Manchester City is back in another FA Cup final. Arsenal is back on top of the Premier League.
City will play in a record fourth straight Cup final after surviving a scare to beat second division Southampton 2-1 at Wembley on Saturday. Nico Gonzalez’s 87th-minute winner completed a comeback after going a goal down in the second half.
Victory kept up City’s bid for a domestic treble of trophies, having won the English League Cup and being locked in a race with Arsenal for the Premier League title.
“No team has made four finals in a row. It’s extraordinary and hopefully we can arrive with a good momentum,” City manager Pep Guardiola told the BBC.
Arsenal took advantage of City’s semifinal commitments to move three points clear at the top of the standings with a 1-0 win against Newcastle. Eberechi Eze’s brilliant first half strike helped Mikel Arteta’s team bounce back after defeat to City last week.
“We knew after last week what we have to do, we have to win every game. We can’t focus on other people, we can only focus on ourselves,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said.
At the bottom of the table, a first league win in 2026 wasn’t enough to lift Tottenham out of the relegation zone.
Spurs beat relegated Wolves 1-0 to hand Roberto De Zerbi his first victory as coach. But it remained in the drop zone, two points behind West Ham, which clinched a 2-1 win against Everton through Callum Wilson’s stoppage time goal at London Stadium.
Liverpool moved up to fourth on goal difference by beating Crystal Palace 3-1. The defending champion leapfrogged Aston Villa which lost to Fulham 1-0.
Treble chaser
Guardiola is chasing a second treble of English domestic trophies after achieving the feat in 2019. A semifinal against Championship side Southampton was not expected to trip up his City team.
But when Finn Azaz curled a shot from outside the area into the top corner in the 79th, a famous Cup upset was on the cards.
Instead, City turned on the style. Jeremy Doku leveled with a deflected shot three minutes later and Gonzalez powered a long-range effort past Daniel Peretz shortly after.
“It was amazing to score at the end. In this amazing stadium, with this atmosphere, an amazing feeling,” Gonazlez told the BBC. “It has been a really important week for us. We are alive in the league and in another final.”
Despite being a serial Cup finalist, City’s only win during that run was in 2023, having lost in each of the last two seasons.
Back on top
An early goal was just what Arsenal needed to ease the nerves in a crucial title clash against Newcastle. Eze delivered just that when whipping home from outside the box in the ninth.
But it was another tense day for Arsenal fans at Emirates Stadium as the Gunners ground out the win.
Arsenal was three points clear of second-placed City having played a game more. The gap could be six points if Arsenal beats Fulham next Saturday before City plays Everton a week on Monday.
“We’ve got to this point for a reason,” Rice said. “There’s always going to be noise, from home fans, away fans, people outside. It’s about blocking it out and believing in what we can do and that is just winning football matches.”
Defeat for Newcastle was its fifth in a row in all competitions. It has won only three of its last 13 in the league.
Relegation rollercoaster
For a short while everything seemed to be going Tottenham’s way.
First, midfielder Joao Paulinha managed to stay onside to slide Spurs into an 82nd-minute lead at Molineux and survive a VAR check.
Moments later, Everton’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall leveled the score at West Ham — cancelling out Tomas Soucek’s opener and temporarily helping Spurs climb out of the relegation zone.
But Wilson’s winner for West Ham in the 92nd — after going on as a late substitute — saw the fight for survival take another twist.
Spurs’ win was it’s first in the league since Dec. 28. and further evidence of a lift in form under De Zerbi, who was appointed last month.
The Italian has been in charge for three games and picked up four points.
Liverpool on the rise
Liverpool’s title defense unravelled long ago but Arne Slot’s team looks well placed to qualify for the Champions League and maybe seal a top three finish.
Alexander Isak scored his first goal since a broken ankle and fibula in December as Liverpool moved up to fourth and level on points with third-placed Manchester United, having played a game more.
United hosts Liverpool next week in a match that will have added intensity given their league placing.
Villa started the day with the chance to move up to third but ended it in fifth, going down to Ryan Sessegnon’s first half goal at Fulham. Villa was also level on points with United and Liverpool.
Salah injured
Mohamed Salah may have played his last game for Liverpool after he was injured and had to be replaced in the second half against Palace.
Salah is leaving Anfield at the end of the season and Slot said he did not have a timeframe on the forward’s apparent hamstring issue. The Premier League final round is on May 24.
“The season is in four weeks over, so there are not a lot of games being played,” Slot said.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
