Title chaser Manchester City further reignited the English football title race today by beating Arsenal 2-1 at home in the 33rd round, reducing the gap to the isolated leader to three points.
In what is billed as a title-deciding match in England, the ‘Citizens’ prevailed with goals from Frenchman Rayan Cherki (16 minutes) and Norwegian Erling Haaland (65), the Premier League’s top scorer, now with 23 accurate strikes.
In the interim, the ‘Gunners’ equalized in a flash through Kai Havertz (18 minutes), in a play where Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kicked the ball against the German forward in the hosts’ area, after catching a throw-in back-passed by Portuguese player Matheus Nunes.
Author of the pass that preceded Cherki’s goal, executed around four opponents, Matheus Nunes played the full match for Manchester City, as did captain Bernardo Silva, while Rúben Dias remained out due to injury, in a match where each team hit the woodwork twice.
Read more: Manchester City wins League Cup against Arsenal (with video)
Manchester City reached their 20th league victory and are in second place with 67 points, with one game less than leaders Arsenal, who have 70. Arsenal lost for the fifth time, has not had two consecutive defeats in the competition since December 2023, and sees their possibility of becoming English champions for the first time in 22 years increasingly threatened.
Winners of six of the last eight editions of the Premier League, which they have not won since 2023/24, when they achieved the only four-time championship in the history of English football, the ‘Citizens’ have been unbeaten for 10 rounds and also shortened the disadvantage in goal difference (36 against 37), the first tiebreaker criterion.
Doing the math, Manchester City will take first place if they triumph in their visit to second-to-last placed Burnley on Wednesday, in a 34th round match, which takes place three days before Arsenal hosts Newcastle in London.
The ‘Gunners’, second in the last three seasons, risk repeating the sequels of 2022/23 and 2023/24, when they also entered April in the isolated lead of the Premier League and were overtaken by the ‘Citizens’.
Recently qualified for the second season in a row for the Champions League semi-finals, in which they will face Spain’s Atlético de Madrid after having surpassed Portuguese double-champion Sporting in the ‘quarters’, Arsenal lost for the fourth time in the last six clashes in various competitions, a series started precisely against Manchester City (2-0) in the English League Cup final on March 22 at Wembley.
