Manchester City kept the Premier League title race alive with a dramatic late turnaround for a rare win away to Liverpool at the weekend and to keep leaders Arsenal within six points.
Defeat was another damaging blow to Liverpool’s chances of Champions League football as they lost more ground on a Manchester United side revitalised under Michael Carrick.
Newcastle’s hopes of a top-five finish now appear gone, though, as a 3-2 home defeat to Brentford compounded a damaging week for Eddie Howe’s men.
AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the Premier League weekend:
City captain Bernardo Silva said even they believed the title race would be over had they lost at Anfield.
Starring down the barrel of another away defeat at Liverpool six minutes from time, Silva sparked a chaotic finale that will keep Arsenal fans concerned.
Silva’s equaliser was quickly followed by Erling Haaland’s stoppage-time penalty as City won in front of a crowd at Anfield for the first time since 2003.
“We won finally at Anfield,” said Pep Guardiola, whose only previous victory there came during the closed doors era of coronavirus restrictions.
“All we can do is be brave. Be in the neck of Arsenal and if they slip up, use it.”
The Gunners, who beat Sunderland 3-0, remain very much favourites for a first title in 22 years.
But City could now ramp up the pressure on the leaders by cutting the gap to three points at home to Fulham on Thursday (NZT), 24 hours before Arsenal visit in-form Brentford.
United have been here before with a former great instantly transforming the club’s fortunes just weeks into an interim spell.
The Red Devils are keen to learn the lessons from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment in 2019, but Carrick’s case is hard to ignore.
United have won four consecutive matches since the former Middlesbrough boss took charge last month – a feat Ruben Amorim did not manage during his ill-fated 14-month reign.
Tottenham were brushed aside 2-0 at Old Trafford, losing for the first time in nine games against United.
“Carrick came in with the right ideas, giving the players the responsibility and freedom on the pitch,” captain Bruno Fernandes said.
“He knows what it means for this club to win. It adds something special to the team.”
Howe admitted he has got to arrest an alarming slide that has left Newcastle mired in the bottom half of the table.
A run of one win in eight games has seen the Magpies’ defence of the League Cup comprehensively ended by City, Newcastle miss out on direct qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League and drop to 12th in the table.
“There’s a harsh reality for me,” Howe said. “I think I’ve got to work better, I’ve got to do more.
“I’ve got to take full responsibility for everything you see on the pitch and I’ve got to work out solutions.”
The 48-year-old has plenty to ponder on whether he has hit a glass ceiling on Tyneside.
Despite being backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Newcastle have been hampered by financial sustainability rules that have consistently left Howe frustrated at not being able to bolster his squad in the transfer market.
He has twice delivered Champions League football and won the club’s first domestic trophy for 70 years since taking charge just over four years ago.
But he has been tipped to potentially replace Thomas Tuchel as England boss after the World Cup and will not want his reputation sullied by a poor end to the season.
– AFP