Manchester City took control of the Premier League on Wednesday evening. Pep Guardiola’s team won 1-0 at Burnley and now have the same number of points as Arsenal. The goal average is also identical, but thanks to a better goal difference, the Citizens occupy first place. For Burnley, on the other hand, it is time for the descent: after just one season in the elite, the club returns to the Championship.
For a long time, everything indicated that Arsenal was heading towards their first title since 2004. The gap with their closest pursuer, Manchester City, was comfortable, but in recent weeks, the Londoners have lost their rhythm.
The Gunners first lost at home to Bournemouth (1-2), before losing against City (2-1) last Saturday. Before Wednesday’s match, the gap was only three points and the Citizens still had one game in hand, precisely against Burnley.
The visitors, with Nathan Aké and Tijjani Reijnders on the bench, dominated the first half and created a clear chance through Rayan Cherki, whose shot hit the post after a deflection from Martin Dúbravka. Shortly after, Erling Braut Haaland opened the scoring (0-1), the Norwegian keeping his cool after being thrown deep by Jérémy Doku.
Burnley, however, regularly proved dangerous, notably through the Dutchmen Quilindschy Hartman and Zian Flemming. On the other side of the field, Dúbravka saved his team on several occasions.
After the break, Manchester City maintained their hold and even hit the post by Haaland, without succeeding in increasing the score.
The Clarets, 19th in the Premier League, therefore maintained hope until the final whistle. The Londoners return to the second division after just one season. Manchester City, for its part, is taking another step towards an eleventh league title.
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