Liverpool’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night opened up an avenue for rivals Manchester City to take advantage of, which they did on Sunday evening by thrashing Newcastle United.
It took 19 minutes for the Citizens to break down the opponents with a simple ball into the box, which Joao Cancelo headed towards an unmarked Raheem Sterling, who converted it from close range.
The champions doubled the lead in the 38th minute through Aymeric Laporte. The defender turned the ball in after Martin Dubravka had denied Ilkay Gundogan and Ruben Dias in quick succession.
2-0 became 3-0, a minute past the hour, when Rodri flicked in a Kevin de Bruyne corner at the near post. And, with the points in the bag, Pep Guardiola’s men went rampant in the 90th minute, scoring twice in three minutes through Phil Foden and Sterling to complete a resounding win over the resurgent Magpies. Advantage, City, in the title race.
Elsewhere, Chelsea and Tottenham’s slip-ups on Saturday presented Arsenal with an opportunity to catch up with the former while moving away further from the latter.
Any hopes of a Leeds United result were quashed five minutes into the match when goalkeeper Illan Meslier dabbled on the ball too long, which, in turn, allowed Eddie Nketiah to bundle it in from close range. The young forward grabbed his second five minutes later by turning in a low cross from Gabriel Martinelli from the middle of the box.
Arsenal’s job became much easier in the 26th minute when a reckless challenge from Luke Ayling earned the Leeds defender a straight red card. Despite that, the Whites pulled a goal back in the 66th minute with their first shot on target through Diego Llorente but mounting a comeback with a man fewer turned out to be a far bigger challenge, and Arsenal held on to the three points. The Gunners are now a point behind Chelsea in third and four ahead of Spurs in fifth.
