EPL week 11 review: Liverpool top the league, Spurs into fourth

Week 11 of the English Premier League crosses Saturday’s fixtures from the chalkboard with Liverpool taking the lead from Man City with a draw at The Emirates, and Spurs moving into a Champions League position after beating Wolves in a thrilling encounter at Molyneux.

Arsenal 1 v 1 Liverpool

By the time Saturday night had rolled into town, Liverpool had parked in the Premier League top spot, and we will have to wait until Sunday to see if they end up with a parking fine.

For now, they deserve that spot after coming away from The Emirates with a point, with Arsenal starting the match on a 12 match unbeaten run since losing their two opening fixtures against Man City and Chelsea.

“A point at Arsenal is always a good result,” Jürgen Klopp told reporters after the draw.

The Gunners had the first chance in the match when a long ball found Henry Mikhitaryan with acres of space on the penalty spot only to head wide under pressure from Alisson.

Liverpool looked like they had taken the lead in the 38th-minute after Sadio Mané saw his close-range effort incorrectly ruled out for offside after Roberto Firmino’s lob fell into the path of the Senegalese international after striking the post.

Virgil van Dyke was imperious at the back throughout the game, and the Dutch star showed he is also a threat at the other end of the pitch nearly scoring twice before the break.

His first opportunity came courtesy of a beautifully flighted ball from Mohamed Salah, which van Dyke controlled on his chest before failing to beat Bernd Leno from close range. Then the German keeper made an error of judgment, coming way off his line to try and clear a cross only for van Dijk to get there first – his header rebounded off the post, and Arsenal cleared their lines.

Then Liverpool took the lead.

Mane found space on the left before sending the ball into the box. Leno parried the ball north where James Milner was waiting to drill home his 50th Premier League Goal, his first from open play in two years.

If there is one side that you know has the capability of coming back from a goal down, it’s Arsenal. Unai Emery’s team has taken more points (8) from losing positions than any other Premier League club this season. No need to release the lifeboats just yet.

Lucas Torreira, who was brilliant all afternoon, drove into the heart of the Liverpool defence unchallenged before seeing Alisson parry away his strike, and then at the other end, Leno tipped a van Dijk header from a corner over the bar in salmon like fashion.

Then came the goal.

With 81-minutes on the clock, and Arsenal fans beginning to think they were standing on the deck of a sinking ship, Alex Iwobi threaded the ball through to Alexandre Lacazette in the box. The Frenchman rounded Alisson but seemed to have taken the ball to wide, only for the former Lyon striker to swivel on a sixpence and slam the ball home for his sixth goal of the season.

Both teams keep their unbeaten streaks intact ahead of their European distractions. Arsenal is now unbeaten in 13-games in all competitions, and Liverpool’s 11-match unbeaten run since the start of the Premier League is their best performance since 2007/08.

Wolves 2 v 3 Spurs

Mauricio Pochettino continues to show why Real Madrid want him at the helm of their ship after guiding Spurs to a sixth away win in seven, although they did leave the door unnecessarily ajar in a frantic finish.

Spurs raced into a three-goal lead thanks to first-half strikes from Erik Lamela, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane before Juan Foyth gave away two second-half penalties giving Wolves hope of stopping the rot after previous defeats to Watford and Brighton.

The Argentine U-20 international, who is still wearing his Premier League L-Plates, gave away his first penalty on the 68th minute when he felled Raúl Jiménez, and Ruben Neves drilled the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

Arsenal fans were then glued to their transistor radios, after Foyth dragged the Wolves defender, Jonny, to the ground, and Neves picked up the ball to take the penalty – different player, a different side of the goal, same result.

Wolves has now lost three games on the spin after putting together a run of six without a defeat, and Nuno Espírito Santo will be disappointed that the linesman incorrectly ruled out a first-half strike from Jiménez for offside. Wolves could have done with a point with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all standing on the horizon, submachine guns in hand waiting to pepper the Wolves goal with bullets.

Spurs face PSV Eindhoven in a must-win Champions League clash at Wembley on Tuesday night.

Here are the Week 11 fixtures in full:

Fixtures in Full

Newcastle 1 v 0 Watford
Everton 3 v 1 Brighton
West Ham 4 v 2 Burnley
Cardiff 0 v 1 Leicester
Arsenal 1 v 1 Liverpool
Wolves 2 v 3 Spurs
Bournemouth 1 v 2 Man Utd

To Be Played (Sun)

Man City v Southampton
Chelsea v Crystal Palace

To Be Played (Mon)

Huddersfield v Fulham

Premier League Table

1. Liverpool – 27
2. Man City – 26
3. Chelsea – 24
4. Spurs – 24
5. Arsenal – 23
6. Bournemouth – 20
7. Man Utd – 20
8. Watford – 19
9. Everton – 18
10. Leicester – 16
11. Wolves – 15
12. Brighton – 14
13. West Ham – 11
14. Crystal Palace – 8
15. Burnley – 8
16. Southampton – 7
17. Newcastle – 6
18. Cardiff – 5
19. Fulham – 5
20. Huddersfield – 3