Iwobi, Bassey back to winning ways with Fulham as Arsenal extend lead
Super Eagles duo Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey returned to winning ways on Saturday as Fulham ended a four-game losing streak with an emphatic 3-0 victory over struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers at Craven Cottage.
Both Nigerians played crucial roles in the much-needed win, with Bassey featuring for the entire 90 minutes while Iwobi was substituted in the 89th minute after another industrious display in midfield.
Samuel Chukwueze also featured in the game; coming in as a 77th minute substitute.
Fulham made a flying start through Ryan Sessegnon, who opened the scoring in the ninth minute.
Wolves’ task grew even harder when Emmanuel Agbadou was shown a straight red card in the 36th minute for a reckless challenge.
With the visitors reduced to ten men, Fulham dominated proceedings and extended their advantage in the 62nd minute through Harry Wilson’s precise finish.
Tolu Arokodare who scored against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup a few days ago was brought in to rescue the situation but he couldn’t stop the rampaging hosts.
The contest was effectively over when Yerson Mosquera turned the ball into his own net late on in the 75th minute, sealing a comfortable 3-0 result for Marco Silva’s side.
The victory lifted Fulham to 14th place on the Premier League table, while Wolves remain rooted to the bottom without a single win after 10 matches.
Worryingly, Wolves have now become the first club in Premier League history to start consecutive seasons without a win in their opening ten games.
Missing in action
At Selhurst Park, fellow Nigerians Chrisantus Uche and Frank Onyeka were unused substitutes as Crystal Palace claimed a 2-0 win over Brentford.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored and the Eagles also benefited from Nathan Collins’ own goal as they climbed to eighth with 16 points. Brentford, meanwhile, dropped to 12th on 13 points.
Elsewhere, Arsenal maintained their outstanding form, stretching their lead at the top of the table to seven points with a professional 2-0 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor. First-half headers from Viktor Gyokeres and Declan Rice ensured Mikel Arteta’s men recorded their ninth consecutive win in all competitions.
The Gunners have now kept seven straight clean sheets and conceded just three goals all season, further underlining their defensive strength.
The result keeps alive hopes of ending their 21-year wait for a Premier League title.
At the City Ground, Manchester United extended their unbeaten run under Ruben Amorim to four games following a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. Casemiro’s header gave United the lead, but Forest turned the game around with quickfire goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Nicolo Savona. United were rescued late on by Amad Diallo, whose thunderous volley earned the visitors a share of the spoils.
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Taiwo Awoniyi came on as a second half substitute but he was unable to get on the scorers’ sheet.
Meanwhile, Brighton also enjoyed a dominant afternoon at the Amex Stadium, cruising to a 3-0 win over Leeds United.
Danny Welbeck opened the scoring before Diego Gomez added a brace in the second half to complete the rout.
In North London, Chelsea edged Tottenham Hotspur 1-0, courtesy of a first-half strike from Jao Pedro.
Remarkably, Chelsea have now won more Premier League matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium than any other away team since the venue opened in 2019.
Liverpool defeated Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield in the day’s last Premier League contest as the champions returned to winning ways after four consecutive losses.