- Ruthless Manchester City took control of the Premier League title chase with a well-earned 4-1 victory over a nervous Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
- Kevin de Bruyne scored twice with Stones and Haaland sealing a perfect City night.
- Rob Holding scored a consolation for Arsenal.
Ruthless Manchester City took control of the Premier League title chase with a well-earned 4-1 victory over a nervous Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
The unstoppable Erling Haaland, who assisted both of Kevin De Bruyne’s goals, ultimately scored the goal that he thoroughly deserved by adding the fourth in stoppage time. De Bruyne scored two goals and assisted John Stones on the other.
Manchester City take the early lead
With just seven minutes played, Pep Guardiola’s team took advantage of a gap in the Arsenal press to break through and take a well-earned lead, thereby eliminating any aspirations the Gunners had of breaking their Etihad curse.
Kevin de Bruyne celebrates after scoring early. |PHOTO: Eurosport|
Haaland, who was under pressure from Holding, deftly diverted the Englishman’s attention and put De Bruyne away through the centre, enabling the Belgian to switch to his right foot and unleash a breathtaking low strike into the bottom corner.
Arsenal struggled to respond as Man City’s push choked the life out of them. City was satisfied to watch the Gunners pass the ball around the back as they failed to make any progress into the final third.
Ramsdale had to make three saves to stop Haaland, who also missed a shot by a whisker in the 36th minute after making a rapid break. Ten minutes earlier, Ben White had made an amazing block to save De Bruyne.
A terrible sucker punch was delivered to the Gunners just before halftime, but the hosts would not be punished for their wastefulness. Thomas Partey had Arsenal’s finest chance to score in the 35th minute, but he missed the target.
After a VAR review, Stones’ header from a De Bruyne free kick to the back post was given after he was initially called for offside. Ben White’s toe was keeping his fellow countryman on as City eventually scored.
Second half brilliance
Unsurprisingly, Haaland’s one-on-one struggle with Ramsdale started right away after the interval, but the Englishman continued to prevail, stopping the Norwegian after Ederson’s ball went straight to the striker.
However, Haaland would have greater luck as the creator because, after 54 minutes, Martin Odegaard passed the ball to his international teammate, who sprinted at the Arsenal defensive line and laid off De Bruyne for his second goal of the game, coolly curling home low into the goal.
As the second half went on, with the outcome already known, the game and the mood dwindled. However, there were muted cheers from the away end in the 86th minute, when Holding, who was now wearing the captain’s armband, curled home beautifully after a darting run inside from Leandro Trossard.
Haaland scored the fourth. |PHOTO: CNN|
Haaland, on the other hand, was determined to not finish the game without a goal, so he let his hair down (figuratively speaking) and scored his usual goal in the fifth and final minute of added time by slipping the ball low into the net off of a feed from Phil Foden.
With two games remaining, Man City have closed the deficit to Arteta’s team to two points, but Arsenal now has the advantage because Brighton & Hove Albion’s loss to Nottingham Forest tonight ensures that they will play in the Champions League next year.
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