pinpoint cross.
Spurs hit the woodwork twice in quick succession either side of the break, first through Pedro Porro and then Son, but paid the price for failing to adjust to Wolves’ change in formation at halftime.
Reuters
