The ‘monster striker’ was also a person. Manchester City’s main gun, Erling Haaland, was unable to prevent the team from losing as he failed to attempt a single shot.
Manchester City lost 0-1, allowing Gabriel Martinelli to score the winning goal in the away game against Arsenal in the 8th round of the 2023/24 Premier League season held at the Emirates Stadium in London, England on the 9th (Korean time).
The two teams who competed for the Premier League title last season met for the first time in the league, and it was the home team, Arsenal, that had the last laugh.
As the tense 0-0 trend continued, Brazilian striker Martinelli scored the valuable first goal in the 40th minute of the second half. First, Thomas Partey’s long pass was directed to Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was rushing into the box, and Tomiyasu hit the ball with his head and passed the ball to Kai Havertz next to him.
Havertz, surrounded by Manchester City defenders, passed to Martinelli, who was just outside the box, rather than taking the shot directly. After receiving the pass, Martinelli immediately attempted a right-footed curling shot, which was deflected off Manchester City defender Nathan Ake and went into the goal.
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson threw his body to block Martinelli’s shot, but it was impossible to block it because the shot was deflected and headed in a completely unexpected direction.
Arsenal succeeded in holding on to the late first goal until the end, and Martinelli’s first goal became the winning goal, ending the game with a 1-0 win for Arsenal. Arsenal, who had been on a 12-game losing streak against Manchester City before this game, ended their long losing streak and succeeded in taking a point from Manchester City for the first time in about six years.
With the win against Manchester City, Arsenal jumped to second place with 20 points (6 wins, 2 draws). On the other hand, Man City maintained 18 points (6 wins, 2 losses) and fell to 3rd place in the league, failing to regain the lead.
Manchester City’s defeat was a huge shock to soccer fans. Because Manchester City had been so dominant against Arsenal, defeat was not expected, but more than anything, fans were surprised by the fact that Manchester City recorded consecutive losses in the league.
On the 30th of last month, Manchester City lost 1-2 in the away game against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 7th round of the league, allowing Korean striker Hwang Hee-chan to score the winning goal. Manchester City, who had been on a six-game winning streak since the opening game, not only had their winning streak halted with a loss against Wolverhampton, but also suffered their first loss of the season.안전놀이터
Of course, the season is long, so losing is not at all strange, but it is rare for Manchester City to record their second consecutive league loss by losing to Wolverhampton and then Arsenal. This is the first time since December 2018 that Manchester City, led by coach Pep Guardiola, has suffered consecutive losses in the league.
Manchester City, the best club in the Premier League, suffered a shocking result of losing in a row in the league for the first time in about five years, and the sluggish performance of ‘monster striker’ Holland had a significant impact on this.
In the match against Arsenal, Holan started as a starter and played the full time, but was unable to increase his attack points. It is impossible for him to score in every game, but on this day, Holland only created two chances and shocked the fans by not attempting a single shot.
Holland had a monstrous performance last season, scoring 36 goals in the league alone, so 0 shots on goal is truly shocking. Holland, who failed to prevent the team’s defeat by attempting only one shot in the last game against Wolverhampton, was shut out in the next game against Arsenal and was silent for two consecutive league games.
In the end, Holland could not avoid harsh criticism from all kinds of media. Soccer statistics media ‘FobMob’ gave Holan a rating of 6.3 points. The lowest rating was avoided thanks to Julian Alvarez (5.9), Mateo Kovacic (6.1), and Ederson (5.9).
However, other media outlets chose Holland as the worst player in the Manchester City starting lineup against Arsenal. Global soccer media ‘GOAL’ gave Holland the lowest rating in the team, 4 points, and criticized him, saying, “Another really poor performance. He missed a good heading opportunity in the first half and was barely visible in the second half.”
Another media outlet, 90min, also gave Holan the lowest rating of 3 points. They pointed to Holland’s lack of presence, saying, “He was almost non-existent on Sunday (9th). He didn’t hit a single shot.”
Meanwhile, the competition for the top scorer in the Premier League has become even more heated as Holland has been silent for two consecutive games. While Holland, who was the leading scorer in the league with 8 goals, faltered, Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) and Alexander Isaac (Newcastle United) scored 6 goals and chased after Holland.
Hwang Hee-chan also joined the race for top scorer, although it is early in the season. After scoring the winning goal against Manchester City, Hwang Hee-chan scored the first goal in the 8th round of the league against Aston Villa on the 8th, scoring 2 consecutive goals and his 5th league goal, along with Jared Bowen (West Ham United) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool). He tied for 4th place in scoring, heating up the race for top scorer.
