New Delhi: There is absolutely no shortage of twists and turns in the tale of the Premier League title race as in-form Arsenal drop massive two points at Amex, thanks to a goal from Joao Pedro, earning Brighton a well deserved point at home. It was a rather fron-footed approach from the visitors when the former Brighton winger Leandro Trossard tested Bart Verbruggen early with his shot from the edge of the box that was eventually blocked by the Dutch goalkeeper.
Just four minutes later, Verbruggen was tested again when he made another good save to keep out Gabriel Jesus’ shot after he was played through beautifully by Jorginho. However, the Dutch international was finally beaten by Arsenal’s teenage sensation Ethan Nwaneri, who became the first player to score more than one Premier League goal for Arsenal before turning 18. A truly astonishing watch as Mikel Merino made a deft move with a flick towards Nwaneri, sending the teenager scuttling off down the right-hand side. He finished by cutting inside and passing by Verbruggen, who just had to do much better to keep out that shot.
Brighton did have a great chance to get back on level terms after Joao Pedro found Matt O’Riley in the area, who put it on to Adingra, but the finish was miscued wide after which, Jorginho took a sigh of relief because he was the player that got caught in the first place. A fantastic chance went begging for the Seagulls to equalise in the first half itself. However, the Gunners responded with yet another chance from a dangerous corner, that was whipped in with pace, eventually meeting the head of Jesus, who couldn’t direct it towards the goal, sending it over the bar.
How the second half unfolded
Brighton’s brilliant second-half display earns them a point 👊#BHAARS | #FestiveFixtures pic.twitter.com/ylAM8ymqZM
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 4, 2025
There were moans and groans around the Amex stadium as the Brighton fans were extremely frustrated with their team’s performance that suggested that the home side were rather wasteful with their chances and overall play. However, in the 60th minute, the Seagulls finally had something to cheer about when Joao Pedro earned a penalty after he was fouled by a usually reliable William Saliba, and then the Brighton striker managed to find the net from the spot to give his side the equaliser they so dearly wanted. This was the ninth penalty that was awarded by the referee, Anthony Taylor in the past 18 games, which is the most by any referee.
However, the score remained levelled despite the visitors creating the chances in the final stages but failing to take advantage when Trossard had a last minute chance to put the Gunners in front, but fired it over the crossbar in added time. The final whistle blew and it was a damaging blow to Arsenal’s title hopes as they could have closed the gap but failed to do so. For Brighton, it was a good result considering their form in recent games and now they sit 10th in the league table.
Player of the match: Joao Pedro
SALIBA GIVES UP THE PENALTY AND JOÃO PEDRO EQUALIZES FROM THE SPOT VS. ARSENAL 😮 pic.twitter.com/0DVi7rTeKv
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 4, 2025
The Brazilian scored the decisive penalty and stepped up when his side needed him the most. If we talk about the overall play, he took full advantage of his amazing off-the-ball running and he was heavily involved in each and every play that Brighton had upfront. Now the 23-year-old has scored five times in the league while also having the same number of assists to his name. This has been a tremendous start to the campaign for Pedro, who is looking to improve on his top class 2023/24 season, where he had 20 goals in all competitions for the Seagulls.
Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton in a tightly contested Premier League clash, with both teams squandering late chances to secure all three points. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
