AFP
London: Wigan Athletic became the first team to be relegated from England's top flight in the same season as winning the FA Cup after they lost 4-1 at Arsenal, with Lukas Podolski scoring twice, in the Premier League on Tuesday.
The victory keeps Arsenal in pole position to claim fourth spot and a place in next year's Champions League. They lead north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, in fifth spot, by one point with the last round of games to be played on Sunday.
Wigan have narrowly escaped relegation several times in recent seasons but their luck ran out at a rain-sodden Emirates Stadium just three days after they had beaten Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley to win the FA Cup for the first time.
"I never expected this to happen, this group of players don't deserve this," said Wigan manager Roberto Martinez. "Winning the FA Cup was incredible but this is a tough, tough day for the club."
In Tuesday's other game, Manchester City, who sacked manager Roberto Mancini on Monday, won 2-0 at relegated Reading with forwards Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko scoring late in each half.
City, last season's champions, are now guaranteed second place after Brian Kidd took caretaker charge of the team following the departure of Mancini and his number two, David Platt, who left the club earlier on Tuesday.
At the Emirates, Arsenal dominated the first 20 minutes and took the lead in the 11th when Lukas Podolski headed home from six metres after the Wigan defence failed to deal with a corner.
The visitors came back into the game and referee Mike Dean penalised a tackle by midfielder Mikel Arteta on Wigan's Shaun Maloney just outside the Arsenal area shortly before halftime.
Maloney's free kick arced over the wall and just inside Wojciech Szczesny's left-hand post after which Dean was booed off the pitch by the home fans at the break
No comments:
Post a Comment