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Manchester City have staked a huge claim to retain their Premier League title with a commanding 3-1 victory away at Arsenal that sees them leapfrog the Gunners into first place.
Kevin de Bruyne scored a stunning opener and Erling Haaland notched a characteristically clinical finish either side of a Jack Grealish goal to deliver a statement victory to Pep Guardiola’s men. Bukayo Saka’s penalty was as good as Arsenal could muster in reply.
The result takes City to the summit of the Premier League, albeit perhaps temporarily: Arsenal have a game in hand against cellar dwellers Everton on March 2 that could return them back to the top.
Even so, it was hard not to see this game as a shift in the momentum of the title race. After an unusual quirk of scheduling that had kept the top two apart until the seventh month of the season, City have now defeated Arsenal twice in quick succession.
This game was initially scheduled for September but was cancelled due to the death of Queen Elizabeth, meaning City had the chance to knock Arsenal out of the cup before delivering this blow in the league. All eyes now turn to Manchester on April 27th for a potential coronation.
Mikel Arteta’s men were the match of their opponents, but struggled to make the impact where it counted: they had 64% of possession but musted just one shot on target, Saka’s penalty.
“We had them, but gave them the goals,” said Arteta. “We had three big chances but didn’t put them away, and that was the difference. To beat them we have to be over our level because they are such a team.
“We had them in big moments, but in the big moments, they were better than us. We put ourselves in trouble, in certain areas of the pitch we overplayed. We got punished.”
“Star midfield Martin Odegaard admitted as much post-match, telling the BBC that his side failed at the business end.
“The game is decided in the boxes and we were not sharp enough, in front of the goal and in our own as well,” said the Norwegian.
“They were better. Apart from that, we played a good game, did many good things and had many good periods, but we have to be better in the boxes.”
Arsenal have now lost three of their last four in all competitions as their title tilt has taken a wobble, although they only sit second by virtue of a worse goal difference and do have a game in hand on Pep Guardiola’s men.
Arsenal started well, Eddie Nketiah seeing a shot blocked after Granit Xhaka intercepted a pass to set the forward through.
Haaland had his first sniff of goal after 15 minutes but the best chance of the early stages fell for Nketiah, who could not hit the target with a header from an Oleksandr Zinchenko cross.
City would break the deadlock soon after, a combination of poor defending and world-class finishing putting the visitors ahead.
A long ball over the top was nodded towards Takehiro Tomiyasu and he looked to play a pass to goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, but he did not put sufficient power into his effort.
It was intercepted by De Bruyne, whose first-time shot was perfectly lifted over Ramsdale and just inside the post.
Ederson was shown a yellow card for delaying a number of restarts and the City goalkeeper was, therefore, arguably lucky to stay on the pitch as referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the penalty spot after he clattered into Nketiah.
Saka was on hand to coolly slot home the spot kick and deservedly draw Arsenal level but they had the crossbar to thank for going in even at the break, Nathan Ake getting the final touch with Ramsdale beaten.
City were awarded a penalty of their own as Gabriel Magalhaes bundled Haaland over in the box as the pair tussled for the ball.
VAR saved the hosts, though, Haaland narrowly offside in the build-up.
Guardiola turned to his bench, Manuel Akanji replacing Bernardo Silva at left-back and the defender almost put City ahead only to see his effort cleared off the line by Jorginho, impressing on his full Arsenal debut.
The home side were starting to look ragged as Zinchenko was caught in possession trying to play out – only Ramsdale’s reactions preventing Haaland scoring.
The sloppiness creeping in soon proved Arsenal’s undoing as a pass from Gabriel led to Haaland crossing for Grealish to curl home and re-establish the lead.
The points were safe as Haaland turned home a De Bruyne cross with eight minutes remaining, City extending their winning run over Arsenal in the Premier League to 11 games.
Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi has scored a remarkable solo goal to clinch a 1-0 home victory over faltering Chelsea in their Champions League last 16 first leg, with Benfica winning 2-0 at Club Brugge.
Wednesday’s contest in Germany, the first competitive meeting between the sides, was edged by Chelsea on chances but only Adeyemi’s box-to-box run and finish on 63 minutes could separate them.
Dortmund have now won seven matches in all competitions in 2023.
The Germany forward, 21, had flattered to deceive since signing from Salzburg in pre-season but has burst to life recently with two goals in the Bundesliga and what could be a crucial strike in Europe.
“It was a tough start but we kept fighting,” Adeyemi told DAZN.
“I tried to win the one-on-one (with Enzo Fernandez) and the keeper came out, I had bit of luck and there we go. With our fans it was unbelievable. The win is very important for the second leg.”
Dortmund’s England midfielder Jude Bellingham, 19, was made captain for the second Champions League game this term, with Marco Reus on Edin Terzic’s bench.
Chelsea thought they had scored early on but Thiago Silva had palmed the ball into the net from a free kick. He was shown a yellow card despite his protests that it was accidental.
Sebastien Haller, making his first Champions League appearance for Dortmund after cancer treatment, then went close.
Joao Felix soon missed two chances, including one which hit the bar, for a Chelsea side who have struggled in the Premier League of late.
Reece James twice tested Gregor Kobel early in the second half, while Julian Brandt had a shot saved for the 1997 winners.
Then out of nowhere, Adeyemi ran from his own box to Chelsea’s in a stunning solo counter-attack before rounding Kepa Arrizabalaga to score from an acute angle.
Twice champions Chelsea pushed for an equaliser, having an effort cleared off the line, but Dortmund remained dangerous on the break in a frantic last quarter which included a big touchline bust-up.
“I think our performance was good. We are a team coming together,” Chelsea boss Graham Potter said.
“It is halftime and we go to Stamford Bridge. We have to keep working.”
In Belgium, Englishman Scott Parker took charge of this season’s surprise packages Brugge in his first European game as a coach.
Benfica had the better of the chances though as Rafa Silva hit the woodwork and Portugal World Cup star Goncalo Ramos was also a threat.
The hosts did have the ball in the net before the break but the VAR confirmed Denis Odoi was offside.
The visitors broke the deadlock on 51 minutes through Joao Mario’s penalty, despite Simon Mignolet getting his hand to.
Substitute Neres extended the lead on 88 minutes as the twice champions put one foot in the quarter-finals.
The second legs are on March 7.
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