6 December 19, 2021The Sunday Times 2GS
Football Premier League
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
MIDDLESBROUGH
Sporar 53 (pen) 1BOURNEMOUTH
0Parker admits
his team look
jaded as poor
run continues
Scott Parker is confident that
Bournemouth’s mid-season wobble
will not develop into anything more
damaging, but on this evidence it was
difficult to concur.
This was a sixth game without a
win and there has to be concern,
even though Bournemouth still cling
on to the second automatic
promotion spot.
“This run will turn, a million
per cent it will,” said Parker,
inset, whose side were
beaten by an Andraz
Sporar penalty early in
the second half.
“Are we the team we
were six or seven weeks
ago? No. We look a little
low on confidence and
jaded. It’s my job to help the
players keep that belief.”
Bournemouth could have been
three up by the interval. Jaidon
Anthony fired wide after pouncing
on Jonny Howson’s error and
Dominic Solanke headed off target
from five yards out before Ryan
Christie was inexplicably unable tokeep his effort on target when
meeting a cross at the far post.
Anthony compounded his miss
just after the break by bringing down
Isaiah Jones, Middlesbrough’s lively
winger, and Sporar drilled his
penalty low past Mark Travers.
Middlesbrough have made
significant strides towards the play-
off places, losing once since Chris
Wilder took charge in November.
“I know what I want things to
look like and we’re still a
fair way off that so the
January transfer window
will be huge,” he said.Star man Isaiah Jones
(Middlesbrough)
Middlesbrough (3-5-2): J Lumley 7
— A Dijksteel 7, D Fry 8, P McNair 8
— I Jones 8 (S Bamba 90min), M Crooks
7, J Howson 6, M Tavernier 6, N Taylor 7 —
D Watmore 6 (O Hernandez 74), A Sporar 8 (U
Ikpeazu 90). Booked McNair, Hernandez, Jones,
Taylor.
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): M Travers 8 — J Stacey 6,
G Cahilil 6, L Kelly 6, J Zemura 6 - L Cook 6 (R
Brady 78), G Kilkenny 5 — R Christie 6 (J Lowe 61,
5), P Billing 4, J Anthony 3 (J Stanislas 61, 5) —
D Solanke 4. Booked Cahill, Billing.
Referee Chris Kavanagh. Attendance 18,323.Jason Mellor
Ruthless Rovers win again
It has been almost ten years since
Blackburn Rovers were relegated
from the Premier League but they
finally look ready for a tilt at return to
the top flight. Tony Mowbray’s side
hammered Birmingham City at
Ewood Park to clock up a fifth
straight win and move into third, a
point off the automatic promotion
spots. “I’m really pleased for the
people who support the club, but
we’re only halfway,” Mowbray said.
Rovers went ahead after six
minutes when Ryan Nyambe’s low
cross was parried out by Matija Sarkic
and John Buckley reacted quickest to
score his first goal in 35 games.Birmingham came close when
Chuks Aneke hit the angle of post and
bar from 25 yards, but Rovers took
charge after the break. The on-loan
German, Reda Khadra, made it 2-0
after a fine pass from Darragh
Lenihan cut open the defence. Ben
Brereton added a third from the spot,
having been brought down by Sarkic,
and later headed in the fourth.
Brereton nearly grabbed a hat-
trick, hitting the bar with a chip,
while the substitute Dan Butterworth
also struck the woodwork.Star Man Ben Brereton (Blackburn)
Blackburn (3-4-2-1): T Kaminski 6 — D Lenihan 7,
J van Hecke 6, S Wharton 7 — R Nyambe 7,
L Travis 7, J Rothwell 7 (B Johnson 75min),
H Pickering 6 — R Khadra 8 (D Butterworth 69, 5),
J Buckley 7 (S Gallagher 63, 5) — B Brereton 7.
Booked Buckley.
Birmingham (3-5-2): M Sarkic 5 — D Sanderson 6,
M Roberts 4 (J Bela 37, 5), G Friend 5 — J Graham
5 (M Colin 46, 5), J James 5, I Sunjic 5, R McGree 5,
K Pedersen 5 — T Deeney 4, C Aneke 6
(L Jutkiewicz 67, 5). Booked Sunjic.
Referee G Eltringham. Attendance 12,148BLACKBURN ROVERS
Buckley 6, Khadra 52, Brereton 60 4
(pen), 79BIRMINGHAM CITY
0Adam LaniganAllegations of racist abuse directed
at Arsenal players from the home sup-
port cast a shadow over the evening,
while objects were also thrown on the
pitch and two Arsenal players, Saka
and Granit Xhaka, made gestures at
the crowd. The Leeds fans directed
their anger at the Arsenal players and
the referee, Andre Marriner, over
some close calls, but support for Mar-
celo Bielsa and his attack-at-all-costs
methods looked solid among the
home contingent, even though they
are in danger of sending Leeds back to
the Championship.
A 7-0 thumping by Manchester City
in their previous game was the joint-
heaviest defeat in Leeds’s history.
By half-time, they were struggling
to avoid another humiliation, with
Arsenal creating chance after chance,
and converting three of them. Thefirst goal came in the 16th minute,
when Saka and Alexandre Lacazette
combined to set up an opportunity for
Xhaka, who tumbled under pressure
from Mateusz Klich. The move
appeared to have broken down as
Adam Forshaw had the ball at his feet,
but he was dispossessed by Lacazette
and Martinelli gleefully seized on the
ball, finishing past Illan Meslier.
Saka, Kieran Tierney and Thomas
Partey had chances to add a second,
but none was as deadly as Martinelli.
Played through by Xhaka after Stuart
Dallas gave the ball away when trying
to run at the Arsenal defence, he
brushed aside Cody Drameh before
chipping the ball past Meslier.
Then, two minutes before half-
time, Saka’s low shot deflected off
Klich and into the net. Marriner ush-
ered the gleeful Arsenal players awayStar man Martin Odegaard (Arsenal).
Substitutions: Leeds United C Summerville 6 (for
Harrison 31min), S Greenwood (for Klich 78),
L McCarron (for Summerville 81).
Arsenal C Soares 6 (for Tomiyasu 64),
E Smith Rowe (for Saka 78), N Tavares
(for Odegaard, 85).
Referee A Marriner.
Attendance 36,166.A
fter Mikel the martinet
comes Martinelli the magi-
cian. The Arsenal manager
has never looked so authori-
tative, with his team making
light of the absence of their
deposed captain, Pierre-
Emerick Aubameyang, andGabriel Martinelli coming good on his
wonderful talent after being kept on a
leash for so long by Arteta.
Rarely — not since 2004, in fact,
when the Invincibles won by the same
scoreline in the FA Cup — have Arsenal
had it so easy at Elland Road, a third
league win in a row heightening the
belief that they are back in business.
For Leeds, the only way looks to be
down, especially given their chronic
long-term injury problems.
The game was effectively over by
half-time, when Arsenal were three
goals up, with a brace from Martinelli
and another from Bukayo Saka. A
mini-Leeds revival in the second half
led to them pulling a goal back from
Raphinha’s penalty, but an accurate
reflection of Arsenal’s dominance was
provided six minutes from the end
when the substitute, Emile Smith
Rowe, seized on a through ball from
Martin Odegaard to score Arsenal’s
fourth, and strengthen their grip on
from the home fans and there was
some offensive chanting aimed at
Saka. The ugliness spilled over into
the second half and Arsenal almost
undid some of their good work when
Xhaka appeared to stamp on the
ankle of Raphinha, but escaped with
no more than a brief telling off from
Marriner. The referee got himself into
an awkward spot when Joe Gelhardt
committed a similar illegal challenge
on Takehiro Tomiyasu and was
booked. Tomiyasu was substituted
moments later after receiving treat-
ment and there appeared to be a lull in
the game, with Saka spurning the
chance to inflict further pain as he
shot wide in the 68th minute.
Arsenal’s intensity levels had
dropped noticeably, allowing Leeds
to build a few promising passages of
play, and the home side won a penaltyMartinelli has too many
tricks for broken Leeds
LEEDS UNITED
Raphinha 75 (pen) 1ARSENAL
Martinelli 16, 28, Saka 42, 4
Smith Rowe 84fourth place. Odegaard was outstand-
ing again, but the continued emer-
gence of Martinelli was the feature of
the evening.
“He has come a long, long way,
because his energy, his passion and
his commitment doesn’t get much
better than that, ever,” Arteta said of
the 20-year-old Brazilian.
“There are other aspects in the
game that he had to develop and
maintain the ones that he is excep-
tional at, like today when he has the
chances and puts them away.”Ramsdale6Gabriel7
Tomiyasu6
Tierney7
White6Xhaka6
Partey7Odegaard8Martinelli8
Saka8Lacazette74-4-1-1Meslier6Koch5
Dallas5
Drameh5Roberts4
Harrison5
Raphinha5Gelhardt5Ayling5Klich5
Forshaw54-2-3-1PAUL
ROWAN