Man City reclaim Premier League lead; Arsenal boost top 4 hopes

Sports Desk, Apr 20 (EFE).- Manchester City prevailed 3-0 over Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday to take back the top spot in the Premier League from Liverpool, while Arsenal beat Chelsea 4-2 to remain alive in the battle for fourth place.

The victory at the Etihad lifted the reigning champions to 77 points, 1 more than second-place Liverpool. Brighton, who started the day in 10th with 40 points, slipped down to 11th as Leicester City drew 1-1 with Everton on Merseyside.

Coming off away wins against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, the Seagulls kept City at bay until the 53rd minute, when Riyad Mahrez broke through with an assist from Kevin de Bruyne.

Phil Foden made it 2-0 in the 65th, converting after a corner thanks to a lucky deflection off a defender and Bernardo Silva added a third in the 82nd minute.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal took advantage of Chelsea’s defensive woes to break a run of poor results and return to the thick of the fight for fourth place and the accompanying ticket to the 2022-2023 Champions League.

Missing Antonio Rüdiger to injury, the Blues were plagued by mistakes at the back, including a bad pass from Andreas Christensen that allowed Eddie Nketiah to put the Gunners ahead in the 13th minute.

Four minutes later, Nketiah lost the ball in his own end and Timo Werner equalized for Chelsea.

Emile Smith Rowe scored on the counter in the 27th minute, but the hosts pulled level again five minutes later on a goal by Cesar Azpilicueta.

Arsenal went ahead to stay in the 57th minute with Nketiah’s second of the night at Stamford Bridge.

The referee awarded a penalty – to vociferous objections from Chelsea – in the 90th minute when Bukayo Saka went down in a tangle with Azpilicueta.

VAR upheld the call and Saka converted to make the final 4-2.

The Gunners improved to 57 points, the same as Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently fourth by virtue of goal difference. Chelsea remain third with 62 points. EFE

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