In the early morning of December 18, Beijing time, the 17th round of the English Premier League ended with a number of games, Liverpool drew 0-0 with Manchester United at home, Arsenal defeated Brighton 2-0 at home, and Aston Villa reversed Brentford 2-1 away, staging a crazy night.
Liverpool vs Manchester United
It was a high-profile double red tie, with Liverpool currently leading the table and Manchester United sitting in sixth place, after suffering a 7-0 defeat at Anfield last season and a desperate revenge this time.
In the first half, Liverpool were scoreless, with 68% possession, 15 shots on target, 3 on target, and 9 corners, failing to find the back of the net for Manchester United, with Salah, Nunez and Van Dijk hitting multiple shots in vain. In the second half, Manchester United and Liverpool each missed good chances to score, and finally ended up with a 0-0 draw.
The draw ended Liverpool's 13-game winning streak at home this season, and Manchester United were unable to walk away from Anfield for nine consecutive games.
Arsenal v Brighton
After losing to Villa in the previous round, Arsenal dropped the top spot and are back at home to a strong Brighton side in this round, with boss Mikel Arteta not wanting back-to-back defeats.
Neither team found the net in the first half. In the 53rd minute of the second half, Van Heik's header was headed back and Gabriel Jesus scored an empty goal to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead. In the 87th minute, Nketiah assisted Kai Havertz to score a solo goal. In the final score, Arsenal 2-0 Brighton, ending a three-game losing streak against Brighton at home, while 11 wins and 2 draws in 13 consecutive home games in all competitions, remaining unbeaten.
Aston Villa v Brentford
In the past two rounds, Villa has won Manchester City and Arsenal in a row, jumping to third place in the standings, and at the same time only two points away from the top of the table, seeing the hope of winning the championship.
In first-half stoppage time, Lewis Potter opened the scoring for Brentford, but Benjamin Rice was shown a red card in the second half. Villado's one-man advantage was followed by Alex Moreno's header to equalise and then Watkins' header to complete the comeback, before Kamara was shown a red card in a massive clash in the closing stages of the game. In the end, Villa came back from behind to beat Brentford 2-1.
According to statistics, under Unai Emery's leadership, Aston Villa has 81 points in 2023, second only to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.
In the latest standings, Arsenal has 39 points to reach the top position, Liverpool has 38 points and has fallen to second, Villa also has 38 points, and continues to rank third due to goal difference, and defending champion Manchester City is still fourth with 34 points, but the difference between the top points is pulled to 5 points. In addition, Manchester United are seventh with 28 points.