Barca reclaim top spot with 2-0 win

Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres came off the bench to rescue a 2-0 win for Barcelona at Las Palmas on Saturday that sent them back to the top of the LaLiga table after a game that is unlikely to live long in the memory. Barcelona now lead on 54 points, level with Real Madrid and one ahead of Atletico Madrid.

Both sides were largely toothless in attack in a slow-paced match and struggled to produce good goal-scoring opportunities, before Barca finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute with a shot from inside the box by Olmo.

Torres added the second goal at the death, taking advantage of a mistake by the home side’s defence to fire a strike from close range five minutes into added time.

“There is no pressure, we are still in the driver’s seat and it’s up to us to keep it that way,” Olmo said. “I’m very happy to help our team take three points that were very important in the title race against a Las Palmas side that defend very well. They block passing lanes inside and we have to be a bit more patient to find our way to the goal. In the second half we had more chances and in the end we took this valuable win.”

Arsenal lose to West Ham

London: Arsenal’s failure to sign a prolific striker might have cost the team the chance to win the Premier League title. Frequently collecting red cards hasn’t helped, either. Second-placed Arsenal were unexpectedly beaten 1-0 at home by West Ham to dent their title challenge, just when it seemed Liverpool were starting to look vulnerable.

The result left Liverpool with an eight-point lead.

Jarrod Bowen’s 44th-minute header secured a win for West Ham, who arrived at Emirates Stadium with just one victory in their last eight games. There was worse to come for Arsenal, with left back Myles Lewis-Skelly handed a red card in the 73rd following a video review for his foul on Mohammed Kudus as the last man.

It was Arsenal’s fifth red card of the campaign — two more than any other team — and their disciplinary record under Arteta is understandably coming under scrutiny.