Manchester City – Arsenal: Cherki completely relaunches the Premier League title race!

On the 33rd day of the Premier League, the clash between Manchester City and Arsenal looked like a decisive turning point in the title race. Relegated six lengths but with a game in hand against Crystal Palace, the Citizens had a great opportunity to revive after the Gunners’ recent defeat against Bournemouth. For their part, the Londoners could strike a big blow by winning away and getting closer to a coronation which has eluded them since 2004.

From the start, Manchester City imposed their rhythm. Highly visible, Cherki first shook Raya’s post, before opening the scoring a few minutes later after a remarkable sequence in the area (1-0, 16th). But the joy of the locals was short-lived: in the process, Arsenal took advantage of a huge error from Donnarumma, too slow to restart, to equalize thanks to Havertz (1-1, 18th). This hard blow disrupted the Mancunians, who gradually lost control of the game until the break.

Haaland delivers City!

Returning from the locker room, the match gained in intensity and the opportunities multiplied. Haaland hit the post in the 49th minute, before Doku stumbled past Raya a few moments later. Arsenal then reacted, pushing Donnarumma to redeem himself with two decisive saves against Martinelli and Havertz. Shortly after, Eze also hit the post, illustrating the growing tension between the two teams.

Finally, Donnarumma launched an action concluded by Haaland, which restored the advantage to City (2-1, 65th). Arsenal tried to come back, but lacked success, like Gabriel’s header being pushed back by the post and Havertz’s header going over in added time. Despite a rough end to the match, the Gunners lost and saw City come back to three points with a game in hand. Arsenal nevertheless retains the lead in the championship, but the fight looks more indecisive than ever with five days to go.