LONDON DERBY STUNNER: MARC GUEHI SENDS CRYSTAL PALACE INTO PREMIER LEAGUE TOP FOUR
Crystal Palace surged into the Premier League top four after Marc Guehi's dramatic 87th-minute header secured a 2-1 victory over Fulham in a thrilling London derby.
Marc Guehi's late goal secured a 2-1 win for Crystal Palace against Fulham at Craven Cottage, pushing them up to fourth place in the Premier League.
In this London derby, both teams were evenly matched. Harry Wilson's amazing goal for Fulham cancelled out Eddie Nketiah's earlier score, which came in his first league start of the season.
Oliver Glasner, the Eagles' manager, decided to reinforce his midfield, which helped his team finish strong. Fulham had put Palace under pressure, and a goal by Emile Smith Rowe was disallowed by VAR for offside.
Smith Rowe almost put Fulham ahead in the eighth minute after Alex Iwobi's low corner was deflected just over the bar.
After withstanding Fulham's early pressure, Palace took the lead in the 20th minute. Adam Wharton's excellent pass found Nketiah, who calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner.
Fulham thought they had equalised four minutes later when Sander Berge set up Smith Rowe, but his shot was saved by Palace's goalkeeper, Dean Henderson.
Fulham responded strongly and soon had another chance when Iwobi's weak shot went straight at Henderson after Palace struggled to clear Samuel Chukwueze's cross.
Fulham's deserved equaliser came in the 38th minute when Wilson exchanged passes with Raul Jimenez and scored with a great outside-of-the-left-foot finish from the edge of the box.
The first half ended with the score tied, but Palace could have regained the lead shortly after the break when Jean-Philippe Mateta missed wide after being set up by Yeremy Pino.
Fulham then thought they had taken the lead in the 51st minute when Smith Rowe scored on the rebound after Iwobi's header hit the post.
However, VAR disallowed the goal for a close offside against Chukwueze, whose cross had caused Palace problems earlier.
Palace almost went ahead themselves when Nketiah tried to force in Tyrick Mitchell's cross, but Timothy Castagne cleared the ball off the line for Fulham.
After being under pressure for most of the game, Palace finished strongly. Christantus Uche almost scored from Mitchell's cross but was denied by Fulham's goalkeeper, Bernd Leno.
In the 87th minute, Guehi headed in Pino's corner, securing the win and moving Palace into the Champions League spots.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.