Man City closes in on Premier League leader Arsenal, Liverpool boosts Champions League hopes

Manchester, England – Manchester City trimmed Arsenal’s advantage at the Premier League summit to three points with a ruthless 3-0 dismissal of Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, setting the stage for a nerve-jangling run-in.

Ghana winger Antoine Semenyo, the $87 million January recruit from Bournemouth, continued his seamless transition to life at the top, opening the scoring in the 24th minute for his fifth goal in eight City appearances. Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly doubled the lead six minutes later, before Erling Haaland’s 39th-minute strike effectively ended the contest before the interval.

“We have put the pressure back on Arsenal,” Semenyo said. “We need to sit tight, watch the game tomorrow and hopefully it goes our way.”

The victory, coming hard on the heels of Sunday’s dramatic stoppage-time win over Liverpool, means Pep Guardiola’s side have shaved six points off the Gunners’ lead in the space of four days. Arsenal, who host Brentford on Thursday, retain a game in hand, yet the knowledge that they must still visit the Etihad this season ensures the title race remains delicately poised.

City’s surge has coincided with a wobble from third-placed Aston Villa, who arrested a sequence of one win in five league outings thanks to an 86th-minute own goal by Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood at Villa Park. Unai Emery’s men are now six points adrift of Arsenal and determined to keep their outside ambitions alive.

Liverpool, meanwhile, rebounded from the weekend loss to City by edging Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, a venue where the Black Cats had been unbeaten this campaign. Virgil van Dijk’s towering header on 61 minutes proved decisive and, coupled with Chelsea and Manchester United dropping points on Tuesday, lifted Arne Slot’s side to within three points of fourth-placed United and two behind fifth-placed Chelsea.

“We can’t deny that these three points feel very big,” Van Dijk said. “There are still 12 matches to go. We have to keep trying to improve and find some consistency.”

At the bottom, Burnley produced the round’s most stirring comeback, rallying from 2-0 down to defeat Crystal Palace 3-2. Jorgen Strand Larsen’s brace on his home debut had put Palace in control, but goals from Hannibal Mejbri and Jaidon Anthony levelled matters before Jefferson Lerma’s own goal in first-half stoppage time completed the turnaround.

Nottingham Forest’s 0-0 draw with last-placed Wolves leaves the East Midlands club just three points above the relegation zone, while only six points separate Leeds in 15th from West Ham in 18th, underscoring the tightness of the survival battle.

With a dozen fixtures remaining for most sides, the fight for the title, Champions League places and top-flight survival is set to intensify.

SEO keywords: