- Sanchez scores free kick
- Coleman levels by half
- Williams heads Barkley corner home
- Jagielka sent off late
Ashley Williams’ 86th minute header completed an Everton comeback, as the Toffees bested Arsenal 2-1 on Tuesday at Goodison Park.
Seamus Coleman also scored for Everton, who moved 7th with 23 points. Arsenal remains in second with 34 points, and received its goal via Alexis Sanchez.
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The first half was pretty one-sided, though the visitors needed a bit of luck to open the scoring. Alexis Sanchez’s free kick went through Ashley Williams‘ legs — why were his leg spread so wide?!? — catching one to redirect past Maarten Stekelenberg and give the Gunners are a deserved 1-0 lead.
But Seamus Coleman nodded a Leighton Baines cross behind Petr Cech to level it up just before the break. Baines sent a terrific right-footed (!!!) cross in between Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal, and Coleman rose to score it.
The fierce play carried over into the tunnel, as several players had to be divided at the break.
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48 – Leighton Baines has provided his 48th Premier League assist; four more than any other defender. Delivery.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 13, 2016
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Francis Coquelin tripped Baines dribbling through the heart of the Arsenal defense, setting the defender up for a free kick from just outside the arc. Ross Barkley cranked a shot off leaping wall member Gabriel Paulista.
The second half had an almost breakneck pace at times, and Romelu Lukaku brought danger when he drove around the left end only to hit his shot off the outside of the goal.
Olivier Giroud and Alex Iwobi entered for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, but the match looked largely the same.
Everton, in turn, gave a debut to teenager Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who came on for Enner Valencia with 11 minutes to play.
Cech made a fine save off Phil Jagielka corner, but it earned another and that’s when Williams struck. The ex-Swans man made amends for the early deflection, and the Gunners were down.
