Arsenal ruthless on corners, Yamal ahead of Messi in weekend round-up | OneFootball

Arsenal made their corners count in a 2-1 win over Chelsea to stay top of the Premier League, while on Saturday Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal hit his first career hat-trick, a 21st-century La Liga age record according to Opta.

Arsenal started faster and struck on 21 minutes when Bukayo Saka’s corner was kept alive by Gabriel and William Saliba headed in. Chelsea levelled in first-half stoppage time from Reece James’s corner, Piero Hincapié diverting into his own net. Jurriën Timber restored the lead on 66 minutes with a header from Declan Rice’s delivery.

Chelsea finished with 10 again, and Arsenal’s composure and resilience showed, with David Raya prominent. Defensive lapses undermined the visitors, and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was not blameless.

Mikel Arteta’s side hold a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who won 1-0 at Leeds the previous day, with 10 matches remaining.

At Camp Nou, Barça beat Villarreal 4-1 to consolidate first place and make it 13 wins from 13 at home in La Liga. Operating from the right flank, the 18-year-old winger was irrepressible as Barcelona pushed Real Madrid four points back ahead of Madrid’s trip to Getafe on Monday at 21:00. Yamal’s treble came at 18 years and 230 days, a year earlier than Lionel Messi.

Source: Le Progres