‘Tomiyas sent off’ 10-man Arsenal beat Palace 1-0 for second straight opening win

Playing with 10 men, Arsenal made it two wins in a row to open the season.

Arsenal overcame a numerical disadvantage to defeat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the second leg of their 2023-24 English Premier League (EPL) match at Selhurst Park in London, England, at 4 a.m. ET today. With the win, the Gunners continued their strong start to the season with back-to-back wins to open the campaign.

In crunch time, Arsenal shined. The Gunners were outnumbered in the 22nd minute when fullback Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off for accumulating cautions, but they held on for the three points through Martin Ødegaard’s late winner.

Arsenal pulled out a 4-3-3 formation. Eddie Nketiah was up front with Gabriel Martinelli and Xherdan Shaqa in the attacking third, while Kai Havertz-Martin Ødegaard-Declan Rice formed a midfield combination. The back four was Thomas Partey-Ben White-William Saliba-Takehiro Tomiyasu, with Aaron Ramsdale in goal.

Crystal Palace started Odsonne Edouard up front, with Jordand Ayew, Eberechi Eze and Jeffrey Schlupp backing him up. Yepersson Lerma and Sheikh Doucoure started in central midfield, with Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen, Mark Gehi, and Tyrone Mitchell in the back four, and Sam Johnston in goal.

The game started out with Arsenal dominating possession and controlling the game, while Palace were on the counterattack. In the 14th minute, Arsenal had the first real chance to break the deadlock when Xhaka found the back of the net on a counter-attack. However, a defensive block prevented him from scoring. In the 15th minute, a cross from the flank by Aubameyang was blocked by Ramsdale, and the next two attempts by Palace in the space of two minutes were calmly saved by Ramsdale.

Arsenal cried for goal luck as Palace unexpectedly had the more threatening moments. In the 29th minute, the ball was won through pressure on the opposition right and Xhaka played an exquisite penetrating pass to Nketiah on the edge of the box. Nketiah, after a clever ball-trapping move, surged forward with a turn and then, despite being pushed back by the competition, fired a sharp shot on goal. However, he was unfortunate to see his shot bounce off the left post.

In the 35th minute, Palace had a chance on the counter-attack when Ayew broke free on the edge of the box. However, he was tackled by Saliba inside the penalty box and couldn’t get a shot away. Saliba made amends for his own mistake earlier in the game.

In the 36th minute, Arsenal had another one-on-one chance with the keeper. Rice, who had penetrated to the edge of the penalty area, played an exquisite pass to Nketiah, who found himself open on the right and attempted a chip shot that sailed just over the keeper’s height.

In the 42nd minute, Ödegaard hit an audacious mid-range shot from the edge of the box that Johnston tipped over the bar. In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Palace also failed to get a decent shot on target as Eze failed to beat a challenge inside the penalty box. And just like that, the first half ended with neither side able to find the back of the net.

In the first minute of the second half, Palace threatened with a sharp cross from Mitchell following a clever backheel pass from Schlupp. However, the link-up play failed to produce a shot on target. In the fifth minute of the second half, Arsenal had a chance of their own when Martinelli found himself unmarked in the box following a cross into the box from Pati, but his shot was blocked by the defense.

Nketiah’s constant threats on goal finally paid off in the sixth minute of stoppage time when he was awarded a penalty kick. Nketiah took advantage of a lapse in concentration in the opposition defense to receive a penetrating pass after a rush, and when he was tripped by Johnston, the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Captain Ödegaard stepped up and calmly slotted the spot kick into the left corner of the net. Score 1-0.

In the 15th minute, Arsenal fullback Tomiyas was shown a yellow card for delay of game. Arsenal then had two more chances in the 16th minute, when Pati’s powerful mid-range shot from a Xhaka pass was blocked by Johnston, and Ödegaard’s shot from outside the penalty box in the 18th minute was deflected wide.

Arsenal continued to dominate the attacking flow. In the 21st minute, Martinelli cut inside the penalty area after a daring flank break and crossed the ball into the box. Nketiah’s shot was blocked by the defense, but the loose ball was struck by Habertz with a powerful strike that went wide of the goal.

As Arsenal continued to dominate, they had the misfortune of being down a man in the 22nd minute. Tomiyasu tussled with Aubameyang, grabbing the other player’s jersey with his hand to delay him, and the referee immediately produced a yellow card, sending Tomiyasu, who had accumulated two cautions prior to the incident, off.

Arsenal players, including Tomiyas and Ödegaard, voiced their displeasure at the caution as it was a normal defensive situation with no physicality involved, but the referee’s decision did not change.

Eventually, after being outnumbered by one man, Palace actively threatened Arsenal’s goal. In the 28th minute, Eze was tripped up by the defense after an exquisite breakaway. However, Rice and Fathi combined to clear the ball out of play. Instead, the Arsenal defense claimed Eze’s hustle.

Outnumbered, Arsenal took off frontman Nketiah and brought on Jorginho to increase the number of midfielders to defend. Palace, meanwhile, went close in the 41st minute when a sharp cross from the flank was headed wide by Édouard in a free header situation. Ayew’s subsequent pass also failed to find the target. 카지노

The ensuing wave of attacks were blocked by Ramsdale and the defense. In the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, Ramsdale threw himself to block a shot from Palace’s Mitchell. Despite their numerical advantage, Palace were unable to find the back of the net and the game ended with a 1-0 victory for Arsenal.

With the six points, Arsenal moves up to third place in the table, behind Brighton and Manchester City on goal difference. Palace were unable to build on the momentum of their opening day win and dropped to 11th place with a 1-1 draw.