By winning with authority against Arsenal (4-1), under the leadership of a sparkling Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City may have tipped the race for the title of champion of England. The Mancunians came back to within two points of the Gunners, Wednesday April 26, during the 33e daytime.
The ranking may still indicate that Arsenal is first, the Londoners left the lawn looking defeated.
Still two points behind, 73 against 75, but two more games to play, Manchester City have the hand to retain their title, even if their schedule is very busy. The club has ten games left to play by the end of the season, or even eleven if the club qualifies for the Champions League final by taking out Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
After conceding three draws in the last three days and seeing their lead melt away, Arsenal is no longer the team that, a month ago, knew how to force the decision.
Conversely, City, which has taken twenty-eight points out of a possible thirty in the last ten days, is sprinting towards its fifth title in six years, producing its effort in the home stretch.
Decisive Erling Haaland
The meeting was also a shining demonstration of what Erling Haaland can bring to Manchester. Long in check before Aaron Ramsdale (28e42e53e) or clumsy (36e), before closing the scoring in added time (4-1, 90 + 5), Haaland above all offered a recital of discounts and openings, serving two goals to De Bruyne.
From the seventh minute, back to goal and the duel with Rob Holding, he temporized perfectly before serving De Bruyne who played Gabriel to place a shot from twenty meters along the post (1-0).
And at the 54efacing the game, this time, he still fixed the opposing defense well before ideally shifting the Belgian who scored by hitting between the legs of Holding (3-0).
Meanwhile, on a free kick, the “divine redhead” had dropped the ball on the head of John Stones who had in return sent him into the opposing goal, even if it took the intervention of the VAR to convince the umpire that the defender was indeed a fraction of a millimeter behind the last defender at the start of the ball (2-0, 45+1).
The good operation of Liverpool
Four minutes from the end, while City was preparing for its upcoming deadlines, Holding reduced the score (3-1). Arsenal thus recorded their twelfth consecutive defeat in the league against the Citizens who had also beaten them in the Cup this season.
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In the other evening matches, Liverpool did an excellent job by winning 2-1 at West Ham, despite a quick opener from former Lyonnais Lucas Paqueta.
The Reds move up to sixth on goal difference ahead of Tottenham who host Manchester United on Thursday, with both sides having 53 points and the same number of games.
Chelsea continue to brood, beaten at home by Brentford (2-0), while Nottingham Forest temporarily extricated themselves from the red zone by beating Brighton (3-1), no doubt worn out by their Cup semi-final of England lost on penalties to Manchester United on Sunday.
