By Razeen Gutta
An Ivan Toney brace at the Etihad meant Arsenal will go into the Fifa World Cup break as Premier League leaders after a breathtaking Saturday all round.
It is the final weekend of league action before the best in the world head to Qatar to represent their nations on the grandest stage. Performances said otherwise, though, with those missing out on world cup call-ups shining brightest.
The early kick off was all about Toney. The 26-year-old scored early and then late to help Brentford to a 2-1 win over Manchester City, showing England boss Gareth Southgate just what he will miss when the Three Lions kick off their World Cup campaign in less than ten days time.
Toney now has 12 goal contributions in 15 league appearances and Pep Guardiola cited the striker as the sole reason for his side’s second defeat of the campaign.
On the goal rush, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino proved a point of his own after being left out of the star-studded Brazil squad. The 31-year-old opened the scoring at Anfield before Darwin Nunez scored twice to give the Reds a 3-1 win over Southampton.
Liverpool’s city rivals Everton were beaten 3-0 at Bournemouth, while Nottingham Forest saw off Crystal Palace 1-0 and Leicester beat West Ham 2-0 elsewhere.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium witnessed quite the encounter with Leeds United in town. Spurs came back from behind thrice to win 4-3 with Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies and Harry Kane all on the scoresheet for Antonio Conte’s side.
Arsenal won the late game, beating Wolves 2-0 at Molineux but not before one more big upset as Chelsea lost their third successive league game at St James’ Park.
Newcastle showed their class yet again, with Joe Willock getting the winner to ensure Eddie Howe’s men head into the World Cup in third place, just seven points off the Gunners.
The Premier League will return on Boxing Day, a week after the Fifa World Cup concludes.
Image source: @BrentfordFC
