第63章 廢章5

第63章 廢章5

At 17:30 local time on the 23rd, the second round of the 2008/09 English Premier League season was contested at Craven Villa.

The line-ups for both sides are as follows:

Fulham lineup (4-4-2): 1-Schwarzer; 18 - Aron. Hughes, 33 - Cario, 4 - Panterhill, 5 - Hangrande; 25-Simon. Davis, 21-Bullard, 13-Murphy, 11-Gera; 7 - Xue Qixuan, 9 - Zamora

Arsenal line-up (4-4-2): 1-Almunia; 3 - Sarnia, 5 - Toure, 10 - Gallas, 22 - Krish; 8 - Li Siqi, 8 - Nasri, 15 - Denilson, 14 - Walcott; 25 - Adebayo, 11 - Van Persie

The two sides have met 14 games in the history of the Premier League, Arsenal has 12 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat, including 6 wins and 1 defeat away, and the only defeat was November 06, which is also the only defeat in Arsenal's 42 years away at Fulham. The two sides have played 43 games in history, with Arsenal winning 31, drawing 6 and losing 6. Van Persie and Toure rotate into the starting line-up. Andy Johnson, who was transferred by Fulham's £10.5 million transfer, was sidelined with a thigh injury and South Korean winger Sit Ki-hyun continued to start.

Arsenal tried to control the game from the start, but Fulham took advantage of the home side. In the 8th minute, Gera crossed straight and Zamora shot from a small angle on the left flank went high. Arsenal's first shot came in the 12th minute when Robin van Persie passed the ball and Adebayo's powerful shot from the edge of the arc of the penalty area deflected. Fulham were also coloured two minutes later when former Liverpool midfielder Murphy volleyed high from 20 yards.

Arsenal missed a chance in the 20th minute when Sarnia crossed straight and Walcott crossed from the right, Nasri returned from the distance and Robin van Persie's left-footed shot from 10 yards deflected off the left upright. Fulham took the lead in the 21st minute when Brad drove a corner kick from the left and unguarded Norwegian defender Han Grande headed in front of Gallas and volleyed into the net.

Arsenal narrowly equalised two minutes later when Sarnia crossed from the right, but Adebayo's header hit the right upright.

Behind Arsenal continued to press, and Robin van Persie's header from Aaron Hughes came close to scoring. But the gunners also lacked sportsmanship. In the 34th minute, Xue Qixuan was injured and treated and Fulham kicked the ball out, but Arsenal failed to return it as usual. In the 36th minute, Adebayo passed the ball and Walcott shot high from distance. In the 44th minute, Cario was fouled at the back and Van Persie's direct free-kick from 25 yards was still high on goal.