Alexandre Lacazette fired Arsenal to north London derby victory from the penalty spot as 10-man Tottenham succumbed despite Erik Lamela’s outrageous opener.
Lacazette, captaining the Gunners after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been withdrawn from the team following a breach of pre-match protocols, converted a 64th-minute spot-kick to secure a 2-1 fightback win.
Emile Smith Rowe was unfortunate not to open his league account when his 16th-minute effort came back off the crossbar with Hugo Lloris beaten, and substitute Lamela, on for the injured Son Heung-min, took full advantage with an audacious rabona finish from Lucas Moura’s lay-off 12 minutes before the break.
Full-back Cedric Soares saw his 37th-minute piledriver crash against the upright as the Gunners responded, but they were back in it with a minute of the first half remaining when Martin Odegaard’s shot clipped defender Toby Alderweireld and eluded Lloris.
Lacazette put the home side ahead from the spot after being felled by Davinson Sanchez’s untidy challenge before Lamela was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Harry Kane had a late header ruled out for offside and then rattled a post with an 89th-minute free-kick in a tense conclusion to the game.
Manchester United returned to second place in the Premier League table after beating West Ham 1-0 in the evening kick-off thanks to a Craig Dawson own goal.
BIG 👏 THREE 👏 POINTS 👏 🔴 #MUFC#️⃣ #MUNWHU🏆 #PL@Chevrolet — Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 14, 2021
Dawson inadvertently headed past Lukasz Fabianski in the 53rd minute at Old Trafford after Scott McTominay had touched on Bruno Fernandes’ corner.
Fabianski produced a fine save in the first half to tip a shot on to the post from Mason Greenwood, who also hit the woodwork with a 77th-minute strike.
The result saw United regain second spot having been temporarily usurped by Leicester.
Earlier, Kelechi Iheanacho had plundered his first Premier League hat-trick as Leicester continued their push for Champions League football with a 5-0 win over managerless Sheffield United.
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️Just brilliant! 🦊 Posted by Leicester City Football Club on Sunday, March 14, 2021
The Foxes had to wait until six minutes before the break to force their way in front when Jamie Vardy found space on the left and crossed for Iheanacho to tap in his third goal in as many games from close range.
Vardy, who has not found the back of the net since February 13, was denied by defender Chris Basham and keeper Aaron Ramsdale in quick succession, but Ayoze Perez extended City’s lead with a fine 64th-minute finish.
Iheanacho helped himself to a second five minutes later with a first-time strike from another Vardy cross and then completed his treble with an emphatic drive from distance before Ethan Ampadu turned Vardy’s 80th-minute shot into his own net to nudge bottom-of-the-table United ever closer to the Sky Bet Championship.
🙌 @LTrossard with a message for you all! #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/J8dxXSui3a — Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 14, 2021
At the other end of the table, Leandro Trossard’s third goal of the season dragged Brighton three points clear of the relegation zone courtesy of a 2-1 win at Southampton.
Lewis Dunk got the visitors, who started the day clear of the bottom three only by virtue goal difference, off to the perfect start when he headed Pascal Gross’ 16th-minute corner firmly past keeper Fraser Forster.
Che Adams volleyed the Saints level within 11 minutes after Dunk had been unable to cut out Ryan Bertrand’s header back across goal, but Trossard restored the Seagulls’ lead 11 minutes after the restart after running on to Danny Welbeck’s deft touch, in the process perfectly setting up a relegation six-pointer showdown with Newcastle on the south coast next weekend.
