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Rio who? Leeds whitewashes Gunners, wins on deflection
Updated: Sunday November 26, 2000 2:17 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Arsenal's dire run of form continued on Sunday when a deflected Olivier Dacourt free kick condemned the Gunners to a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Leeds United. The result left Manchester United eight points clear at the top. Liverpool also missed the chance to close the gap when it lost 2-1 at Newcastle United. Arsenal has now lost five and drawn one of its last seven league and cup games, scoring just three goals. Manchester United, which eased to a 3-0 win at Derby County on Saturday, has 36 points to the 28 of Arsenal. Ipswich Town, promoted last season, is third on 27 following a 3-2 win at Manchester City. Leicester City is fourth on 26 with Liverpool fifth on 24.
Arsenal and Leeds, which paraded its new 18 million-pound (US$25.32 million) defender Rio Ferdinand before the game, each lost in the Champions League in midweek and looked ill at ease in a disappointing first half at Elland Road. Alan Smith, Jason Wilcox and Gary Kelly all missed chances for Leeds, while Arsenal relied on the speed on the break of French striker Thierry Henry. Leeds took the lead 10 minutes into the second half when Dacort's free kick took a heavy deflection from the wall, leaving goalkeeper Alex Manninger helpless. Ian Harte then hit the post for Leeds and Silvain Wiltord did the same for Arsenal. In-form goalkeeper Paul Robinson was well placed to parry a fierce drive by Silvinho as Arsenal, increasingly desperate, pushed for the equaliser. Opened a bookIt failed to arrive, however, and the London club's chances of dethroning Manchester United as league champions now look slim. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger thought his side were unlucky to lose. "We the chances to come back into it, but at the moment we have the promise to score goals but are not scoring them," he said. British bookmaker William Hill now makes United 1-12 ON to win the title and have opened a book on who will finish second. "To keep up with Man Utd we must win our away games we can't at the moment," Wenger said. "They are eight points clear and it's a shame for the premier league if it is like that already in November." O'Leary said: It's been a difficult week and we needed a result today to give everyone a lift. "We've fallen behind in the table but it was important to get a win and to beat a big team, which we weren't doing last year." Liverpool was again let down by poor defending after having the majority of the play at Newcastle. Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier has accused his team of making "childish errors" in recent weeks, and there was precious little maturity on show after four minutes when Nolberto Solano was allowed to run through the middle to put Newcastle ahead. Liverpool then dominated, Robbie Fowler missing an open-goal sitter, before Newcastle scored a second in the 70th minute, when Kieron Dyer latched on to a long clearance to chip Sander Westerveld. Emile Heskey pulled one back after 78 minutes but despite late pressure Liverpool could not find the equalizer. The win takes Newcastle up from 12th place to seventh. Match ReportsPlayed on Sunday LEEDS UNITED 1 ARSENAL 0 Both teams were anxious to get back to winning ways after midweek Champions League defeats, and in a bruising encounter it was Leeds that took the points thanks to Olivier Dacourt's deflected free kick in the 55th minute. Arsenal has now lost five and drawn one of its last seven league and cup games and trails leader Manchester United by eight points. ---- NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 LIVERPOOL 1 Liverpool's dire away run continued with their fifth defeat and again it was down to poor defending. Nolberto Solano ran through the middle to put Newcastle ahead after four minutes and though Liverpool then dominated Newcastle scored a second in the 70th minute when Kieron Dyer latched on to a long clearance to chip Sander Westerveld. Emile Heskey pulled one back after 78 minutes but despite late pressure they could not find the equalizer. ---- Played on Saturday CHARLTON 0 SUNDERLAND 1 Pouring rain produced difficult conditions in South London and neither side was able to take command in the first half. But in the 58th minute Alex Rae broke the deadlock with a left-foot shot from 25 meters wrecking Charlton's unbeaten home record which had stood since last April. COVENTRY CITY 1 ASTON VILLA 1 Coventry had to wait until the 83rd minute to grab a point from the Midlands derby. Their former captain Dion Dublin, who had not scored for seven games, was on target for Villa in the eighth minute. Coventry equalized through Moroccan Mustapha Hadji to avoid a sixth defeat in a row. DERBY COUNTY 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 3 Derby managed to keep United out until the 61st minute but then the champions' superiority showed. Teddy Sheringham scored from a neat Scholes move and pass for his 11th league goal. Nicky Butt then netted a curler from 25 meters after a five-man move started by captain Roy Keane in the 69th. Dwight Yorke finished it all off in the 76th after a sweeping passing move involving Sheringham and Butt. Luke Chadwick, 20 last week, made his first team league debut for United in place of the rested David Beckham. EVERTON 2 CHELSEA 1 On the stroke of halftime 19-year-old Italian Sam Dalla Bona scored from 25 meters for Chelsea after Everton failed to clear from a corner. Two minutes into the second half Danny Cadamarteri equalized, slipping though a disorganized Chelsea defense. Chelsea's Dutch international striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was sent off late in second half after an off-ball fight. Shortly afterwards Kevin Campbell scored with a left-foot shot. Chelsea has not won away since last April. MANCHESTER CITY 2 IPSWICH TOWN 3 Ipswich moved into the third place after goals from Marcus Stewart in the ninth and 53rd minutes and Hermann Hreidarsson in the 32nd. City fought their way back into the match in the second half with goals from Paulo Wanchope and Steve Howey but they could not find a third. MIDDLESBROUGH 2 BRADFORD 2 Dean Windass' first goal in 11 league matches came just three minutes into the game for Bradford and they were two ahead within 10 through a second by Benito Carbone. Middlesbrough, fighting for manager Bryan Robson's job, piled on the pressure but Matthew Clarke in the Bradford goal looked on top form. Middlesbrough got one back straight after the break through Ugo Ehiogu. Despite Middlesbrough's Argentine Carlos Marinelli being sent off, the home side equalised through Paul Ince in the final minute. It was his first goal since April. SOUTHAMPTON 2 WEST HAM UNITED 3 In an entertaining match, Southampton's Matt Oakley scored in 20th minute from a set piece after Latvian Marians Pahars's free-kick was parried by the West Ham defense. It was Oakley's first goal since January. Frederic Kanoute equalized in the 41st minute and Stuart Pearce's left-footed pile-driver from the edge of box put the visitors ahead two minutes later. James Beattie equalized four minutes after the break but West Ham took all three points when Trevor Sinclair scored their third goal in the 69th minute. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 LEICESTER CITY 0 Les Ferdinand scored a hat trick for a convincing win. In the 34th minute he picked up the ball, ran 20 meters and unleashed an unstoppable shot from 25 metres. Ferdinand pounced again following a corner in the 39th minute. Leicester's Gerry Taggart was sent off for two yellow cards midway through the second half when they looked to be coming back. But Ferdinand finished them off in the 84th.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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