Spurs draw with Arsenal, Manchester City go back on top

Monday, 4 March 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Tottenham's Hugo Lloris with Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the match – Reuters

LONDON (Reuters): As Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League with a battling 1-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday, the real drama came at Wembley where Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal included two dubious penalties, one of which was saved, and a late sending-off.

Tottenham’s first league draw of the season allowed Manchester United to make up ground with a 3-2 comeback win that included two goals from Romelu Lukaku and moved them one point above Arsenal into fourth place.

There were also wins for Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United against Burnley, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and Newcastle United respectively.

At Wembley, as the clock ticked down in an eventful North London derby, referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot for the second time when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went down softly under a challenge from Davinson Sanchez.

But the Arsenal striker’s spot-kick lacked power and direction and was easily parried by Hugo Lloris, with Jan Vertonghen preserving parity with a desperate follow-up clearance from Aubameyang.

There remained time for Taylor to send off Lucas Torreira in the final seconds for a reckless challenge on Danny Rose.

The referee had earlier awarded Spurs a penalty for a contested ShkodranMustafi foul on Harry Kane, who got up to equalise from the spot after Aaron Ramsey’s breakaway opener.

The outcome was never in doubt once substitute Riyad Mahrez put ManchesterCity in front early in the second half with a shot that Bournemouth keeper ArturBoruc would have been disappointed not to save.

But it was seldom easy for City and manager Pep Guardiola was forced to replace Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones with muscle injuries that are particularly unwelcome with many important games coming up.

Manchester United had to work hard to beat battling Southampton at Old Trafford after Yan Valery put the visitors ahead with a fierce strike before the break.

United’s Andreas Pereira produced an even better strike to equalise before Lukaku scored a brace to ensure Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten league record as caretaker manager continues.

Palace moved further away from the relegation zone with a 3-1 win at fellow strugglers Burnley thanks to second-half goals from MichyBatshuayi and WilfriedZaha.