MANCHESTER: Manchester City regained their one-point lead in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion as Arsenal pushed their pressure into the top four after a 4-2 draw over London rival Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Wednesday.
Liverpool climbed to the top of the table, scoring Manchester United 4-0 at Anfield on Tuesday, meaning City couldn’t pay for a demolition at home for Graham Potter’s team.
The cities weren’t too sparkly, but they limited their nerves to advance one point in the title fight, with 77 of 32 matches, second-half goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Bernard Silva.
“We stand for one of the best teams of all time,” said City Chief Pep Guardiola, facing Liverpool. “If we lose points, they become champions, if we win all our matches, we become champions.”
Pepa Guardioly had a fantastic opportunity to put Brighton up another goal 45 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. Kevin De Bruyne exploded from his own half, defeating the three challengers before finding the transformed Mahrez on the second attempt.
This introduction brought City’s nerves as the home team scored 12 minutes later, when Foden’s shot from a well-crafted corner helped Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez cross the run.
Silva then sealed the points with a nice ending from the exclusion of De Bruyn.
Arsenal’s two-goal win with Eddie Nketiah was a huge boost in their quest to qualify for the Champions League by placing in the top four.
The win moved Gunners’ level to 57 points with Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place, as both teams have played 32 games and the Spurs are scheduled for May 12. “It was a great night and the players deserve it,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
Scoring a goal has been a problem for Arteta since Pierre-Emerick left Aubameyang, but Nketiah took his chance at a remarkable start and scored his first Premier League goals in a year.
England’s 21-year-old scorer jumped on a weak return from Andreas Christensen and opened the front for Edouard Mendy in the 13th minute.
Chelsea needed only four minutes to level up when Tim Werner’s shot hit caught Aaron Ramsdale sleeping at his nearby pole.
Emile Smith Rowe put Gunners back in the lead with a great finish at the end of Arsenal’s famous move, which began with Granite Xhaka dribbling his own box in 27th place.
However, Arsenal repeated itself when Cesar Azpilicueta rode on the cross to Mason Mount. For the first time since the club banned them from selling tickets that had not been purchased before the British government fined owner Roman Abramovich, public attendance at Stamford Bridge was reduced.
However, Arsenal managed to sell out the entire allocation immediately and the visiting fans were delighted when Nketiah took advantage of Chelsea’s weaker defense Malang Sarra and stepped on his side for the third time.
Bukayo Saka sealed the victory with a penalty for an interruption after being knocked down by Azpilicueta.
Chelsea remains in third place with 62 points played in several games against Spurs and Arsenal.
At the bottom of the table, Everton needed a balancing time from Richarlison to scoop a point at home against Leicester City and move four points ahead of the relegation zone. Harvey Barnes took the lead in the fifth minute, taking a pass from James Maddison in the immediate vicinity, while Everton had a hard time finding and the home team did not record a shot in the first half.
Richarlison made a fantastic save from Kasper Schmeichel’s shot from the left 67 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal.
Everton has four points ahead of Burnley in 18th place, with both teams remaining seven matches.
Newcastle also feared a relegation at the beginning of the year, but Eddie Howe’s Magpies was 11 after their sixth home win in a row.
Miguel Almiron scored the only goal James’ Park – his first for the club in more than a year – ended an unsatisfactory week for Crystal Palace after drawing the FA Cup semifinals in Chelsea.
