Football: Man City Beats Arsenal In Title Showdown, Liverpool Edges Merseyside Derby

Football: Man City beats Arsenal in title showdown, Liverpool edges Merseyside derby (Image Source: IANS)

Hill Dickinson Stadium: Manchester City moved to within three points of the top of the Premier League on Sunday with a 2-1 win at home to top-of the table Arsenal after a tense encounter in the Etihad Stadium.

Goals from Rayan Cherki after 16 minutes and Erling Haaland after 65 minutes leave Pep Guardiola's side three points behind Arsenal but with an extra game to play, and City will go top with a win away to second-from-bottom Burnley on Wednesday, reports Xinhua.

Cherki scored a wonderful individual goal to open the scoring, beating two defenders and slotting a right-foot shot past David Raya. However, barely a minute later, a dreadful mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma gifted Kai Havertz an equalizer as the City goalkeeper dwelt on the ball and allow Havertz to block his clearance into the goal.

The first half was an even affair, but City controlled things better after the break with Haaland scoring the winner after a swift break and holding off a strong challenge from Gabriel, who later saw a header deflected on the post.

Virgil van Dijk's late header gave Liverpool a dramatic 2-1 win away to Everton in the first derby to be played in Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Playing in his last Merseyside derby, Mohamed Salah scored his ninth goal against Everton after 29 minutes to put Liverpool ahead and equal Steve Gerrard's record of goals against Everton.

Beto pulled Everton back into the game in the 54th minute, but Liverpool was the better team in the closing stages, although it wasn't until the 10th minute of injury time that Van Dijk scored a goal that could help give his side a place in next season's Champions League.

Aston Villa remains strong in fourth after a late flurry of goals in a 4-3 win at home to Sunderland, with Ollie Watkins scoring twice and Morgan Rogers also on target before Tammy Abraham netted a 93rd minute winner.

Sunderland had trailed 3-1 but strikes from Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor after 85 and 86 minutes looked as if they had rescued a late point, before Abraham's winner.

Morgan Gibbs-White scored a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest won 4-1 at home to hapless Burnley, with Igor Jesus scoring Forest's fourth.

The win moves Forest five points clear of Tottenham in the relegation battle and four clear of West Ham, which plays Crystal Palace on Monday.

On Saturday, Matheus Cunha's 43rd-minute effort from Bruno Fernandes' 18th assist of the season gave Manchester United a 1-0 win away to Chelsea to consolidate its third place in the league, while inflicting a fourth consecutive defeat on a rival that hit the bar twice through Liam Delap and Wesley Fofana.

Tottenham remains in the bottom three after Georgino Rutter's injury-time equalizer earned Brighton a 2-2 draw, when it looked as if Xavi Simons had earned a vital win with his 77th minute goal.

On Saturday, Matheus Cunha's 43rd-minute effort from Bruno Fernandes' 18th assist of the season gave Manchester United a 1-0 win away to Chelsea to consolidate its third place in the league, while inflicting a fourth consecutive defeat on a rival that hit the bar twice through Liam Delap and Wesley Fofana.

Brentford and Fulham drew 0-0 with Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno making some excellent saves, while Bournemouth showed no ill-effects from coach Andoni Iraola's announcement that he would leave the club at the end of the season with a 2-1 win away to Newcastle, leaving the Cherries level on 48 points with Chelsea and Brentford in the battle to qualify for Europe.

Article Source: IANS