Gabriel Jesus fired a sensational second-half hat-trick as Arsenal staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Crystal Palace 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium on a rainy London evening. The victory sends the Gunners into the English League Cup semi-finals.
Crystal Palace struck early, shocking the home crowd in the fourth minute. Jean-Philippe Mateta muscled past Yakub Kiwior to latch onto a long ball, calmly side-footing past goalkeeper David Raya to give the Eagles an unexpected lead.
After a challenging first half, Arsenal found their rhythm in the second half. In the 54th minute, captain Martin Odegaard threaded a perfect through ball to Gabriel Jesus, who deftly chipped it over Palace’s keeper Dean Henderson to level the score.
Jesus doubled his tally in the 73rd minute when Bukayo Saka slid a precise pass into his path, allowing the Brazilian to hammer the ball into the net. Eight minutes later, Jesus completed his hat-trick, racing onto another assist from Odegaard and slotting it past Henderson once more.
Former Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah gave Crystal Palace hope with a late header past Raya, but the Gunners held on for a 3-2 victory. The win left Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praising Jesus’s performance.
“I’m so pleased for him,” Arteta said. “It’s been a long period for him without goals, and today he scored three fantastic goals. He looked really sharp. It’s great for him and great for the team that we can rely on a player of such quality.”
Reference(s):
Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 3-2 to reach English League Cup semis
cgtn.com
