Arsenal defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the Premier League match at Emirates Stadium on Sunday (10/3).
Arsenal’s duel against Manchester United is an important duel for the two teams who are hunting for tickets to next season’s Champions League competition. Because of that, heat tension has been felt since the beginning of the match.
Quoted BolaSport.com from the official Premier League website, Arsenal did appear to dominate more. The Gunners led possession with 54.9 percent in the first round. In terms of opportunities, Arsenal has 9 of which one is on target. As for Manchester United, there are 9 opportunities, where 2 was on target.
Arsenal managed to score a quick goal in the 12th minute through Granit Xhaka. After receiving a ball from Alexandre Lacazette, Xhaka fired a long-range shot from outside the penalty box.
Xhaka’s kick was able to outwit the Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea who died a step because he misread the ball. The ball slid into the goal without being able to drive away by De Gea.
Manchester United responded back in the 19th minute. Got from Paul Pogba cross, Fred launched a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box. However, Fred’s kicking ball still hit the left post of the Arsenal goal.
The 1-0 advantage lasted until the first half ended. Entering the second half, Arsenal and Manchester United continued to try to find the next goal in this match.
After a number of opportunities that failed to be maximized, Arsenal got a penalty in the 68th minute after Fred dropped Lacazette in the forbidden box. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who was appointed as the executor, could carry out his duties well.
Aubameyang successfully outwitted David de Gea and enlarged Arsenal’s lead to 2-0 in the 69th minute. The goal made Aubameyang push the alignment of the Premier League’s top scorer to 17 goals equal to Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Harry Kane (Tottenham) but still below Aguero (Manchester City / 18 goals).
After falling behind 0-2, Manchester United made a substitution by including Anthony Martial to increase pressure and attack on the Arsenal defense. But the Gunners’ back line was disciplined so Romelu Lukaku didn’t get a good supply of balls to score. And an additional five minutes is not enough for Manchester United to pursue defeat.
Score 2-0 for Arsenal lasted until the end of the match. The Gunners also displaced Manchester United from the Champions League zone with a two-point advantage.
This victory made Arsenal the first team to beat Manchester United in the English Premier League since the era of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Red Devils have not lost since the Norwegian coach was in charge at the end of December 2018.
