© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday, there were two more matches played in the English Premier League. After them, the situation in the league table practically did not change, but "Man Utd" took a big step forward in the fight for the second place in the championship.
In the central match of the round on Sunday at "Highbury" stadium, the London club "Arsenal" in fifth place fought against the team in third place, "Liverpool". In the beginning of the match, the hosts had the initiative, but for a while they did not create any real chances. Nevertheless, in the 21st minute, Thierry Henry demonstrated his individual skill once again, breaking through into the penalty area and sending the ball into the net with a technical shot from the edge. The rest of the first half passed without any significant opportunities for either team.
At the beginning of the second half, "Arsenal" had a few great chances to score, but T. Henry failed to capitalize on them. With 15 minutes left to play, "Liverpool" took their chance - a long shot from Steven Gerrard bounced off Jens Lehmann and Luis Garcia, free from defenders, headed the rebound into the goal.
The visitors continued to hold the initiative, but in the 82nd minute, they were left with ten men - defender Xabi Alonso, who needlessly fouled an opponent, received his second yellow card within five minutes and was sent off. Furthermore, three minutes later, the unexpected happened - in a simple situation, one of the best English defenders, S. Gerrard, made a mistake trying to pass the ball, giving it directly to T. Henry, who calmly scored his second goal facing the goalkeeper.
This was the final blow for "Liverpool," after which Rafael Benitez's team could not recover. After this failure, Liverpool fell behind "Man Utd" games played less by 5 points. Meanwhile, the victory for the "Gunners" helped reduce the gap with the fourth-placed Tottenham club to 2 points.
The aforementioned "Man Utd" team on Sunday broke the 4-game winning streak of Newcastle and defeated their opponents 2-0. Both goals were scored by Sir Alex Ferguson's praises received Wayne Rooney, and the rumors-surrounded Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy started the match this time only in the 75th minute, replacing Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the third match of the day, "Charlton" defeated the "Middlesbrough" team that played without several key players due to their participation in the UEFA Cup. The victory for Alan Curbishley's team was sealed by two Darren Bent goals at the end of the match, while Mark Viduka stood out in the guests' ranks.
All Sunday results:
2 - 0
8` [1 - 0] Wayne Rooney
12` [2 - 0] Wayne Rooney
2 - 1
73` [1 - 0] Darren Bent
81` [1 - 1] Mark Viduka
86` [2 - 1] Darren Bent
2 - 1
21` [1 - 0] Thierry Henry
75` [1 - 1] Javier Luis Garcia
84` [2 - 1] Thierry Henry
82` Xabi Alonso ("Liverpool") sent off the field
