THERE was a sense of devastation after Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa at Villa Park, leaving the Gunners’ players stretched out on the turf in disbelief. It was their first defeat since August in the Premier League but they are still three points ahead of Manchester City, who are emerging as the most likely title contenders to Mikel Arteta’s team. Villa snatched victory with a 95th minute goal from Emi Buendia after Leandro Trossard had equalised in the 52nd minute for Arsenal. Matty Cash had opened the scoring nine minutes before the interval. City were 3-0 winners against Sunderland at the Etihad and just for a change, Erling Haaland did not score for the home side. Sunderland had a man sent off at the end of the game. Chelsea continue to lose ground with a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth, a game which saw Cole Palmer start for the first time since September. Chelsea’s Liam Delap was injured again. Liverpool’s troubled season continues with Arne Slot’s side drawing 3-3 at Leeds. Hugo Ekitike scored twice but the big talking point was Mohammed Salah’s public outburst about being dropped from the team, claiming he had been “thrown under a bus” by Liverpool. It is starting to sound like somebody wants a January move, maybe to Saudi Arabia? Manchester United added to Wolves’ miserable campaign, winning 4-1 at Molineux and consigning the home team to their eighth successive defeat. Before the game, Wolves’ fans staged a protest about the club’s owners, the Chinese company Fosun.
**Scotland: Hearts rise to the occasion**
PEOPLE have started to write Heart of Midlothian off after their substantial lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership was eroded in recent weeks. However, they responded to the critics with a 2-1 win at Celtic to extend their lead at the top to three points. Hearts had dropped points in their previous four games, but they put on an excellent performance at Celtic Park. Cláudio Braga put them ahead in the 38th minute from close range and then a superb header from Oisin McEntee, a free transfer from Walsall, gave them a two-goal lead. Celtic pulled a goal back in added time through Kieran Tierney with the home fans rapidly deserting the stadium. Elsewhere, Rangers won 3-0 at Kilmarnock, while Hibernian beat Falkirk by the same scoreline. Aberdeen won 3-1 against Dundee.
**La Liga: Alonso under pressure**
REAL Madrid were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at home by Celta Vigo, a result that has placed coach Xabi Alonso’s future in some doubt. Pressure has been building for the past few weeks and at the end of a disappointing game, the locals jeered his team off the pitch. Real have won just one of their last five games and they find themselves four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona. Real are over-reliant on Kylian Mbappé, who has scored 16 of their 32 league goals and 25 of their 44 in all competitions. Barcelona won 5-3 at Real Betis with Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick in 29 minutes. Roony Bardghji, Barca’s 20-year-old Swedish winger,scored his first goal for the club. Atlético Madrid were beaten 1-0 in Bilbao with Alex Berenguer scoring the winner after 85 minutes. Villareal remain in third place after beating beat Getafe 2-0.
**Bundesliga: Harry the super sub**
IS THERE any stopping Harry Kane? The England skipper scored another hat-trick for Bayern Munich after coming on as a 60th minute substitute. Kane’s three goals came in a 22-minute spell as Bayern won 5-0 in Stuttgart. He has now scored 17 goals in the Bundesliga this season. Bayern are eight points clear at the top of the table and have dropped just two points. Leipzig, in second place, won 6-0 against a hapless Eintracht Frankfurt side. Yan Diomande, Leipzig’s 19-year-old winger, scored a hat-trick in a spectacular 18-minutes. Diomande has been compared to Erling Haaland which has brought him to the attention of clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City. Dortmund won 2-0 against Hoffenheim while an own goal was enough to give Borussia Mönchengladbach a 1-0 win at Mainz. Hamburg won the _Nordderby_ with Werder Bremen 3-2, the decisive goal scored by veteran Danish forward Yussuf Poulsen.
**Portugal: Derby de Lisboa helps Porto**
PORTO’s position at the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga was strengthened by the _Derby de Lisboa_ ending in a 1-1 draw. While the capital’s big guns were fighting out a stalemate, Porto won 2-0 at Tondela to extend their lead at the top to five points. Benfica fell behind at the Estádio da Luz when Pedro Gonçalves scored after 12 minutes, but by half-time, Ukrainian forward Heorhiy Sudakov had levelled the scores. The hard-fought derby ended with Benfica losing Gianluca Prestianni to a red card in added time. Porto found Tondela a tough nut to crack but two goals in a minute at the start of the second half from Samu Aghehowa and William Gomes were enough to win the points.
**Eredivisie: Ueda’s the man**
FEYENOORD may be six points off top spot behind PSV Eindhoven, but their Japanese forward, Ayase Ueda hit the headlines with four goals in 44 minutes as the Rotterdam-based club thrashed Zwolle 6-1 at De Kuip. Ueda has scored 18 league goals this season. PSV, meanwhile, won 2-0 at Heerenveen to maintain their grip on the Eredivisie leadership. Ajax had to rely on two own goals as they beat Fortuna Sittard 3-1.
**And elsewhere…**
* Napoli beat Juventus 2-1 with two goals from Rasmus Højlund, while Inter beat Como 4-0 and AC Milan were 3-2 winners at Torino
* Lens are still top in France with a 2-1 win at Nantes. Lille beat Marseille 1-0 while Paris Saint-Germain hit five past Rennes.
**Attendances**
1. Borussia Dortmund v Hoffenheim: 81,365
2. Inter Milan v Como: 75,022
3. Real Madrid v Celta Vigo: 74,511
4. Benfica v Sporting: 65,247
5. Real Betis v Barcelona: 64,562
6. Tottenham v Brentford: 60,759.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)