Manchester City secured a landslide victory in the Premier League title race with an epic 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium, moving to within three points of long-time leaders Arsenal and holding the game advantage to close the gap.
City, who have been top of the table for just six days all season, will have the chance to overtake Arsenal by defeating penultimate Burnley on Wednesday. The rest of the season will be decided by a series of tense five-game matches, with Mikel Arteta’s side having to balance the demands of Europe at the same time.
The outcome of this fascinating two-way conflict, which mirrors the events in Manchester, remains on an interesting knife edge.
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Rayan Cherki gives Man City the lead.
Arsenal were definitely looking to prove the critics wrong. The last three domestic games – against Man City in the EFL Cup final, against Southampton in the FA Cup and against Bournemouth in the Premier League – all ended in disaster.
Arteta made a mistake against City at Wembley last month. However, his selection at the Etihad feels more balanced, making him the strongest blend available to Arsenal without Bukayo Saka. And they pressed high like they knew that to be the case, risking being played over in favor of spoils if the ball was turned over.
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Kai Havertz capitalizes on Gianluigi Donnarumma’s mistake to equalize for Arsenal.
Rayan Cherki’s opening goal, despite Arsenal’s aggressive start, saw the Frenchman dance past Gabriel as if he had never been there, and the ball stuck to his leg like Velcro and crashed into the far corner of David Raya’s goal. Magician at work.
But 108 seconds later, the visitors deservedly tied the score. Kai Havertz made good use of the threat by running down Gianluigi Donnarumma from the first whistle and then lunging at the Man City goalkeeper, forcing him into a perfect mistake. It was a standout finish in the first half. The second 45 poetically expressed it.
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Erling Haaland gives Manchester City their second lead.
The match started with Haaland hitting the post in one end, Havertz being denied one-on-one with Donnarumma, and Eberechi Eze also cracking the crate. The visitors were on top and looked creatively likely to unearth a valuable winner.
But Haaland, who “remains humble,” had other ideas. He scored the winning goal midway through the second period, stopping a destructive move that had started from Donnarumma and ending with the No.9 passing Raya after a driving run from the excellent Nico O’Reilly.
Gabriel and Arsenal were once again outmaneuvered. The Gunners defender could be red before the afternoon is over after confronting Haaland with an ill-advised head gesture – an outpouring of emotion that will reveal the title tilt. And winning the league championship for the first time in 22 years seems a long way off.
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Erling Haaland and Gabriel Magalhães go head-to-head in Manchester City’s Premier League match against Arsenal, but should Gabriel have seen red?
Man City’s remaining Premier League games:
Burnley (A) – Wednesday 22nd April – Live on Sky Sports
Everton (A) – Monday 4th May – Live on Sky Sports
Brentford (H) – Saturday 9th May – Live on Sky Sports
Bournemouth (A) – Sunday 17 May
Crystal Palace (H) – TBC
Aston Villa (H) – Sunday 24th May
Arsenal’s remaining Premier League games:
Newcastle (H) – Saturday 25th April – Live on Sky Sports
Fulham (H) – Saturday 2nd May – Live on Sky Sports
West Ham (A) – Sunday 10th May – Live on Sky Sports
Burnley (H) – Sunday 17th May
Crystal Palace (A) – Sunday, May 24th
Arteta ‘very upset’ by result but remains ambitious for title
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
“Obviously very upset with the result. We came here to win. The message was clear. We believed we could win. We proved we were there, but the reality was in two boxes. That was the difference.”
“I believe (that we can win the title) because I see them every day and I know their level. They (the players) are more confident now and we talked about it in the dressing room. Everything is still to come. We know how much we want it and we will try again.”
“We’ll learn from what happened today and we’ll be better. There’s an element of luck, timing and execution with margins, hitting the post, things like that. It didn’t go our way and we have to recognize that.”
“Obviously we’re disappointed that something like this happened. We said to the players, ‘Okay, we lost our chance,’ but we have our biggest chance in the next five games, so let’s go for it.”
