Man City pulls away

Manchester City tightened the Premier League title race this weekend, beating Chelsea 3-0 while Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth. (premierleague.com) City’s win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday moved Pep Guardiola’s team to 64 points from 31 matches, six behind Arsenal on 70 with a game in hand. Arsenal’s defeat came a day earlier at Emirates Stadium, where Bournemouth overturned a 1-0 deficit. (skysports.com) (premierleague.com) Nico O’Reilly scored in the 51st minute for City, Marc Guehi added another in the 57th, and Jeremy Doku made it 3-0 in the 68th after a second half Reuters and Sky Sports described as dominant. At Anfield on Saturday, Liverpool beat Fulham 2-0 with goals from Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah. (skysports.com) (espn.com) The table now leaves Arsenal first, Manchester City second, Liverpool fifth and Chelsea sixth with six or seven matches left for most clubs. The next league meeting between Arsenal and City is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, and the Premier League has called it a decisive weekend in the run-in. (skysports.com) (premierleague.com) Arsenal had been six points clear before this round, but the margin no longer looks comfortable because City still have one extra match to play. The Athletic reported before the weekend that Arsenal’s lead had already been cut and that City’s game in hand made the gap smaller than it looked. (nytimes.com) Bournemouth’s result was one of the weekend’s biggest swings: Arsenal led through Kai Havertz before Bournemouth scored twice to hand Mikel Arteta’s side a third defeat in four matches in all competitions. Arteta called it “a big punch to the face,” according to Associated Press coverage carried by several outlets. (usnews.com) City’s side of the story was simpler: win at Chelsea, then prepare for Arsenal. Sky Sports said Rayan Cherki set up O’Reilly and Guehi before helping create Doku’s goal, while the Premier League noted Bernardo Silva set a record among Portuguese players in the competition. (skysports.com) (premierleague.com) Liverpool’s win did not put them into the title picture, but it did strengthen their push for a top-five finish and the Champions League places. ESPN reported that the 2-0 result gave manager Arne Slot “some breathing space” after recent pressure. (espn.com) So the race that looked as if Arsenal might control it into May now runs through one match on April 19. City have cut the gap on the field, Arsenal have lost their cushion, and Chelsea have dropped further off the pace. (premierleague.com)