Liverpool held by Manchester United as Arsenal move top of Premier League

There were wins elsewhere for Aston Villa and West Ham.

Pa Sport Staff
Sunday 17 December 2023 19:11 GMT
Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Manchester United at Anfield (Peter Byrne/PA)
Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Manchester United at Anfield (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

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Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester United despite having 34 shots to end their 100 per cent home record at Anfield.

Both sides were deadlocked heading into the break but Liverpool came within inches of an opener when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s strike from distance curled just wide of the target and United keeper Andre Onana made eight saves to keep United in the game.

United sensed an opportunity to take all three points but Rasmus Hojlund saw his one-on-one shot go straight at Alisson with their only shot on target and were forced to play the final minutes of injury time with a player less after Diogo Dalot was given two yellow cards for dissent.

The draw, only the fourth 0-0 in this season’s Premier League, means Liverpool fail to win for the first time at Anfield and miss the opportunity to climb back to the top of the table while United keep a first clean sheet in six in all competitions.

Arsenal returned to the top following a 2-0 victory over Brighton.

The Gunners had to wait until the second half to make their breakthrough when Gabriel Jesus headed home from a corner and they sealed all three points in the 87th minute when Kai Havertz slotted past Bart Verbruggen from close range.

Aston Villa came from a goal down to extend their winning run to three matches with a 2-1 win over Brentford as both sides finished with 10 men.

Brentford hit the front on the stroke of half-time when Keane Lewis-Potter blasted home from a corner but the turning point came after Ben Mee was sent off for a challenge on Leon Bailey following a VAR check.

Villa made their man advantage count and equalised when Alex Moreno nodded home at the back post before Ollie Watkins found the winner against his former club four minutes from time, but the game finished with 10 players for each side after Boubacar Kamara was given a red card for a coming together with Yegor Yarmolyuk.

West Ham bounced back from from their heavy defeat to Fulham last week with a convincing 3-0 win over Wolves at the London Stadium.

The Hammers opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Mohammed Kudus fired into the bottom corner from outside the area and the Ghanaian doubled the advantage 10 minutes later as Kudus latched onto another long pass from Lucas Paqueta and tucked home close range.

Paqueta picked up his third assist of the match when he unleashed Jarrod Bowen to score his 10th Premier League goal of the season.

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