Champions League

TWO goals in eight minutes left Arsenal stars stunned as they lost to Bournemouth in the Premier League.Mikel Arteta opted to play a strong side despite the vital second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain just days away.Evanilson’s goal condemned Arsenal to their first home loss to BournemouthCredit: ReutersArsenal’s preparation to face PSG could have been much betterCredit: ReutersMikel Arteta opted for a strong line-up against BournemouthCredit: ReutersThe hosts had escaped a couple of close calls before taking the lead in the first half.Declan Rice finished off a neat move after being played through on goal by Martin Odegaard.The England midfielder was able to round Kepa Arrizabalaga before firing home.However, the Gunners’ hard work was undone by a long throw-in during the second period.READ MORE ON FOOTBALLThe ball was thrown into the box with purpose and headed into the far post by Cherries star Dean Huijsen.The visitors made the most of their momentum as Evanilson was able to smuggle the ball into the net past a flailing David Raya.The goal was allowed to stand as an in-depth VAR review could not say conclusively that there was a handball from the forward.Despite changes to the team from the bench, the Gunners fell short as they succumbed to their second defeat in a row.Most read in FootballHere’s how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated the Gunners from the Emirates.David Raya – 5David Raya made a mess of Bournemouth’s second goalCredit: ReutersSpent most of the first half twiddling his thumbs only to give Odegaard a horrible pass that Evanilson gobbled up and almost chipped the Arsenal No.1 with.Raya has been making a habit of this recently, including being caught out by Mateta’s stunning attempt last month. Worrying for one with a fine reputation as a sweeper keeper.He had no chance with the leveller, but should not have let the ball dribble over his line off his foot from Evanilson’s effort.Ben White – 5Ben White saw plenty of the ball from right-backCredit: ReutersNot a great start – nut-megged by Ouattara inside the opening two minutes.There were some bright sparks – his link-up with Saka down the right never fails to cause chaos, chipping brilliantly for Rice at the far post that was well defended.Yet he does not look his normal self, hardly surprising given how much time he has spent in the medical room. Has the look of a player desperate for a nice, relaxing summer.William Saliba – 8William Saliba made some crucial tackles during the matchCredit: AlamyWhen Arsenal are not at their best, there is always one man you can count on.Made a stunning last-ditch on Outtara to deny a certain goal just after the half-hour mark and then deflected Kluivert’s curler onto the roof of the net before timing a tackle brilliantly with Semenyo clear in the second half.Also played his part in Rice’s opener, a cute flick around the corner to start the attack.Jakub Kiwior – 6Jakub Kiwior was not at his bestCredit: GettyReally impressed with his range of passing in recent weeks and today no different, lofting over the top for Martinelli that almost produced a one-v-one.However, he is still suspect defensively, slipping in the box to allow Evanilson a free header that the Brazilian should have converted.Myles Lewis-Skelly – 7Myles Lewis-Skelly continued to impressCredit: AlamyWhat more can you say about this kid? Looks like he belongs at this level, but definitely misses having Gabriel next to him for protection instead of Kiwior.Was close to Huijsen from the long-throw before Bournemouth’s leveller but was always struggling to compete to head the ball clear with the height difference.Moved into midfield in the closing stages with the score and time against them.Thomas Partey – 6Thomas Partey made his return to the starting line-upCredit: GettyOne of those games. Some good, some bad, with several passes going astray.Missed a tackle on Outtara that allowed Bournemouth to counter, but his presence that was greatly missed against PSG was much-needed, allowing Rice and Odegaard to bomb forward.Martin Odegaard – 7Martin Odegaard got the assist for the first goalCredit: APRather quiet and subdued to begin with. Had he been listening to the critics? Not a chance. A player of this quality never loses it, and the timing of his pass to put in Rice was inch-perfect.That’s now three assists in his last four games in all competitions – not bad for a player supposedly in a rut?But the footballing gods are never kind, and he was caught scrambling to defend Evanilson at a corner and watched it bobble over the line.Declan Rice – 9Declan Rice netted his third goal in the Premier League this seasonCredit: PAWas practically a second No.10 in the early stages. Drove into the box from a Martinelli flick but dragged wide, then volleyed an awkward one with a similar result.Could have then headed in at the far post, but he finally got his reward with a cool finish rounding Kepa from a superb Odegaard pass.Just his third Prem strike this term, but eighth in all competitions, surpassing last season’s tally, and all on his 100th appearance for the Gunners.Bukayo Saka – 6Bukayo Saka did not manage a single dribble against the CherriesCredit: APWas kept quiet by Kerkez in the first half, perhaps saving his energy, and he certainly exploded out of the blocks in the second half, seeing a header saved by Kepa and then whipping one just past the far post.Yet after that, he struggled to get into the game.Leandro Trossard – 6Leandro Trossard left Arsenal without a target manCredit: EPALively and weaving, wanting to win a place in that PSG starting XI, but often looks lost as a No.9, dropping too deep or too wide leaving the team without a focal point.When he stayed central, he got chances, seeing a clever header saved on the line by Kepa.Gabriel Martinelli – 6Gabriel Martinelli drew a blank in the matchCredit: GettyEffective as a creator, teeing up Rice twice, but fluffed his side’s best chance of the first half with a bobbled shot just inside the box.But again, when Arsenal needed something extra – especially when the scores were at 1-1 – he did not have the answer.Read More on The SunSubs:Mikel Merino 74′ – 6One of his first acts was running back to the halfway line after Bournemouth made it 2-1.From there, it was all a bit desperate and last-gasp.Ethan Nwaneri 85′ – N/AOleksandr Zinchenko 85′ – N/ARaheem Sterling 85′ – N/AArsenal need to regroup before facing PSGCredit: APJoin SUN CLUB for the Arsenal Files every Friday plusin-depth coverage and exclusives from The Emirates More

YOURI TIELEMANS’ bullet header was just enough to see off a Fulham side who fired blanks – as Aston Villa made it 17 home games without defeat.That equalled a club record set by Unai Emery’s team between March and December 2023 and kept them on course for a potential Champions League berth.Aston Villa earned a hard fought 1-0 win against Fulham at Villa ParkCredit: ReutersYouri Tielemans opened the scoring in the 12th minute at Villa ParkCredit: GettyRyan Sessegnon’s second-half strike was ruled out for handball five minutes into the second halfCredit: GettyIt also maintained the Spaniard’s remarkable record against the Cottagers, who he has now beaten in all seven encounters against them – the best record of his managerial career against any club.This won’t go down as one of his better performances but at this stage of the season that doesn’t matter.Villa’s players had suffered two absolute sledgehammer blows ahead of this crucial game.Losing to a stoppage time goal at Manchester City was painful enough.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSBut being spanked 3-0 by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi final at Wembley really piled on the agony for Emery’s men.However this was no time to feel sorry for themselves, with the Premier League’s finishing tape in sight.In his programme notes Emery stressed the importance of putting the past behind them.”During the week, we kicked out from our mind any distraction, regret or fear,” he wrote.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS”No past and no future, football only knows about the present.”Do we want Villa in the top level of football again? YES.Emery ripped up his own transfer handbook to sign Villa sensation Morgan Rogers, who says HE invented Palmer celebration”Are we aware of how important the Fulham match is? YES.” Fortunately for him Tielemans got the memo!The little Belgian has been the beating heart of this Villa side all season.Incredibly this was the 27-year-old’s 52nd consecutive start of the season. That made him the first player to clock up that many starts for the club since Earl Barrett and Kevin Richardson way back in 1994.And he celebrated the milestone with the goal which turned out to be the winner, after 12 minutes.Fulham will be kicking themselves at the ease with which the Belgian scored.John McGinn flighted in a corner from the right and Tielemans timed his run to perfection to burst between Kenny Tete and Harry Wilson and head beyond Bernd Leno.Although the German goalie managed to get a glove on the ball there was no chance of him keeping that particular bullet out.It was the midfielder’s fifth goal of the season – and Villa’s 15th set-piece goal – and Tielemans went on to produce a man of the match performance.It’s still hard to believe Emery snapped him up on a free from Leicester City two seasons ago.He was at the heart of everything that was good about Villa as he ran the show with his accurate passing.In an often frantic game, he seemed to play the game at his own pace, as he covered every blade of grass on Villa Park.In truth this was a slow burner however as both forward lines failed to find the spark needed to ignite the contest.Ollie Watkins was trying desperately to break Gabby Agbonlahor’s 74-goal haul to become Villa’s top Premier goalscorer of all time.But he headed wide following a short corner in seven minutes as Marco Asensio’s cross was just a centimetre or two too high for him.And that set the tone for another frustrating afternoon for the England striker who has now gone three games without a goal.In fact the only real other moment of note during a dreadful first half came from Tielemans again.He looked set to score a screamer of a second until Bernd Leno got his fingertips to prevent his 25 yarder finding the top bin!However none of the dozy officials spotted his brilliant save, which brought a wry smile to Leno’s face.And a dreary half ended when Martinez plucked an Alex Iwobi effort out from under his crossbar, with impressive ease.Fortunately things livened up after the break.Watkins just failed to get on the end of a teasing Cash cross before Fulham thought they had equalised.The ball struck Sessegnon’s hand on the way down to the shotCredit: GettyRyan Sessegnon tried to tame Antonee Robinson’s lay-off by taking the ball down on his chest.But the ball brushed his hand before he lashed a screamer beyond Martinez and into the far corner.Referee Rob Jones spotted the handball and VAR agreed with the official that any handball in the run-up to a goal is a no, no as Fulham cursed their luck.Meanwhile, Emery cursed Ezri Konsa for losing the ball in midfield, leading to another Fulham chance which Harry Wilson just failed to take.The Spaniard was a flurry of arms as he vented his anger several times at Konsa who tried to argue back – which didn’t help the situation!Leno then denied Watkins, using his foot to divert the striker’s shot before Pau Torres missed a snip at the far post.Nerves frayed as the clock ticked down and Cash bravely blocked Joachim Andersen at the back post as Fulham pushed for an equaliser.Adama Traore then slashed a volley wide before Villa sub Donyell Malen almost killed off the Cottagers.Read More on The SunHe sprinted through onto Jacob Ramsey’s pass but smashed the ball off the underside of Leno crossbar.However Villa were relieved to leave with three hard-earned points, with on-loan forward Marcus Rashford set to miss the rest of the season through hamstring injury. 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