Shkodran Mustafi headed in Mesut Ozil’s left-wing free-kick to give the Gunners an eighth-minute lead, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang collected Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s pass to add a second.

Watford had a chance to pull one back but Troy Deeney’s penalty was saved by Petr Cech, who secured the 200th Premier League clean sheet of his career.

Mkhitaryan sealed Arsenal’s victory, their first league win since beating Everton 5-1 on 3 February, with a shot from inside the penalty area following Aubameyang’s pass.

The result leaves the Gunners sixth, 10 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the final Champions League spot.

However, Arsenal could still qualify for next season’s Champions League if they win the Europa League, and that competition affected Arsene Wenger’s team selection on Sunday.

With Arsenal holding a 2-0 lead against AC Milan and playing the second leg of their last-16 leg tie at home on Thursday, Wenger took a risk by making six changes.

Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny were rested, with Jack Wilshere only on the bench, but the gamble paid off for Arsenal.

–

Source: BBC

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The Hornets have won one of their last 11 Premier League games and are 10th in the table, five points above relegation after Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Leicester.

Spaniard Javi Gracia is expected to be named as Silva’s replacement this week.

Gracia, 47, left Russian club Rubin Kazan in June after a 10-year coaching career in his homeland and in Greece,

He will become the 10th manager to work at the club under the Pozzo family since 2012.

In a statement, Watford said they were “convinced” that 40-year-old Silva’s appointment in May “was the right one” and, without “the unwarranted approach” they would have “continued to prosper”.

“This has been a difficult decision and one not taken lightly,” the club added.

“The catalyst is that approach, something which the board believes has seen a significant deterioration in both focus and results to the point where the long-term future of Watford has been jeopardised.”

Silva has become the eighth Premier League manager to lose his job this season following changes at Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester City, Stoke, Swansea, West Brom and West Ham.

What happened around Everton’s approach for Silva?
Dutchman Ronald Koeman was sacked by Everton on 23 October – fewer than 24 hours after a 5-2 home defeat by Arsenal left them in the Premier League relegation zone. That was despite spending £140m in the summer.

Everton were understood to be willing to pay about £10m in compensation for Silva, who signed a two-year contract with Watford in the summer after leaving relegated Hull City at the end of last season.

Previously, Silva guided Olympiakos to the Greek title and claimed a Champions League group-stage victory at Arsenal in September 2015, having already tasted Portuguese Cup success with Sporting.

At the time of Everton’s interest, Silva declined to pledge his long-term future to Watford both before and after the home win against West Ham United on 19 November – but the Hornets still made it clear they were unwilling to release

At the time of the approach, Silva said: “I don’t want to talk about Everton. It’s not where I work. It’s a big club, nothing more.”

He later said that the speculation was “not a problem” for him and that “this type of interest in players and coaches happens but it is not fair to question our commitment”.

Under-23 coach David Unsworth spent five weeks in temporary charge at Everton before Sam Allardyce was eventually appointed on 30 November.

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Source: BBC

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The Scot’s hopes of a winning start in his 500th Premier League game as a manager were dashed by goals in either half from Will Hughes and Richarlison that left his new club in the bottom three and the size of the task facing him even clearer.

For the hosts, it was another energetic and clinical performance that highlighted why coach Marco Silva is coveted by Everton.

Moyes, appointed as Slaven Bilic’s successor on 7 November, can feel aggrieved at an unpunished handball in the build-up to Richarlison’s strike, and lost £25m striker Marko Arnautovic with a suspected broken thumb in the second half.

He will have to build on an improved second-half spell by the Hammers, who were spectacularly denied by Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes.

Moyes, 54, said: “I always thought this was a big job. Some big players with big reputations disappointed me a lot.

“I thought they would show me more. They need to show me why they have got that reputation.

“I don’t enjoy the performance and I expected us to do better. We tried to stay in the game and give ourselves a chance – and we probably did – but overall it was not good enough.”

It was an impressive return to winning ways for the Hornets, whose early-season momentum had stalled with defeats in their previous three games, and the victory moves them up a place to eighth in the table.

Hughes, the 22-year-old £8m summer signing from Derby County, scored with his first attempt on goal in the top flight, latching on to Andre Gray’s scuffed effort and smashing it past Joe Hart.

The England goalkeeper was also beaten by Richarlison, who was a constant threat but did well to stop Adrian Mariappa’s header to deny Watford a third after an hour.

–

Source: BBC Sport

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1. Chelsea remain in the title hunt
Midway through this action-packed second half at Stamford Bridge, it genuinely felt like Chelsea’s title defence was over. They would probably have ended today 12 points behind Manchester City, having dropped points in three consecutive games. Instead, a stunning late turnaround means they remain involved following a victory they barely deserved.

For long periods here Chelsea were extremely poor — open in defence, sloppy in possession and, more than anything, seemingly exhausted. Pedro Rodriguez’s stunning curled opener only partly masked a poor start — it was the same when David Luiz curled home against Roma in midweek. In fact, Chelsea appeared rather too reliant upon shooting from long-range throughout this game, whereas Watford frequently worked the ball into dangerous positions.

Conte has frequently appeared frustrated with the limitations of his squad since triumphing last season, complaining about the lack of depth and the consequent poor fitness levels of his first-teamers — they’re currently at around “70 percent,” Conte said before this game. But it was, somewhat surprisingly, substitutes that came to Chelsea’s rescue here.

First, Michy Batshuayi was summoned in place of Alvaro Morata midway through the second half, with Chelsea’s No. 9 struggling in terms of fitness. Conte evidently doesn’t trust the Belgian — his runs aren’t great, his hold-up play non-existent. But he unquestionably knows where the goal is, and his superb near-post header from Pedro’s cross was a classic centre-forward’s goal. He would later prod the ball home in stoppage time to confirm the victory.

But Chelsea’s crucial goal was the third, which came after Chelsea had threatened down the right thanks to substitutes Davide Zappacosta and Willian. The latter’s teasing cross was accidentally flicked on by Christian Kabesele, and converted at the far post by Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard wasn’t a substitute but, having switched from right-wing-back to left-wing-back, after playing right-sided centre-back for most of the season, he is crucial for a manager frustrated about his lack of options.
2. Wasteful Watford
Last weekend Watford defeated Arsenal 2-1 having played poorly. This weekend they lost 4-2 having played superbly, and manager Marco Silva will be hugely frustrated that wastefulness in front of goal denied the Hornets a victory here.

Having witnessed Roma’s impressive pressing in advanced positions throughout a midweek 3-3 draw here, Silva asked his players to do something similar. It was 3-4-3 vs. 3-4-3, with Richarlison and Roberto Pereyra pushing forward onto Chelsea’s defenders and the wing-backs tracking their opposite numbers. Chelsea struggled badly against this pressing. When Thibaut Courtois finally attempted a long goal kick rather than attempting to play out, the home fans cheered — they were tired of their side being caught in possession.

Watford were impressive in possession, too. Pereyra darted around to facilitate one-twos with Richarlison and Troy Deeney, while the midfield duo of Tom Cleverley and Abdoulaye Doucoure again functioned very well. Cleverley was the hero last weekend with his late winner, but here Doucoure was on the scoresheet, blasting home in the aftermath of a Jose Holebas long throw, for his fourth goal of the campaign. From the highlights it will appear like Watford got lucky with a direct route to goal from a set piece, but their possession play had been very impressive throughout.

They came out fired up for the second half, and went ahead when Richarlison squared to Pereyra, who finished coolly.

But Watford’s second half was defined by misses from point-blank range. Richarlison produced one of the misses of the season when slicing Kiko Femenia’s cross wide under little pressure, albeit just before Watford went ahead anyway. But it could have been 3-1 when Richarlison headed wide at the far post, and he had yet another opportunity when coming inside to meet a cross midway through the second half, when he couldn’t quite turn substitute Andre Carillo’s low ball home. The Brazilian has been excellent this season, but today his profligacy cost Watford dear.

3. Pedro a bright spark
Pedro is rarely the main man. Having made a name for himself at Barcelona for his hard work, clever runs and selfless player in a team overloaded with superstars, he sometimes feels like an afterthought, eternally the third player you consider in a front trio. Here, however, he was Chelsea’s liveliest player and opened the scoring with a quite outrageous goal.

Chelsea were controversially awarded a corner on the right flank — the ball was quite clearly miscontrolled by Eden Hazard over the byline, rather than coming off a Watford boot. With Watford still protesting, Chelsea took it quickly, and rolled the ball back to Pedro, 25 yards out, very much right-of-centre. Pedro arced his body in a Beckham-esque manner before driving a quite incredible dipping, curling shot that perfectly clipped the top of Heurelho Gomes’ far post before bouncing into the net. It was a truly magnificent goal, summarised by the fact it took a couple of seconds for the entire Stamford Bridge crowd to realise it had gone in, such was the dipping trajectory.

On top of the goal, Pedro was excellent. His speed and movement was used primarily in central positions to link play, rather than when scampering in behind, his traditional run. Chelsea’s best opportunity of the first half came when Cesc Fabregas briefly played the Pedro role, storming forward in the inside-right channel to get on the end of a passing move featuring Hazard and Morata. Clean through on goal, he chipped tamely into the arms of Gomes.

As Conte has been keen to point out, the demands of European football mean Chelsea are struggling to play with the intensity of last season. But Pedro, with and without the ball, provided a fresh, lively option in the final third, and his opener will live long in the memory.

–

Source: ESPN

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The Reds, without Barcelona target Philippe Coutinho due to a back injury, fell behind to Stefano Okaka’s header.

Sadio Mane equalised with a clinical finish only for Abdoulaye Doucoure to restore the lead from close range.

Roberto Firmino’s penalty made it 2-2 before Mohamed Salah thought he had won it only for Britos to equalise.

In Jurgen Klopp’s 100th competitive game as Reds boss, Liverpool wasted a string of chances before Uruguay defender Britos headed over the line from close range.

Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes, who conceded the penalty after hauling down Salah, denied Alberto Moreno with a fingertip save.

Joel Matip also hit the bar and Dejan Lovren forced another good save from Gomes as the Reds dominated the closing stages until Watford’s late leveller.

Relive the action from Vicarage Road

New season, same old Liverpool

It was a case of new season but same old Liverpool on the opening day of the campaign.

As good as Liverpool were at going forward, their defensive frailties – which arose time and again last season – came back to haunt them.

Klopp’s side were behind after failing to defend the first corner of the match, unmarked Italian striker Okaka allowed to power home Jose Holebas’ delivery.

In the space of 161 first-half seconds, Liverpool went from outstanding at one end of the pitch to atrocious at the other.

They equalised with a sumptuous finish by Mane, the Senegal forward collecting a lovely flick by Emre Can before scoring from an angle.

It was Liverpool’s first serious attack of the game yet moments later they were trailing again after more awful defending.

The Reds’ defence made a hash of trying to clear Tom Cleverley’s low ball across the box and Doucoure slotted home from five yards – his second goal since joining Watford from Rennes in 2016.

A clumsy foul by Gomes on Salah allowed Firmino to make it 2-2 from the spot before the Brazilian turned provider with a delicious lob which enabled Salah, a £34m signing from Roma, to put his side ahead on his league debut.

It should have been the winner yet Liverpool’s defence failed to deal with another Holebas corner, allowing Britos to score three minutes into added time.

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Source: BBC

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The 22-year-old was part of the England Under-21 side that reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in Poland last month.

Chalobah played 10 times as Chelsea won the Premier League last season.

He spent 2012-13 on loan at Watford, making 42 appearances for the Hornets, and has had five other loan spells, most recently with Napoli.

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Source: BBC

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John Terry returned to the starting line up as he edges closer to departing Stamford Bridge, and he opened the scoring with a close range strike. Watford equalised seconds later after a mistake from Terry, but the Blues entered half-time in the lead with Cesar Azpilicueta scoring.

Soon after the restart Michy Batshuayi – who scored Chelsea’s title winning goal against West Brom – netted a third for the hosts, but Daryl Janmaat and Stefano Okaka struck back to tie the game.

But a late strike from Cesc Fabregas secured Chelsea the win, and ensures they are still on course to win 30 games this season.

The hosts dominated the opening stages to celebratory chants from the stands. Doucoure did well to block a powerful Batshuayi effort, with Willian then curling a free-kick into Gomes’ hands.

On the 20-minute mark, Hazard won a corner after some fine work from Willian. From the resultant set piece, Terry marked his return to the starting line up by opening the scoring.

The corner was not dealt with by the Watford defence, and Terry reacted first to reach the ball and send a sliced finish in off the frame of the goal.

It seemed as if the script was being followed perfectly, but Capoue popped up with an equaliser just moments later to tie the game at 1-1 – and Terry was to blame.

His attempted headed clearance was disastrous, lacking the required distance to reach Begovic in goal. Capoue charged into the area and jumped highest to head the ball into the all-but empty net.

It was a goal out of nothing, but it did not change the momentum of the game.

Chelsea were still dominating, with Gomes first denying Hazard with a brave save at the Belgium forward’s feet, before he then struck a low strike just wide off the near post.

Kenedy saw a near post attempt pushed wide, and the Blues again retook the lead from the resultant corner.

This time the ball was cleared to the edge of the area, and Azpilicueta was there to take a single touch and thunder a wonderful low attempt into the corner of Gomes’ goal.

There was another rare chance for the visitors, with Capoue heading over from close range, but moments later Kenedy broke down the left flank and saw a curling attempt fly wide.

Less than five minutes after the restart, the Blues had put breathing space between them and Watford.

A deflected Kenedy shot was controlled wonderfully by Ake, who had just Gomes to beat, but he unselfishly played the ball across the face of goal for Batshuayi to tap home and make it 3-1.

But again Watford struck back within seconds.

Janmaat latched onto a loose ball in the inside left position and dribbled his way into the area in a style Lionel Messi would have been proud of. One final turn past Ake opened the goal up for the Netherlands defender, and he curled a fine strike past Begovic.

Further chances from Batshuayi and Azpilicueta were wasted – Gomes saving well from the latter – and the Hornets found themselves back on level terms with 15 minutes remaining.

Okaka was brought on to replace Niang, and he beat three Chelsea defenders to Cleverley’s neat cross and powered the ball low into the back of the net.

Amrabat and Behrami smashed long-range shots wide as the Hornets pressed for a fourth goal, but the Blues also had chances – Gomes pushing a Fabregas free-kick over and Terry heading wide.

Fabregas was again denied by Gomes, but with two minutes left the Spain midfielder finally beat Watford’s keeper, planting the ball into the far corner from the edge of the area.

Prodl was dismissed for Watford in injury time, and there just wasn’t enough time for the Hornets to find another equaliser, as Chelsea crowned their title success with a home victory.

–

Source: Talksport

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Gomes could do little as Charlie Adam’s header from Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner hit the base of the post before ricocheting off the Brazilian and rolling into the net.

If there was a touch of fortune about the goal, Stoke were full value for their victory against sluggish opponents who missed out on the chance to climb to sixth in the Premier League table.

Watford had defender Miguel Britos sent off in the closing stages for a second yellow card after Gomes had saved well from Bruno Martins Indi, while Stoke’s club record £18.3m signing Giannelli Imbula also went close from 25 yards.

Petulant Watford

There was controversy at the end as Hornets boss Walter Mazzarri ignored Mark Hughes’ handshake.

Watford were unrecognisable from the side that beat Manchester United earlier in the season and had won three of their previous five games.

They had started the day eighth in the table and could have climbed above both Everton and Manchester United, for a few hours at least, with victory.

Yet the Hornets picked up more yellow cards than shots on target – long range efforts from Daryl Janmaat and Etienne Capoue easily dealt with by Lee Grant.

The loss of Younes Kaboul to injury early in the match did not help Watford’s cause while questions were again raised about their indiscipline.

Britos will miss next Saturday’s game at West Brom after his dismissal while Jose Holebas and midfielder Valon Behrami each face bans after picking up their fifth bookings of the season.

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Source: BBC

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The Greek wing-back struck a superb second-half strike from just outside the area which secured the Hornets all three points in a match lacking in any other moments of quality.

It was an intense start to the game, Deeney failing to get a shot off after fighting through the Boro defence, and Downing firing over for the hosts.

Gaston Ramirez also flashed a strike wide, as Boro started to show their dominance – a Behrami header was a rare chance for the Hornets.

The match died down heading to the 20 minute mark, with a lack of quality at either end of the pitch preventing any real chances; a dismissed Negredo penalty shout the only action of note.

Downing and Gibson struck strikes wide, before Barragan – already booked for a foul on Success – was lucky to avoid a red card after scything down the Nigerian attacker a second time.

It was a clear yellow card, but the referee decided against sending off the Spanish defender just half an hour in.

Negredo – a constant menace to the Watford defence – recorded the first shot on target four minutes before the break, but his weak strike on the turn was right at Gomes in goal.

The half ended with that as the only test either goalkeeper had to face, but both teams had a right to feel aggrieved at the standard of the refereeing.

The second period started in the manner the first ended; both teams were breaking well, but a lack of quality in the final third was seriously bringing down the game.

Forshaw managed a long-range attempt easily saved, Stuani flashed wide from just outside the area, and Success went down in the area – with nothing given.

But in the same move in which the winger went down, the Hornets finally took the lead – with their first shot on target.

The ball was cleared after Success went down, finding its way to Holebas on the left just outside the area.

The Greek wing-back charged forward, before firing off a shot which curled away from Valdes into the top left-hand corner of the net.

It was 1-0 to the visitors, and the goal appeared to calm Mazzarri’s men, who started passing the ball round in a much more composed manner than seen earlier in the game.

Boro were still only recording half-chances, with Gomes never properly tested, and Watford managed the next clear chance, with Success firing a powerful strike held well by Valdes.

A number of hopeful crosses were sent into the Hornets’ penalty area, but Gomes did more than enough to deal with everything he faced, securing a hard-fought win for the Hertfordshire side.

–

Source: Talksport

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The judgment debt may be slapped if a brewing tussle between the Teshie Family Hospital and oil service company AI does not simmer down any time soon.

A.I was last year granted a permit by authorities to construct a two story office and filling station which will see the construction of a banking hall, restaurant, lounge, shops and filling station among others.

The project is expected to service residents of the Ledzokuku- Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) and beyond and create hundreds of jobs for the community.

Documents citied by Citi News reveal LEKMA in October last year gave the oil company the go ahead to construct the facility, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the same month also granted the company a permit to construct the facility.

In December 2013 the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) as well as the Ghana Fire Service in May of the same year also granted the oil company the license to build the facility.

But management of the hospital raised objections to the construction of the facility despite authorities granting permits for its construction.

The hospital’s objection to the construction of the facility was the fear of a potential fire out break or explosion or likely respiratory problems caused by the constant inhalation of fumes from the fuel station by patients and workers in the health facility.

But a site plan cited by Citi News amid other documents reveal the oil service company has altered construction of the facility as well as put in place measures to ensure these concerns are addressed.

The documents also reveal that the EPA before granting the permit imposed conditions on A.I after taking account the hospital’s concerns.

Among the conditions imposed was that the pump and fuel tank be built at a certain distance and at the opposite side of the facility and far away from the hospital, at a certain depth in a manner that will be more secure and less likely to contaminate the environment, in line with international standards for building such facilities in such areas.

A.I was also ordered to inculcate the latest technology Vapor Recovery System (VRS) to ensure fumes emanating from the pumps are absorbed.

The VRS is a technology that absorbs about 98 percent of fumes pumps release.

Citi News has learnt the oil company is the first in the history of the country to introduce the technology.

Citi FM has also gathered that another condition that was imposed on the oil company before the permit was granted is the construction of a high wall to block any likely fumes emanating from the station as well as the building of the shopping centre between the hospital and the fuel tank facility so there is a dividing structure.

Meanwhile an earlier court ruling dismissed the hospital’s application seeking for an injunction to stop the construction of the filling station while the court decides on whether the station should be located there on not.

There are fears that if the process for the construction of the facility is halted by any of the state organizations it will mean the state will have to cough the cost incurred by the oil company in putting up the project which is likely to run into millions of dollars.

A visit to the site show the project is already at its completion state.

By: Vivian Kai Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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