10-Man Liverpool Draws with Fulham in Premier League but Arsenal Cannot Take Advantage

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk after the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk after the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
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10-Man Liverpool Draws with Fulham in Premier League but Arsenal Cannot Take Advantage

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk after the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk after the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 14 December 2024. (EPA)

Premier League leader Liverpool twice came from behind with 10 men to draw with Fulham 2-2, yet dropped points for the second straight match to give hope to its title rivals on Saturday.

Arsenal couldn't take advantage.

A 0-0 draw at home to lowly Everton left third-placed Arsenal still six points behind Liverpool and will go down as a big opportunity missed.

Undermined by Andy Robertson's 17th-minute red card, Liverpool did well to earn a point at Anfield — but could have produced a win after sustained late pressure following Diogo Jota's equalizer in the 86th.

Fulham led for the first time after Andreas Pereira's 11th-minute volley deflected into the net off Robertson, who was sent off six minutes later for bringing down Harry Wilson as the last man and denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

Cody Gakpo leveled just after halftime by heading in a cross from Mohamed Salah, who registered his 100th assist for Liverpool in all competitions.

Substitute Rodrigo Muniz's flick put Fulham back ahead in the 76th, only for Jota to run onto Darwin Nunez's pass, turn his marker and drive home a finish from the edge of the area.

Liverpool drew at Newcastle 3-3 in its last league game.

Arsenal has also drawn two games in a row, after a 1-1 at Fulham last weekend.

O’Neil on the brink

Wolverhampton manager Gary O’Neil will do well to survive this latest damaging defeat.

Ipswich beat Wolves 2-1 thanks to Jack Taylor’s winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time in a match between teams in the relegation zone, though only one of the coaches came into it under real pressure.

O’Neil has led Wolves to only two victories in the league this season, and three since March. The slide under O’Neil began at the end of last season when Wolves won just one of their last 10 league games after being knocked out of the FA Cup in the quarterfinals by second-tier Coventry.

On Monday, after losing at West Ham 2-1, O’Neil expressed his disappointment at losing the connection with Wolves’ fans and also aimed some criticism at the club’s owners for sanctioning the sale of many of its top players over the last two years.

There were boos at halftime and fulltime at Molineux, with Wolves staying in next-to-last place and dropping three points behind third-to-last Ipswich.

Ruud awakening

Ruud van Nistelrooy fell to his first loss with Leicester — and it was a big one.

Leicester was thrashed 4-0 at Newcastle, for which Jacob Murphy scored twice and Alexander Isak nodded in his seventh goal of the campaign. Bruno Guimaraes netted the other goal.

Van Nistelrooy, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker, was brought in to replace the fired Steve Cooper and earned a win and a draw — both at home — in his first two games in charge.



Dortmund Holds on with 10 Men for 1st Away Win in Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund's players celebrate with the fans after the German first division Bundesliga football match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund in Wolfsburg on December 22, 2024. (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)
Borussia Dortmund's players celebrate with the fans after the German first division Bundesliga football match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund in Wolfsburg on December 22, 2024. (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)
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Dortmund Holds on with 10 Men for 1st Away Win in Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund's players celebrate with the fans after the German first division Bundesliga football match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund in Wolfsburg on December 22, 2024. (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)
Borussia Dortmund's players celebrate with the fans after the German first division Bundesliga football match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund in Wolfsburg on December 22, 2024. (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)

Borussia Dortmund held on after Pascal Groß’ sending off to beat Wolfsburg 3-1 for its first Bundesliga away win of the season on Sunday.

Donyell Malen got the visitors off the mark with a volley to a corner in the 25th, three minutes before Julian Brandt played in Maximilian Beier to score Dortmund’s second goal. Beier, who scored with the outside of his boot in off the left post, celebrated with a throwing-dart gesture, The Associated Press reported.

Beier returned the favor for Brandt to score Dortmund’s third two minutes after that.
Wolfsburg improved drastically after the break, when coach Ralph Hasenhüttl made two changes, including sending on Lukas Nmecha to face his brother Felix Nmecha, who was playing for Dortmund.
Denis Vavro pulled one back in the 58th, four minutes before Groß was sent off for a foul on Lukas Nmecha when the Wolfsburg forward was through on goal.
The home team pushed hard but Dortmund managed to hold on to ease the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin.
Dortmund climbed to sixth ahead of the league’s winter break.
Earlier, bottom club Bochum defeated relegation rival Heidenheim 2-0 for its first win of the season in the league. It was the visitors’ seventh straight Bundesliga defeat, the culmination of a busy schedule after clinching European qualification from its league debut last season and the offseason loss of star players like Jan-Niklas Beste, Tim Kleindienst and Eren Dinkci.