Man City edge closer to Arsenal; Spurs, Chelsea continue to struggle

Sports Desk, Apr 15 (EFE).- Manchester City thumped Leicester City 3-1 Saturday to go just 3 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, while Chelsea lost 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur fell 3-2 to Bournemouth.

The defending champions improved to 70 points at the expense of second-from-bottom Leicester and will be hoping to see 15th-place West Ham United overachieve in Sunday’s London derby against the Gunners.

City went ahead just five minutes into the game at the Etihad, as John Stones scored off a header.

Five minutes later, the referee awarded City a penalty after a Jack Grealish cross struck the hand of the Foxes’ Wilfred Ndidi and Erling Haaland converted to double the advantage for the hosts.

The Norwegian made it 3-0 in the 25th minute with his record-tying 32nd Premier League goal of the campaign and 47th in all competitions since joining Manchester from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

Eight Premier League teams have scored fewer goals than Haaland.

With an eye on next week’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola replaced Stones and Haaland at the start of the second half.

In the 75th minute, with Pep having also pulled Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, and Grealish, former City man Kelechi Iheanacho pulled back a goal for Leicester.

The Nigerian sent a shot over the cross-bar in the 79th and James Maddison forced a save from Ederson in the 85th minute after a giveaway at the back by City.

Maddison’s pass found Iheanacho in a great position in stoppage time, but the striker’s effort bounced off the post.

Earlier Saturday in London, Son Heung-min put Spurs up 1-0 over Bournemouth with a goal in the 14th minute and would have extended the lead in the 21st but for a good stop by Neto.

The Cherries drew level in the 38th minute, when Matias Viña transformed a giveaway by Spurs defender Pedro Porro into a goal.

Porro’s botched clearance in the 51st minute resulted in a goal for Dominic Solanke and Bournemouth’s lead held until sub Arnaut Danjuma beat Neto with a tremendous strike in the 88th minute.

The home side poured on the pressure in hopes of finding a winner, but Richarlison headed wide of the post off a corner in the 94th minute and Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara scored on the ensuing counter to secure all 3 points for the visitors.

Despite the loss, Tottenham remain fifth with 53 points, 3 behind Manchester United, who 18th-place Nottingham Forest on Sunday with a chance to overtake Newcastle United in third.

Promoted Bournemouth moved up to 14th in the table with 33 points.

Chelsea, meanwhile, continue to languish in 11th place after a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton.

The Blues struck first, as a shot from Conor Gallagher took a deflection off Lewis Dunk and past Seagulls keeper Robert Sanchez in the 13th minute, but Brighton got back on terms a half-hour later with Danny Welbeck’s goal.

Brighton vaulted ahead in the 69th minute on a goal by 19-year-old Julio Enciso, who beat Kepa with a blast from 30 yards out, and the visitors came away with the victory.

It was Chelsea’s third defeat in three outings since Frank Lampard returned as coach in the wake of Graham Potter’s firing.