04/19/26 12:38:00
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04/19 12:36 CDT Man City beats Arsenal 2-1 for huge win in Premier League title
race
Man City beats Arsenal 2-1 for huge win in Premier League title race
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
MANCHESTER, England (AP) --- Manchester City swung the Premier League title
race in its favor by beating Arsenal 2-1 on Sunday thanks to a second-half
winner by Erling Haaland.
Haaland's league-leading 23rd goal of the campaign in the 65th minute allowed
City to trim the gap to Arsenal, the long-time frontrunner, to three points.
City has a game in hand at Burnley on Wednesday, after which Pep Guardiola's
team could have taken over as leaders.
Rayan Cherki gave City the lead in the 16th minute of a frenetic match at
Etihad Stadium by weaving into the area and converting a shot in off the inside
of the post.
Arsenal was back level inside two minutes after Kai Havertz charged down
Gianluigi Donnarumma's clearance, with the ball rebounding into the net from
close range.
Both Haaland and Arsenal's Eberechi Eze struck the goal frame before Haaland
slotted home a low shot from Nico O'Reilly's cross, dealing a huge blow to
Arsenal's hopes of a first league championship since 2004.
City is expected to beat Burnley, but has a tougher run-in than Arsenal that
includes trips to Everton and Bournemouth.
Unlike City, which is unbeaten in 10 league games, Arsenal is struggling for
form, having lost four of its last six games in all competitions --- including
its last two in the league.
Mikel Arteta's team, the league runner-up for the past three seasons, also has
to balance playing in the Champions League after reaching the semifinals.
Stoppage-time winners for Liverpool and Villa
Liverpool and Aston Villa look to be headed for the Champions League after
grabbing stoppage-time winners on Sunday.
Virgil van Dijk headed home in the 10th minute of added-on time to earn
Liverpool a 2-1 victory at Everton in a Merseyside derby featuring a
record-tying goal from Mohamed Salah.
Salah, who is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nine
trophy-filled seasons, marked his final derby by slotting in a low finish in
the 29th minute. His ninth Merseyside derby goal drew him even with Liverpool
great Steven Gerrard for the most in the Premier League era (since 1992).
It was Liverpool's other stalwart, Van Dijk, who sealed the win by turning in a
corner by Dominik Szoboszlai.
There was so much stoppage time because Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi
Mamardashvili was forced off on a stretcher after sustaining an injury
attempting in vain to save a 54th-minute shot by Beto that brought Everton
level.
Villa, meanwhile, beat Sunderland 4-3 thanks to Tammy Abraham's goal in the
third minute of stoppage time.
Fourth-placed Villa moved 10 points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea. Liverpool is
in between them, but stretched its advantage over Chelsea to seven points.
The top five in the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League.
Gibbs-White hat trick boosts Forest survival chances
Morgan Gibbs-White scored a second-half hat trick as Nottingham Forest rallied
to beat Burnley 4-1 and further boost its survival hopes.
Forest moved five points clear of third-to-last Tottenham in the relegation
zone, while next-to-last Burnley slipped closer to the drop to the Championship.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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