Manchester City strengthened their Premier League title challenge with a 2-1 victory over Newcastle, as Nico O’Reilly scored twice to seal the win for City at the Etihad Stadium.
O’Reilly gave City the lead in the first half and then restored their advantage after an equaliser from Lewis Hall.
City extended their unbeaten run to eight matches and moved within two points of the league leaders, who won’t play until Sunday when they meet Tottenham away. City also have a game in hand on Arsenal and will host Arsenal in April, with a 11-match winning run across competitions continuing to bolster their title bid.
Guardiola had downplayed Arsenal’s stumble, but City’s resurgence has kept them firmly in the title race as they chase a seventh league title under his management.
This victory followed a congested week for Newcastle, who had travelled back from a Champions League play-off in Baku and had their schedule rearranged by the league to accommodate the trip. Newcastle had not won at the Etihad in the league in 20 visits prior to this result, including a League Cup semi-final defeat this season.
In other results, Chelsea’s hopes of a top-four finish were dented by a late equaliser from Burnley after Wesley Fofana’s red card, while Aston Villa drew 1-1 with Leeds. Villa’s late goal kept them in the hunt for European qualification amid a busy schedule for English clubs in European competition.
Liverpool and Manchester United were set to play Nottingham Forest and Everton respectively in the coming days, with James Milner breaking the Premier League appearance record in Brighton’s win at Brentford.
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