MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City closed the gap on Premier League leader Arsenal to three points with a 3-0 win against Fulham on Tuesday.
Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland all struck in the first half at the Etihad as City issued another statement of intent in the race for the title.
Arsenal has a game in hand on Pep Guardiola’s team, but will be feeling the heat ahead of its visit to Brentford on Thursday.
“We have put the pressure back on Arsenal. We need to sit tight, watch the game tomorrow and hopefully it goes our way,” Semenyo said.
Liverpool bounced back from defeat to City on Sunday and boosted its hopes of Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win at Sunderland.
And third-place Aston Villa could still have a say in the title race. It beat Brighton 1-0 and is six points behind Arsenal.
City’s title pursuit gathers momentum
Second-place City followed up Sunday’s dramatic late win against Liverpool with a routine victory against Fulham that was effectively wrapped up before halftime.
Semenyo scored for the fifth time in eight games since his $87 million move from Bournemouth last month and his signing could be pivotal if City goes on to pip Arsenal to the title.
“Being involved in a title race is new to me. I am enjoying it but it comes with a lot of pressure and demands,” the Ghana forward said. “I think we have the team to do it. There are 12 games to go and we need to keep going.”
Semenyo opened the scoring in the 24th minute and City scored two more in quick succession — through O’Reilly in the 30th and Haaland in the 39th.
Successive wins for City have changed the complexion of the standings after Arsenal opened up a nine-point lead at the top on Saturday. With the top two still to play each other at the Etihad, the title race looks far from over.
Liverpool’s Champions League boost
Liverpool coach Arne Slot said it would take a near-perfect end to the season to secure Champions League qualification.
This was a good start against a Sunderland team that was unbeaten at home this season.
Victory, courtesy of Virgil van Dijk’s header in the 61st, saw the Premier League champion take full advantage of dropped points by Manchester United and Chelsea on Tuesday.
Liverpool is sixth, two points behind fifth-place Chelsea and three back from United in fourth.
“We can’t deny that these three points feel very big. But there are still 12 matches to go. We have to keep trying to improve and find some consistency,” Van Dijk said.
Villa’s much-needed win
Villa’s unlikely title challenge has taken a hit in recent weeks after a run of one win in five in the league.
So victory by any means against Brighton was a welcome boost.
Jack Hinshelwood’s own goal in the 86th at Villa Park was enough to seal a much-needed win for Unai Emery’s team.
“It was a difficult match and we needed to win to recover our confidence,” Emery said. “The three points can give us confidence again to get the good mood that we had before we lost it after some bad results at home.”
The fight for survival
Second to last Burnley came back from 2-0 down at Crystal Palace to win 3-2.
Palace’s record signing Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice on his home debut, but his celebrations turned to disappointment as Burnley rallied late in the first half.
Hannibal Mejbri sparked the fightback in the 40th and four minutes later the game was level when Jaidon Anthony equalized.
Burnley’s winner came before the break through an own goal from Jefferson Lerma in the second minute of first half added time.
Nottingham Forest is just three points above the relegation zone after a goalless draw with last-place Wolves.
Just six points separate Leeds in 15th and West Ham in the last relegation position in 18th.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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