Sports

Man City, Liverpool win to set stage for title decider

Sports Desk, Apr 2 (EFE).- Liverpool and Premier League leaders Manchester City won their respective matches on Saturday to remain just a point apart ahead of the April 10 showdown that could settle the title race.

The team in third place, Champions League holders Chelsea, were stunned 4-1 by promoted side Brentford, and Manchester United hurt their top-four prospects by dropping points at home in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City.

The day’s action began at Anfield, where Diego Jota and Fabinho fired Liverpool 2-0 over Watford.

Jota opened the scoring 22 minutes into the game, heading home a cross from Joe Gomez.

Fabinho doubled the margin from the penalty spot two minutes before full-time after Jota was fouled inside the area.

Their 10th consecutive league victory boosted the Reds to 72 points, two better than defending champions City, and left Watford 18th with 22 points, three shy of safety.

But Liverpool’s advantage lasted only a few hours, as City beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor to go to 73 points.

With 77 percent possession and an 18-3 edge in shots, the visitors settled the contest in the first half. Kevin de Bruyne blasted the ball past Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope in the 5th minute and Ilkay Gündogan got the second goal 20 minutes later.

Burnley remain second from bottom on 21 points, while Brentford, in their maiden Premier League campaign, improved to 33 points – 11 above the drop zone – with their triumph against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

After a scoreless first half that saw chances at both ends, Antonio Rüdiger put the Blues up 1-0 in the 48th minute with a brilliant strike from 35 yards.

But Vitaly Janelt equalized for the Bees just two minutes later and the visitors took the lead in the 54th thanks to Christian Eriksen’s first club goal since returning to soccer after suffering cardiac arrest on the pitch last summer playing for Denmark in the Euro Cup.

A second goal by Janelt at the hour mark extended the margin to 3-1.

Kai Havertz appeared to narrow the deficit for the hosts in the 65th minute, only to see the goal disallowed because the ball touched his arm as he chested it down. Yoane Wissa added a fourth for the Bees in the 87th as Brentford celebrated beating Chelsea for the first time in 75 years.

At Old Trafford, a sluggish Man United fell behind to Leicester with Kelechi Iheanacho’s goal in the 63rd minute.

The hosts reacted and Fred brought them level three minutes later.

United keeper David De Gea made a pair of outstanding stops before conceding to James Maddison in the 80th minute, but the goal was disallowed for a foul by the attackers in the buildup and the teams shared the points.

With 51 points, Man United are sixth in the table, trailing fourth-place Arsenal by three points and the Gunners have two games in hand.

EFE

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