Premier League
Manchester City cut Arsenal’s lead to two points
Manchester City kept the Premier League title race bubbling with a 3-0 win over Brentford on Saturday, thanks to second-half goals by Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush as they cut the gap with leaders Arsenal to two points with three games left.
City have 74 points from 35 games, but their draw at Everton on Monday means they need Arsenal — who visit relegation-threatened West Ham United on Sunday — to squander points in one of their remaining games to have a chance at the title.
“If you play for Manchester City, you think of titles every single day,” Haaland said of his team’s title hopes.
City dominated much of the game at The Etihad, but Brentford held strong before Doku, City’s best player on the night, produced a moment of brilliance on the hour, cutting inside from the left and curling a right-foot shot into the top corner.
Haaland gave City a two-goal cushion when he bundled the ball into the net after 75 minutes.
In what was far from the prettiest of goals, Antoine Semenyo cut the ball back for Haaland, whose shot was blocked. The big Norwegian was, though, able to back-heel the ball into the net past Caoimhin Kelleher for his 26th league goal of the season.
Marmoush struck deep in injury time when he latched onto a pass from Haaland, took a touch and then struck the ball across the keeper and into the far corner to wrap up the win.
City remain unbeaten in the league since January in a relentless run that has turned the final weeks of the season into a breathless title chase.
“We’ll see. (The title race) is not in our hands,” Guardiola said. “We will do our job. We didn’t do perfectly at Everton. It was tough. On Wednesday, we host Crystal Palace, another team set to play a European final. We just do our job and wait.”
Palace face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final later this month before City’s title rivals Arsenal take on Paris St Germain in the Champions League final.
BRENTFORD’S EUROPEAN HOPES DENTED
Brentford’s loss was a blow to their hopes of a place in Europe next term. They sit eighth, four points off the top six.
“We were playing against a team fighting for the title. You could see that from their urgency,” Brentford boss Keith Andrews said. “I liked a lot of what we did today. I liked the bravery and courage of our approach.”
City had 25 shots to Brentford’s four and 10 shots on target to the visitors’ two.
Phil Foden had a couple of City’s best chances, including one that forced a magnificent save from Kelleher, who managed to just flick his shot over the bar.
Brentford appealed twice for red cards to no avail.
Tempers flared in the first half when City captain Bernardo Silva and Nathan Collins battled for the ball, and Silva punched Collins in the back of the leg as he fell.
Then Kevin Schade went down in the box late on under pressure from Matheus Nunes, but after a VAR check, it was decided there was not enough contact for a penalty.
“I will be the first to tell what a difficult job they have to do on a day-to-day basis,” Andrews said.
“It’s difficult with all the contentious issues and at times the playacting. I thought the Kevin Schade incident was a penalty. So that was really disappointing.”
-Reuters
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Manchester City sent out a defiant message to Premier League title favourites Arsenal as Pep Guardiola’s side scored three second-half goals to beat visiting Brentford 3-0 on Saturday.
Anything other than a win would have left City’s hopes of reclaiming the crown hanging by a slender thread, and it looked unlikely in a subdued first half.
But a superb strike into the top corner by Jeremy Doku and further goals by Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush earned City the win that cut Arsenal’s lead to two points.
Liverpool failed to wrap up Champions League qualification as they drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea, while Bournemouth moved into sixth place with a 1-0 win at Fulham in which both sides ended with 10 men.
Brighton & Hove Albion also boosted their hopes of qualifying for Europe with a 3-0 win over bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Manchester United, who are already assured of a top-five finish, drew 0-0 at Sunderland.
HAMMER BLOW
City’s chaotic 3-3 draw at Everton in midweek was a hammer blow to Pep Guardiola’s side and left Arsenal in prime position to win the title for the first time since 2004.
It left City five points adrift with a game in hand, but on Saturday, they showed they are not ready to throw in the towel.
Liverpool failed to wrap up Champions League qualification as they drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea, while Bournemouth moved into sixth place with a 1-0 win at Fulham in which both sides ended with 10 men.
Brighton & Hove Albion also boosted their hopes of qualifying for Europe with a 3-0 win over bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Manchester United, who are already assured of a top-five finish, drew 0-0 at Sunderland.
HAMMER BLOW
City’s chaotic 3-3 draw at Everton in midweek was a hammer blow to Pep Guardiola’s side and left Arsenal in prime position to win the title for the first time since 2004.
It left City five points adrift with a game in hand, but on Saturday they showed they are not ready to throw in the towel.
They now have 74 points behind Arsenal on 76 after 35 games but the Gunners have a goal difference advantage of one. Arsenal face a tricky derby at relegation-threatened West Ham United on Sunday.
Win that, and with a home game against relegated Burnley next, Arsenal would be breathing easier, but any slip at the London Stadium would leave the door ajar for City.
City’s next game is at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
“We knew we had to win after the draw (at Everton),” Belgian Doku, who scored a last-gasp equaliser at Everton, said. “When you arrive at this point you always find some energy to push through and we will continue in the next games.”
Brentford were proving a tough nut to crack until Doku cut in from the right in the 60th minute and curled an unstoppable right-foot shot high into the far corner.
They now have 74 points behind Arsenal on 76 after 35 games but the Gunners have a goal difference advantage of one. Arsenal face a tricky derby at relegation-threatened West Ham United on Sunday.
Win that, and with a home game against relegated Burnley next, Arsenal would be breathing easier, but any slip at the London Stadium would leave the door ajar for City.
City’s next game is at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
“We knew we had to win after the draw (at Everton),” Belgian Doku, who scored a last-gasp equaliser at Everton, said. “When you arrive at this point you always find some energy to push through and we will continue in the next games.”
Brentford were proving a tough nut to crack until Doku cut in from the right in the 60th minute and curled an unstoppable right-foot shot high into the far corner.
Haaland then bundled his way through to a 26th league goal of the season and Marmoush slotted a silky third late on.
CHELSEA END LOSING RUN
Enzo Fernandez’s free kick secured a point for Chelsea to end their six-game losing run in the Premier League and earn caretaker manager Calum MacFarlane a first point in charge.
Liverpool had taken an early lead with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box by Ryan Gravenberch.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool remain fourth in the table with 59 points from 36 games although they could drop to fifth if Aston Villa, who have 58 points, win at Burnley on Sunday.
Liverpool’s fans vented their frustration at Anfield with derision greeting Slot’s decision to substitute teenager Rio Ngumoha while there were boos at the final whistle.
“There were a lot that didn’t agree with the change, which is completely understandable,” Slot said. “He was having problems with his muscles and, when I asked him, he said he was not sure he could continue.
“I knew this would be the reaction because he is such a good player. So often in football people don’t know everything. I am the manager and I need to make decisions.”
With sixth place potentially coming with a Champions League berth, should Villa win the Europa League final and finish fifth in the table, Bournemouth are still in the hunt for a dream debut in Europe’s elite club competition.
RAYAN STRIKES FOR BOURNEMOUTH
Brazilian teenager Rayan struck home a low shot early in the second half for Bournemouth after being teed up by Adam Smith.
Bournemouth were reduced to 10 men when Ryan Christie’s yellow card for a lunging tackle on Timothy Castagne in the 39th minute was upgraded to a red following a VAR check.
However, he was soon followed by Fulham’s Joachim Andersen for a foul on Adrien Truffert, also after a VAR check.
Brighton struck twice in the opening five minutes against Wolves with Jack Hinshelwood heading the club’s fastest-ever Premier League goal after 35 seconds.
Captain Lewis Dunk made it 2-0 with another header. Relegated Wolves improved after the break but Yankuba Minteh struck a third goal for Brighton late on.
Manchester United were fortunate to emerge with a point at Sunderland as their goalkeeper Senne Lammens made several fine saves to keep the hosts at bay at The Stadium of Light.
United did not have a single effort on target until Matheus Cunha’s stoppage-time effort was saved by Robin Roefs.
“Today is a positive result in terms of the point,” United’s caretaker coach Michael Carrick, whose side have 65 points from 36 games, said. “Was it going to be a perfect game? We weren’t expecting a perfect game. It is what it is.”
-Reuters
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Enzo Fernandez’s free kick secured Chelsea a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, ending the visitors’ six-game losing run in the Premier League and earning caretaker manager Calum MacFarlane a first charge point.
Liverpool remained fourth in the table with 59 points from 36 games, a step closer to Champions League qualification, while Chelsea are in ninth with 49 points from the same number of matches.
Liverpool took the lead with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box by Ryan Gravenberch, but Chelsea improved on their recent limp performances and equalised when Fernandez’s set-piece eluded everyone and nestled in the bottom corner.
Both sides had efforts correctly ruled out for offside, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk struck the woodwork for Liverpool as they pressed for a late winner.
“I think the effort today was really good,” Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella told TNT Sports. “I don’t think it was probably our best moments, but we showed if we play together and if we play together then we have a good level.
“Hopefully, we can win a bit of confidence from this game because next week we have a massive game (against Manchester City in the FA Cup final).
“We aren’t happy because we wanted the three points, but we are happy that we showed we’re a really good team if we put in the effort and fight together. Hopefully, we can learn from this game and play well in these last few games.”
BOOS FOR SLOT
There were boos in the air at full-time from the Anfield faithful, as well as midway through the second half when manager Arne Slot took off lively 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, replacing him with Alexander Isak.
Liverpool took the lead in six minutes thanks to a fantastic strike from Gravenberch, who cut inside from the left and curled his shot into the net.
Chelsea took control and equalised in 35 minutes. Fernandez swung in a low free kick from the right, and the ball ended up in the far corner of the net. Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was seemingly put off by a fresh air shot from Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana as the latter went for the ball.
The home side looked vulnerable at the back, and Chelsea thought they were ahead early in the second period when Cole Palmer’s strike was ruled out with Marc Cucurella offside in the build-up.
It was Liverpool’s turn to be disappointed by the offside flag after Cody Gakpo erred as he set up Curtis Jones for a headed goal that was disallowed.
Szoboszlai struck the base of the post with a low shot and Van Dijk the crossbar with a header from a corner, as neither side could find a winner.
-Reuters
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Manchester United endured a frustrating afternoon in the Premier League on Saturday as an under-strength side were held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Fresh from sealing qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League following last weekend’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Liverpool, United appeared to lack their usual sharpness and were fortunate not to leave Wearside empty-handed after Sunderland created the better opportunities throughout the contest.
The hosts began brightly and nearly broke the deadlock in the seventh minute when Noah Sadiki burst through on goal, only for United goalkeeper Senne Lammens to produce a smart low save.
Lammens was called into action again four minutes later, rushing off his line to deny Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey after the forward dribbled dangerously into the penalty area.
United struggled to create clear openings in difficult wet conditions, and after five changes to the side that defeated Liverpool. Their best chance of the opening half arrived in the 29th minute when Matheus Cunha floated a cross into the box for Joshua Zirkzee, whose header drifted narrowly over the bar.
Sunderland, however, remained the more threatening side. Brobbey dragged a shot just wide in the 32nd minute before Sadiki forced another defensive intervention moments later with a powerful strike that was blocked for a corner.
Sadiki then missed a close-range header in first-half stoppage time as the home side continued to dominate proceedings without finding the breakthrough.
United showed greater urgency after the interval, although clear-cut opportunities remained scarce. Cunha attempted an ambitious long-range effort in the 50th minute, but his shot sailed high over the crossbar.
Three minutes later, Amad Diallo engineered United’s best attacking move of the game when he advanced into the Sunderland area, but his attempted pass to a teammate was intercepted by the home defence.
Despite United enjoying more possession as the second half progressed, Sunderland continued to threaten on the counterattack. Lammens produced another important save in the 62nd minute to deny Brobbey, who came close to finally rewarding the hosts for their attacking intent.
Sunderland were inches away from snatching victory in the 71st minute when Lutsharel Geertruida unleashed a fierce strike from the edge of the area that crashed against the left post, allowing United to escape once more.
Neither side could find a late winner, leaving interim United manager Michael Carrick visibly frustrated at the final whistle despite securing a point away from home.
While United’s Champions League place is already secured, the performance exposed areas that may require improvement ahead of next season.
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