Manchester City cruised to a 3–0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to two points, as Aston Villa twice came from behind to edge West Ham in a thrilling encounter.
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest stunned Tottenham with a 3–0 rout, while Sunderland claimed derby bragging rights with a 1–0 win over Newcastle, sealed by a Nick Woltemade own goal.
Arsenal, who have set the early pace this season, had edged past bottom-placed Wolves 2–1 on Saturday thanks to two own goals, piling pressure on the chasing pack.
City, showing signs of hitting top form, faced a stern test at Selhurst Park against an in-form Palace side that dominated large spells of the first half. However, Oliver Glasner’s men failed to capitalise, with Yeremy Pino rattling the crossbar when clean through on goal.
Erling Haaland, largely quiet, broke the deadlock shortly before the break, heading home a precise Matheus Nunes cross for his 101st Premier League goal.
Palace again started the second half brightly but were punished when Phil Foden swept in a long-range effort after being set up by Rayan Cherki. It marked the forward’s sixth goal in four league games, watched by England manager Thomas Tuchel.
City sealed the points late on as Haaland converted from the spot after Savinho was brought down by goalkeeper Dean Henderson following a powerful central run.
Villa show steel
Aston Villa extended their impressive run with a dramatic 3–2 win over West Ham at the London Stadium, having entered the match with nine victories from their previous 10 league games.
Villa fell behind inside 30 seconds when Mateus Fernandes dispossessed Ezri Konsa and fired home, but drew level minutes later as Konstantinos Mavropanos headed John McGinn’s cross into his own net.
Jarrod Bowen restored West Ham’s lead midway through the match, only for Morgan Rogers to equalise again early in the second half. Rogers then struck the decisive blow in the 79th minute, smashing in a dipping effort from outside the box.
The victory leaves Unai Emery’s side one point behind City and five clear of fourth-placed Chelsea.
Tottenham’s struggles deepened with a heavy defeat at Nottingham Forest, where Callum Hudson-Odoi scored twice and Ibrahim Sangare added a stunning third to heap pressure on manager Thomas Frank in his first season in charge.
Sunderland returned to top-flight derby action against Newcastle for the first time in nearly a decade and claimed a narrow victory, courtesy of an own goal by Woltemade, who headed Nordi Mukiele’s cross into his own net shortly after half-time.
The win lifted Sunderland to seventh in the table.
Brentford host Leeds in Sunday’s late kick-off.
AFP
