Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/794736
maltatoday SUNDAY, 5 MARCH 2017 Sport 52 FOOTBALL Wijnaldum seals Liverpool win over Arsenal ARSENE Wenger was left to rue the gamble of dropping leading scorer Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal lost 3-1 against Liverpool at Anfield and surrendered their top-four place as a result. The hosts were already ahead through goals from Roberto Fir- mino and Sadio Mane by the time Wenger introduced Sanchez for the start of the second half. Sanchez then compounded the scrutiny on his manager by provid- ing the assist for Danny Welbeck's goal, which helped put Liverpool under pressure Georginio Wijnal- dum wrapped things the win in added time. Liverpool's win lifted them into third place, with the Gunners drop- ping to fifth only one point above Manchester United. The Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Bournemouth in an incident-packed encounter which could result in Zlatan Ibrahimovic facing a ban. United, who could have moved into the top four with victory in Sat- urday's lunchtime kick-off, took the lead after 23 minutes through Mar- cos Rojo's first goal in the top flight. However, Joshua King equalised from the penalty spot in the 40th minute. There was then chaos at the end of the first half when Cherries mid- fielder Andrew Surman was sent off after pushing over Ibrahimovic, who had caught Tyrone Mings with an elbow. That followed moments on from Bournemouth defender Mings standing on Ibrahimovic's head, with referee Kevin Friend taking no action for either incident. Ibrahimovic saw a penalty saved in the 72nd minute - and the Swedish forward could yet face a retrospec- tive disciplinary charge from the Football Association, along with Mings. Premier League champions Leicester came from behind to beat fellow strugglers Hull 3-1 for a sec- ond win of the week at the King Power Stadium. The Foxes, whose manager Clau- dio Ranieri was sacked following a poor run of form, returned to win- ning ways against Liverpool on Monday night. Against Hull they went behind after 14 minutes when Sam Clucas bundled the ball in, but Christian Fuchs equalised in the 28th minute with a well-taken finish. After Hull winger Kamil Grosicki hit the woodwork, it was Leicester who got themselves in front through a fine individual goal from Riyad Mahrez after 59 minutes. An own goal from Tom Huddle- stone in the final minute completed Hull's disappointing afternoon as caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare made it two wins out of two games in charge. Crystal Palace moved out of the bottom three with a 2-0 win at West Brom. Wilfried Zaha broke the deadlock to put the Eagles ahead 10 minutes into the second half, with a late in- dividual effort from winger Andros Townsend securing three much- needed points for Sam Allardyce's relegation battlers. Middlesbrough dropped into the bottom three after they went down 2-0 at Stoke. A volley from Marko Arnautovic put the home side ahead just before the half-hour mark and the Austrian doubled the lead in the 42nd min- ute after a knockdown from Peter Crouch. Fernando Llorente struck a dra- matic last-minute winner as Swan- sea fought back to beat Burnley 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium. Spanish forward Llorente headed the Swans into the lead after 13 min- utes, but Burnley were level through a 20th-minute penalty from Andre Gray following a disputed handball. Gray then fired in a second just after the hour, but Sweden defender Martin Olsson drew the home side level with 20 minutes left and Llor- ente secured all three points with a late header. Southampton recovered from the disappointment of last weekend's EFL Cup final defeat against Man- chester United at Wembley with a 4-3 win at Watford. The home side took the lead after just four minutes through a curling shot from captain Troy Deeney, but Dusan Tadic equalised with a low strike from the edge of the box in the 29th minute. Nathan Redmond put the Saints ahead in first-half stoppage time. The Hornets looked to have se- cured a point when Stefano Okaka swept in a cross from Isaac Success with 10 minutes left, only for Mano- lo Gabbiadini to knock in a third Saints goal before Redmond curled in a fourth. Abdoulaye Doucoure scored Wat- ford's third goal in stoppage-time. Liverpool earned an important victory over Arsenal Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic in action