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On Sunday, in the English "Premier League", one round 36 matches were played, where London's "Arsenal" met their city rivals "Fulham" at their "Emirates" stadium. The hosts managed to secure three points only at the end of the match.
"Arsenal" 3 - 1 "Fulham" 4‘ [1 - 0] Julio Baptista 78‘ [1 - 1] Simon Davies 84‘ [2 - 1] Emmanuel Adebayor 87‘ [3 - 1] Gilberto Silva (11m.)
From the beginning of the match, the hosts started putting pressure on their opponents and scored their goal in the 4th minute, when Brazilian Julio Baptista scored close to the "Fulham" goalkeeper Antti Niemi with a header after a pass from Emmanuel Adebayor from the right flank. In the first half, "Fulham" had a chance when Liam Rosenior's long shot flew over the goal.
In the 30th minute, there was another threat to A. Niemi's goal when Cesc Fabregas took a shot after a pass from Alexander Hleb, but the Finnish goalkeeper reacted well. Shortly after, after a pass from Gael Clichy from the left flank, Emmanuel Adebayor's header was saved by A. Niemi again.
In the second half, the hosts continued pressuring. A. Hleb passed the ball to E. Adebayor, who rushed his shot over the crossbar. "Fulham" managed to equalize the score in the 78th minute. The "Gunners" goalkeeper Jens Lehmann failed to clear the ball with his fists from the penalty area, and Simon Davies managed to score with his left foot.
The visitors tried to put pressure on the hosts after scoring, but "Arsenal" managed to surge ahead again in the 84th minute. After a quick counterattack, C. Fabregas passed the ball to E. Adebayor, who scored with a precise shot into the bottom corner of the goal.
The visitors lost hope of equalizing when defender Moritz Volz fouled A. Hleb in the penalty area. Gilberto Silva converted the penalty in the 87th minute, leaving no chance for A. Niemi. In the added time, "Arsenal" tried to score another goal, but E. Adebayor's shot after G. Clichy's pass was off target.
After this victory, "Arsenal" narrowed the gap to one point from the 3rd placed "Liverpool", while "Fulham" remains in the 16th position.
