For matchday 22 of the Premier League, the Aston Villa from the Argentine Emiliano Martínez He managed to take a point from his visit to London, where Arsenal, which is second, six points behind Liverpool, won 2-0 thanks to goals from Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli and German Kai Havertz that Dibu could not prevent. However, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins equalized it and in the end the man from Mar del Plata had a key intervention to maintain the tie.
The game started uphill for those led by Unai Emery. In a duel between Spanish coaches, the team led by Mikel Arteta, despite the losses of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, dominated but was not able to kill the match, missing several chances in the final stretch.
At 35 minutes into the first half, the Arsenal striker deflected a cross from the left and his powerful shot was initially blocked by Martínez, but his save was not complete and the ball crossed the line, becoming the first goal of the match. .
They were barely ten into the second half when Arsenal scored the second through German Kai Havertz. This time, unprotected by the weak marking of Aston Villa’s last line, Dibu tried to clear with his left leg but the ball hit him and he went in.
Quickly, Youri Tielemans scored the popcorn discount and was close to tying it on the next play but his shot hit the post.
The visitor’s reaction, however, did not end there because Ollie Watkins tied it 23 minutes into the second half.
In the end, Arsenal grew but could not close the match in their favor. First, at 43, because the referee invalidated a goal by Mikel Merino due to a handball by Havertz. Then, with time running out, first the post on a shot from the Spaniard and then the enormous Dibu Martínez in front of a shot from Leandro Trossard prevented Arsenal from taking the lead again and taking a victory that would have left them just four points behind Liverpool , which on top of that has one more game.
Precisely, earlier, Darwin Núñez came to the rescue of the English leader from the bench so that Liverpool achieved a victory in extremis, 2-0 on the Brentford field, with a double from the Uruguayan in extra time.
Núñez, accurate inside the area, scored two goals in two minutes (91 and 93) to save his team, who were very misguided, who attempted up to 37 shots in the entire match.
With this victory on matchday 22, Liverpool has 50 points and one game less, to be played on February 12 against Everton (16th) at Goodison Park. While Arsenal has 44 points and could be tied by Nottingham Forest (3rd), if they beat Southampton on Sunday.
Aston Villa, who will play Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday, climbs to seventh place with 36 points, one more than Manchester City, who visits Ipswich on Sunday.