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| January 22, 2006 | Sunday | Zilhaj 21, 1426 |
Everton’s revival gathers steam
LIVERPOOL, Jan 21: James Beattie continued Everton’s recent revival with the 13th-minute goal that ensured a fourth successive victory for David Moyes’s side and dealt another blow to Arsenal’s hopes of a return to the Champions League next season.
Just seven days ago, Arsene Wenger’s side had been basking in the glory of their 7-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough. But they were brought back down to earth with a bump by a spirited and passionate Everton display that left the visitors battered and bemused by the final whistle.
And to cap a miserable afternoon for Wenger and his players, Cesc Fabregas, the young Spanish midfielder, was sent off for lashing out at Everton’s Tim Cahill in the final minutes of the game.
Arsenal’s problems should not however detract from an Everton performance that recalled their success of last season and virtually extinguished any lingering threat of Moyes’ side being dragged into a relegation battle.
Everton immediately set the tone of the game, imposing their more physical, uptempo approach on the shell-shocked visitors.
With midfielders Phil Neville and Tim Cahill snapping into tackles and strikers James Beattie and Leon Osman constantly harrying Arsenal’s distinctly shaky looking makeshift defence, the visitors were quickly exposed and forced into a series of desperate clearances.
Arsenal’s problems lay at centre back where both Phillippe Senderos and the vastly experienced Sol Campbell failed to come to terms with Beattie’s powerful running.
And it was that weakness that Everton eventually exploited to claim a deserved 13th minute lead through Beattie’s seventh strike of the season.
The build-up to the goal was simplicity itself and undoubtedly sparked a major inquest in the Arsenal dressing room about how the Everton striker was allowed to collect Cahill’s hopeful, lobbed pass so easily.
With both Senderos and Campbell covering, there should have been no danger but Beattie simply shrugged off the defenders’ flimsy challenges before calmly stabbing the ball past the advancing Jens Lehmann.
Results:
Birmingham City 5 Portsmouth 0
Bolton Wanderers 2 Manchester City 0
Everton 1 Arsenal 0
Middlesbrough 2 Wigan Athletic 3
Newcastle United 0 Blackburn Rovers 1
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Aston Villa 0
—Agencies
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