Manchester City moved ahead in the Premier League title race by defeating Arsenal 2-1, while Liverpool strengthened their pursuit of a Champions League place with a win in the Merseyside derby.
Arsenal, who had led the standings for months, were unsettled as their bid to win the English league title for the first time in 22 years faced a setback at the end of a challenging run.
Erling Haaland scored the winner for City in the 65th minute after Rayan Cherki’s opening goal was cancelled out by Kai Havertz, who benefited from a major error by City’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Havertz then had a late chance to level, heading over as City clung to the lead in the closing stages.
The result left City in pole position to go top if they win their midweek match at Burnley, keeping them in contention for a seventh Premier League title in nine seasons.
Guardiola cautioned against reading momentum as a guarantee, saying it can shift suddenly and praising the players for their effort while noting that some performances were below their best as part of the process.
Arsenal’s season has shown moments of promise but has unravelled recently, with the club losing the League Cup final to City and exiting the FA Cup to Southampton, though they remain in the Champions League semi-finals against Atletico Madrid.
Earlier, Virgil van Dijk scored a 100th-minute winner in the Merseyside derby as Liverpool defeated Everton 2-1, with Mohamed Salah opening the scoring and Beto levelling for Everton in the second half.
Liverpool’s victory moved them seven points clear of Chelsea in sixth, reinforcing their clearance for a European qualifying spot, while Aston Villa’s 4-3 win over Sunderland left them level on points with Manchester United in third and three points ahead of Liverpool.
Nottingham Forest came from behind to beat Burnley 4-1, with Morgan Gibbs-White netting a hat-trick, as Tottenham’s relegation concerns deepened; Forest moved five points clear of Spurs, who remained in the bottom three alongside Wolves and Burnley.
West Ham, just above the relegation zone, travel to Crystal Palace on Monday as the results continued to shape the late-season scramble for European places and survival.
0 Comments