Emiliano Buendía, Argentinian, Spanish, from Mar del Plata, from Getafe, a 28-year-old winger who has been on the bench for months, on Unai Emery’s playing list last summer, joined the party in the 87th minute and in the 95th scored the goal that could change the course of the most powerful and fun league in the world. It was final 2-1. In the last room. This is how Aston Villa was forced to do it with the collaboration of this providential replacement during a last battle which took place at Arsenal in their region. Villa Park let out a suffocating cry and the referee threatened the final like the one on the phone. This result, combined with last weekend’s draw at Stamford Bridge, knocks Arsenal off their pedestal as they lead the league with six points to spare. He only has 33 points. Just like Manchester City, who beat Sunderland and finished 31st, and also against Villa, who finished third with 30th.
2
1
Sips 1-0 minutes. 36: Matthew Cash. 1-1 minutes. 52: Trossard. 2-1 minutes. 94: Emi Buendia.
Arbitrator Peter Bankes
Yellow cards Riccardo Calafiori (min. 71) and Bukayo Saka (min. 74)
“It’s the level of the Premier,” regrets Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach, behind the veil, “we lost balls that we shouldn’t have lost and in the 1-0 we defended a lot for less than our standards. But we will still win.
Emery secured another victory over his native Arteta. Nothing new: in the last five duels played in England, the Villa coach has recorded three victories, a draw and a defeat. This time, Arteta opted for an attack formed by Saka, Merino and Eze. He paid in a game fought at the limit of physical and psychological possibilities. Transition after transition. Without pause, without a second interval to think or rest from the stress, from the need to remain vigilant to react to losses and recoveries. In this scenario of constant demand in which Martinelli and Trossard Suelen highlighted, Saka and Eze disconnected and along the way the team lost sight of them, and with them Merino. The Navarro found itself isolated between Konsa, Kamara and Onana. No matter how many times he multiplied, Odegaard didn’t achieve much by putting them into action. Emiliano Martínez took a shot from Saka that seemed destined for the red, but the visiting offensive production deteriorated.
Arsenal could not afford to take a breather. When he stopped stopping and was forced to enter his zone, a collective maneuver presided over by McGinn, Tielemans, Watkins and Gordon, no more and no less, resulted on the other flank. Cash’s pies. The English team surprised Calafiori and scored 1-0. When Arteta replaced Eze with Trossard, after the break, the party was turned upside down. Trossard’s solo 1-1 was marked by a merciless exchange where Buendía finished with the 2-1.
Cherky-Foden communication
Arsenal’s defeat was great news for City. Guardiola’s team is moving forward at a good pace. You can’t move faster with young, inexperienced players like Nico González in the middle, Cherki and Doku on the wingers, O’Reilly at the back and Foden with managerial responsibilities. Visiting Etihad, Sunderland on their home ground. It remained there, like a block of granite, a 5-4-1 crushed by attacks concentrated on the central roads of the city. So much so that Sunderland had expanded into their area and perished at the hands of their rival defenders, who were also in their area. Days he made it 1-0 with a 30-meter shot and Gvardiol converted the 2-0 with a header dominating the entire defense from a corner.
With the party broken up, Cherki’s party began. A spectacle of feints and eccentric solutions that culminated with the back pass to Foden that ended in a 3-0 header. It was like a revelation. Foden had a meltdown when he discovered his soul mate in Cherki. Another misunderstood genius. Another phenomenon of energies that are released when the wind blows in their favor. Of course, despite the success of its footballers, the City is reborn. I have one of the points at Arsenal.