Arsenal continued to chase Manchester City in the early race between them at the top of the English Premier League standings.
Arsenal achieved a difficult 1-0 victory over its host Nottingham Forest, today, Sunday, in the seventh stage of the competition, in which the team nicknamed “The Gunners” holds the title.
At the City Ground Stadium, the only goal of the match came from a missile fired by substitute Noni Madueke in the 80th minute, demonstrating Arsenal’s control over the course of events, especially in the second half.
With that result, Arsenal's score, which achieved its sixth victory in the tournament during the current season, against one loss, rose to 18 points in second place, three points behind Manchester City, which sits at the top, and two points ahead of the surprise season, Brighton, who previously temporarily clinched second place by beating Crystal Palace by five.
On the other hand, Nottingham, which suffered its fourth loss in the tournament this season, against one win and two draws, stopped at 5 points in eighteenth place (third from the bottom), continuing its disappointing start in the competition during the current season.
This victory comes to give Arsenal a morale boost before its upcoming meeting with its German host, Bayern Munich, next Wednesday, in the third round of the league stage of the Champions League.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, the Spanish Premier League champion, suffered a double blow a crucial week ago, after the club confirmed via social media on Sunday that two defenders, Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia, had been injured.
The Catalan team will host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, before hosting Real Madrid in a fiery summit next Sunday.
Garcia will miss the field for a period of between 3 and 4 weeks due to a thigh injury, while Kounde will miss the match with Paris Saint-Germain, due to a sprained ankle, but he may return against Real Madrid.
Gerard Martin also came off at halftime during the 5-2 win over Real Betis on Saturday, but did not appear in the medical report issued by the club on Sunday.
In light of the absence of Danish Andreas Christensen due to injury, only Martin and Pau Kubarsi remain natural options in the center of defence, before the match with Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern Leverkusen star Patrik Schick expressed his happiness at continuing to score with the team in the German Football League (Bundesliga), achieving a new record with his club, but at the same time he indicated that what matters most to him is achieving victories.
Cech continued his hobby of scoring, after scoring in all of Leverkusen's first six matches in the "Bundesliga", after scoring a goal during Leverkusen's 2-1 victory over its guest, Freiburg, on Sunday, in the sixth stage of the competition.
Cech scored Leverkusen's second goal from a cross sent by his teammate Ibrahim Maza in the 76th minute, after the two players cooperated together to score the equalizer. The Czech star passed the ball to his Algerian colleague, who put it into the net, just 5 minutes after Freiburg opened the scoring through Derry Sherhant in the 14th minute.
In statements to the broadcast platform “DAZN”, Shik said: “Of course I am happy (attaining the club record), but the most important thing was achieving the victory, and this is what makes me truly happy.”
The Czech player added: “You can see the improvement in our performance. We no longer commit many easy mistakes, as before.”
For his part, Algerian international Ibrahim Maza, who was chosen as the best player in the match, indicated that there was “good harmony” between him and Shek, adding: “It was a very enjoyable confrontation against a strong opponent, and we showed in it what we are capable of offering.”
For his part, Freiburg player Niklas Besti said: “It is very painful, as the goals we conceded were very easy. “We controlled well in the first half, but something was missing in the second half.”
However, Besti stressed that “this defeat will not hinder our journey in the (Bundesliga) during the current season.”
With this result, Leverkusen's tally - which achieved its third successive victory in the competition and its fourth throughout the season in the tournament, against one draw and one loss - rose to 13 points in fourth place.
Leverkusen is trailing Freiburg, third on goal difference, which has the same balance of points, after suffering its first loss in the tournament during the current season, compared to 4 wins and one draw, noting that the two teams are only one point behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the first and second places respectively.
