Demichelis rescues point for City at Arsenal

Published February 05, 2015

London, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Martin Demichelis scored seven minutes from time as Manchester City claimed a 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The Gunners were on course for three big points as the game entered the final 10 minutes through goals from Jack Wilshere and Alexis Sanchez in the second half following Sergio Aguero's first-half opener for City.

However, Demichelis got up to head home Aleksandar Kolarov's corner kick in the 83rd minute, keeping City one point above the Gunners, who have drawn three of their first four games.

Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck nearly enjoyed a dream debut as he cut out a poor pass from City's David Silva and beat goalkeeper Joe Hart, only for the ball to come back off the post.

The visitors snatched the lead in the 28th minute through Aguero following some good work on the right wing from Jesus Navas, whose low cross was turned past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from close range.

Arsenal responded after the break and a nice piece of build up play resulted in the equalizer in the 64th minute as Aaron Ramsey laid the ball off to Wilshere inside the area, allowing the Englishman to beat Hart at his near post.

Wilshere then set up the go-ahead goal for Sanchez 10 minutes later when he lobbed a ball back into the box that Sanchez hammered into the top corner with a sublime volley.

But the lead didn't hold as Demichelis got free to turn a header past Szczesny from the corner kick, while City nearly claimed the win in the closing minutes as a deflected chip struck the Arsenal post before City's Samir Nasri had a goal ruled out for offside.

Chelsea 4, Swansea City 2

London, England - Diego Costa continued his fantastic start to life in the Premier League on Saturday as he scored a hat trick in Chelsea's 4-2 victory over Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.

Costa has now scored seven goals in his first four games for Chelsea, which maintained its perfect record and place atop the league with three more points on Saturday.

Swansea started well and took a deserved lead in the 11th minute through John Terry's own goal, while Costa pulled it back for the Blues with a header just before the break.

Chelsea took over in the second half and Costa was on hand to score his second goal of the contest after being set up by Cesc Fabregas in the 56th.

Costa completed his hat trick 11 minutes later before making way for substitute Loic Remy, who scored in the 81st.

Jonjo Shelvey pulled a goal back four minutes from time for Swansea, but it wasn't nearly enough to prevent the club's perfect start from coming to an end.

Aston Villa 1, Liverpool 0

Liverpool, England - Aston Villa continued its surprising start to the Premiership season on Saturday, notching an upset 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield behind Gabriel Agbonlahor's goal in the ninth minute.

Agbonlahor signed a new four-year contract with the club on Wednesday, and he rewarded Villa's faith in the ninth minute by taking advantage of a fortuitous bounce to prod home the lone goal from close range.

Some sloppy marking from Liverpool nearly handed Villa a second goal a few minutes later as Philippe Senderos sent a free header just over the crossbar.

The Reds were frustrated for much of the match and rarely tested Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Liverpool did have one great chance to snatch a point in the final 10 minutes when Philippe Coutinho cut inside from the left and fired a shot toward goal that took a deflection and came back off the post.

Villa has now claimed 10 points from four games to climb into second place, while Liverpool suffered its second defeat of the season.

Crystal Palace 0, Burnley 0

London, England - Crystal Palace and Burnley are both still searching for their first wins of the season after the two sides played out a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Palace saw Dwight Gayle squander a few good chances while Scott Dann's header struck the crossbar on a frustrating day for the hosts.

However, it was Burnley that had the best chance of the game to snatch three points when Lukas Jutkiewicz was pulled down by Palace's Mile Jedinak inside the area in the 86th minute.

Scott Arfield stepped to the spot for Burnley, but his effort was denied by a fine stop from Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni, who dove to his right to parry the shot away from the top corner.

Southampton 4, Newcastle 0

Southampton, England - Graziano Pelle scored twice in the opening 20 minutes to inspire Southampton to a 4-0 win over Newcastle at St Mary's on Saturday, piling more pressure on Newcastle's under-fire manager, Alan Pardew.

Pelle's header in the sixth minute got Southampton off the mark, while the summer signing doubled his tally in the 19th from close range.

Jack Cork tallied his first league goal for the Saints after the break, and Morgan Schneiderlin continued his fantastic start to the season with a curling effort that gives him three goals on the campaign.

With seven points from four games, Southampton's new-look side has gotten off to a strong start, while the Magpies drop to the bottom of the league having earned two points this season while being outscored 9-3.

Leicester City 1, Stoke City 0

Leicester, England - Leicester City secured its first win back in the top flight on Saturday as Leonardo Ulloa's 64th-minute goal lifted the club to a 1-0 win at Stoke City.

Draws against Everton and Arsenal this season were reasons for hope, but Ulloa's third goal of the campaign helped the Foxes capture their first victory in the Premier League in 10 years.

Stoke enjoyed the better of the play in the first half but was unable to produce a goal, while the difference in the match came in the 64th as Paul Konchesky's left-wing cross found Ulloa, who provided the final touch.

The hosts kept pressing, but Leicester goalkeeper Ben Hamer came to his team's rescue in the closing moments with important saves on Mame Biram Diouf and Victor Moses.

Sunderland 2, Tottenham 2

Sunderland, England - Tottenham had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Sunderland on Saturday after an 82nd-minute own goal from Harry Kane handed the Black Cats a point.

The match got off to a furious start with both sides scoring in the opening five minutes as Nacer Chadli tallied his third goal of the season for Spurs, while Sunderland responded through Adam Johnson, who scored after a fine weaving run into the box.

Christian Eriksen restored Tottenham's lead early in the second half when he was on hand to poke home a loose ball from a few yards following a failed clearance from Sunderland's Patrick van Aanholt.

But with Tottenham poised to claim three points, a free kick from Jordi Gomez skipped through the face of goal to the back post where Kane mistakenly turned the ball into his own net.

Everton 2, West Bromwich 0

West Bromwich, England - Everton grabbed its first win of the season on Saturday at The Hawthorns in 2-0 fashion behind goals from Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas.

The hosts fell behind in the opening two minutes when a poor clearing attempt from West Brom's Jonas Olsson fell to Lukaku at the top of the box, allowing him to curl a fine shot inside the right post past diving goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Foster could do little to keep out Lukaku's shot, but he was very much at fault on the second goal.

Mirallas dribbled toward the penalty area on the left and unleashed a low shot that managed to squeeze its way underneath Foster, who should have done better.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/demichelis-rescues-point-for-city-at-arsenal