Gunners go second as Sagna silences Everton

United late show salvages dramatic 2-2 draw at Villa, Arsenal defeat Everton 2-1 in English Premier League.

LIVERPOOL: Bacary Sagna scored his first goal in two years to help Arsenal claim second place in the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Everton. Sagna and captain Cesc Fabregas put Arsenal in command before a Tim Cahill strike set up a tense finale.

Arsenal moved one point above Manchester United to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea. With 11 goals in their previous three league visits to Goodison Park, Arsenal have clearly enjoyed this fixture.

United’s late show

Manchester United staged a dramatic fightback with goals in the last nine minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.

While United battled back, Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw by Birmingham and Liverpool crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Stoke.

Ashley Young’s second-half penalty was followed by a Marc Albrighton strike for Villa. But United substitute Federico Macheda reduced the deficit nine minutes from full-time and Nemanja Vidic headed the equaliser four minutes later.

City boss Roberto Mancini, whose team has failed to score, provoked a furious response when he decided to replace Carlos Tevez with Gareth Barry as the hosts tried in vain to break down a stubborn Birmingham defence.

Newcastle and Fulham failed to score against each other, while West Ham and Blackpool claimed a 0-0 draw as well. Tottenham defeated Blackburn 4-2, Wigan claimed a 1-0 win against West Brom and Bolton walked away in triumph with a 3-2 score against the Wolverhampton.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2010.