3-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion put Manchester City back in the lead at the top of the Premier League. Arsenal beat Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Liverpool took over at the top of the table following their 4-0 demolition of Manchester United on Tuesday, which means City cannot afford a slip-up at home to Graham Potter’s side.
Pep Guardiola’s team had a hard time breaking down a well-organized Brighton defence in the first 45 minutes. Riyad Mahrez, an Algerian forward, scored in the 53rd minute to break the deadlock.
Kevin De Bruyne burst forward from deep inside his own half, brushing aside three defenders before finding Mahrez, who converted at the second attempt.
That goal calmed City’s nerves, and the hosts added a second goal 12 minutes later when a deflection helped Phil Foden’s long-range shot get past Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Bernardo Silva added a late third goal to complete the victory, which improved Pep Guardiola’s team’s record to 77 points from 32 games.
Arsenal’s win, which was led by two goals from Eddie Nketiah, was a big help to their chances of getting into the Champions League through a top-four finish.
Arsenal are now level on 57 points with fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, with both teams having played 32 matches and scheduled to meet on May 12 at Spurs.
Arsenal took the lead twice in a pulsating first half at Stamford Bridge, first through Nketiah’s pounce on Andreas Christensen’s poor back pass in the 13th minute and then through Emile Smith-Rowe’s of a flowing counter-attack in the 27th.
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However, the visitors were quickly pegged back on both occasions by Timo Werner and Cesar Azpilicueta’s equalisers.
In the 57th minute, Nketiah restored the visitors’ lead, stabbing the ball home after Thiago Silva’s interception bounced into his path off Malang Sarr.
Chelsea tried to get a third goal, but Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka scored a penalty in the 92nd minute to win the game. Azpilicueta was ruled to have fouled Saka.
Chelsea stayed in third place with 62 points, even though they had played one less game than both Tottenham and Arsenal.
Richarlison scored a stoppage-time goal for Everton to earn a point against Leicester City and move them four points clear of the relegation zone.
Harvey Barnes scored the first goal of the game in the fifth minute with a close-range shot from James Maddison as Everton struggled to get going. The home side didn’t have a shot on target in the first half.
Finally, Richarlison got Kasper Schmeichel to make a save in the 67th minute. But he wasted a lot of good chances before scoring in the second minute of stoppage time to earn a point.
Everton lead 18th-placed Burnley by four points with seven games remaining. Burnley host Southampton at Turf Moor on Thursday evening without a manager.
Newcastle United’s relegation fears are now a distant memory after Miguel Almiron’s first goal for the club in over a year earned them a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, moving Eddie Howe’s side up to 11th.
