London, Jan 4 (IANS) Declan Rice scored two second-half goals as Arsenal won 3-2 away to Bournemouth to open up a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
The England midfielder netted both of his goals from near the edge of the Bournemouth penalty area, after assists from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka in the 54th and 71st minutes respectively.
Bournemouth opened the scoring after 10 minutes when a bad mistake from Arsenal’s Gabriel allowed Evanilson to put the home side ahead, but the defender made amends just six minutes later with a powerful drive into the net after a penalty area scramble, reports Xinhua.
Eli Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth hope with a powerful 76th-minute shot, but his side couldn’t find the equalizer from there.
Aston Villa recovered from its midweek loss to Arsenal to claim its 12th win in 13 matches with a 3-1 home win over Nottingham Forest.
Nottingham Forest coach Sean Dyche set his side up to defend and frustrate Aston Villa, but was undone by Ollie Watkins’ excellent opener in first half injury time.
John McGinn doubled Aston Villa’s lead four minutes after the break and although Morgan Gibbs-White pulled one back for Forest in the 61st minute, McGinn secured the hosts’ win with a 73rd-minute goal.
Brighton won 2-0 at home to Burnley with a 29th-minute goal from Georginio Rutter and a goal from Yasin Ayari early in the second half, keeping the home side in touch with the European places while sinking Burnley deeper into relegation trouble.
West Ham is also deeper in trouble after gifting Wolverhampton Wanderers its first victory of the season.
Jhon Arias, Hwang Hee-chan and Mateus Mane put Wolves 3-0 up before halftime, while West Ham produced a dreadful performance with over 600 passes but no chance throughout the match.
bc/
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
