Manchester Metropolis seized the momentum within the Premier League title race after Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland scored second-half targets to safe a 3-1 win at Arsenal on Wednesday.
Having trailed Arsenal by as a lot as eight factors simply weeks in the past, Metropolis instantly finds itself atop the desk after the defending champions prolonged their current dominance over the Gunners and confirmed they received’t relinquish the title simply.
The win places Metropolis in first place forward of Arsenal on aim distinction, though the Gunners nonetheless have a sport in hand. Extra importantly, maybe, it maintained a psychological edge over its title rival as Metropolis has now crushed Arsenal in 11 straight league matches.
“We will all agree that (Arsenal) has been the most effective staff this season, so to return to their place and play in opposition to them is just not straightforward,” Haaland mentioned. “However we performed a tremendous sport and we received the three actually necessary factors, and we’re in it once more.”
In a sport that lived as much as the billing of the most important Premier League match of the season to this point with moments of end-to-end motion, Metropolis took the lead when Kevin de Bruyne capitalized on a defensive error within the twenty fourth minute, earlier than Bukayo Saka equalized from the penalty spot within the forty second.
Arsenal made a vivid begin however gave away the lead cheaply after Metropolis goalkeeper Ederson booted the ball up the sphere. Proper-back Takehiro Tomiyasu tried to cross the ball again to Aaron Ramsdale however solely hit it into the trail of De Bruyne, who curled a lob over the onrushing goalkeeper and into the empty internet.
“I’ve by no means seen Tomiyasu make that cross again in seven years however he did it immediately,” Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta mentioned.
Minutes earlier, Eddie Nketiah had spurned the most effective probability of the sport to this point when Oleksandr Zinchenko picked him out within the field with a cross however the striker headed huge.
However Arsenal saved pushing ahead and the host’s stress paid off when it was awarded a penalty for a foul by Ederson on Eddie Nketiah because the striker tried to shoot from a troublesome angle. Saka calmly rolled the spot kick into the left nook after sending Ederson the mistaken approach.
Metropolis improved after the break and thought it had a penalty early within the second half when Gabriel clumsily pulled down Haaland within the space, however the choice was overturned for an offside on the Norway striker.
However Metropolis nonetheless retook the lead after one other mistake by Gabriel, who turned the ball over in his personal half. The guests countered rapidly and Ilkay Gundogan squared the ball for Grealish, who beat Ramsdale with a low shot that took a deflection off Tomiyasu.
Haaland was match to start out after choosing up a knock within the earlier sport in opposition to Aston Villa on Sunday and took his tally to 26 league targets this season when De Bruyne minimize the ball again for the striker, who took one contact earlier than slotting a shot into the far nook.
Nketiah despatched one other header huge late on however that was the closest Arsenal got here to pulling a aim again.
“Within the first half, they had been a lot better than us. Second half, we had been a lot, a lot better,” Metropolis supervisor Pep Guardiola mentioned. “At halftime, we mentioned we weren’t enjoying, simply defending as a result of they had been so good, however we needs to be extra lively and the second half was wonderful.”
Arsenal has now gone three straight league video games and not using a victory — shedding two of these — after racking up 16 wins within the first 19 rounds of the season. The Gunners have dropped extra factors in these three video games (8) than they did within the first 19 (7).
Arteta mentioned the defeat was largely self-inflicted.
“It was an unbelievable battle between two groups and we simply gave them the targets, completely gave them the targets and in opposition to this staff, they’re going to destroy you,” Arteta mentioned. “Alternatively, we had three large, large possibilities and we didn’t put them away. That was the distinction.”
The sport had initially been scheduled for October however was postponed due to a schedule reshuffling within the wake of the dying of Queen Elizabeth II.