Arsenal squandered a 2-0 lead for the second consecutive week, making Manchester City firm favourites to win their fifth Premier League title in six years.
Injury-hit Manchester United took a potentially decisive step towards finishing in the top four as Tottenham and Newcastle both slipped up while the bottom three sides all lost.
Here are the biggest points from this weekend’s action in the English top flight.
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City heap pressure on as Spurs rattled | 02:09
ARSENAL’S ‘HUGE MISTAKE’ COULD PROVE A TITLE TURNING POINT
Bukayo Saka held his head in his hands and Mikel Arteta trudged dejectedly down the tunnel after Arsenal’s damaging 2-2 draw at West Ham.
The Gunners, who had raced into a 2-0 lead at the London Stadium, dropped points they could ill afford to lose in their title duel with a Manchester City team firing on all cylinders.
They also suffered the pain of a Saka penalty miss.
It is the second consecutive week they have dropped points from two goals up as questions over their mental fortitude grow by the day.
“We made a huge mistake to stop playing with the same purpose to score the third and fourth one and just thinking we could play around them and just looked too easy,” Arteta said.
“We didn’t understand what the game required in the moment. We need that ruthless mindset in those moments to go and kill a team. When the game is there for the killing you have to do it. Today we haven’t.
“Very disappointing. The way we started was superb again, we were in total control, then we lost purpose.”
Former England defender Matt Upson said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “The key for them now is don’t let the doubt creep in.
“The job for Mikel Arteta and his staff is to not allow the players to feel down or negative about themselves.
“But the manner of how Arsenal lost that two-goal lead will be a concern for Arteta, who looked a bit of a dejected figure, understandably.
“You have to keep winning and this fixture was a massive opportunity – they started brilliantly but they’ve just let it slip away again. What that means for them psychologically moving forward is going to be interesting to see.”
Arsenal are still four points clear of second-placed City, who have a game in hand, but there is a growing feeling that the Gunners’ young squad are feeling the strain of the title race.
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Pep Guardiola’s team have won 10 matches in a row in all competitions and have title-winning nous after dominating the Premier League in recent seasons.
Sunday’s result sets up a massive potential title-decider between the top two teams at the Etihad on April 27 AEDT.
City play Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final this week, before facing Championship club Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final on the weekend. That means they’ll have another game in hand on Arsenal by the time they return to league action in the blockbuster battle.
City manager Pep Guardiola said this weekend “[it is] a final against them in the next Premier League game … If we lose this game it will be almost over.”
But if Arsenal do fail to win this season despite leading the league for the vast majority of the campaign, how bad would it be for the young Gunners?
Manchester United great Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “They would have snapped your hand off to be in this position at the start of the season. Arsenal finishing second would still be an unbelievable season.”
But Roy Keane replied: “Everyone will get stronger next year. They might not be in this position. It would be a disaster.”
Keane added: ‘It would be a terrible season. They’re out of every cup competition. 2-0 up this week, 2-0 up today. It’s a huge disappointment.”
Ex-Chelsea forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink added: “You are not allowed to lose points today. This will hurt more than losing to Man City. The beginning of the season doesn’t matter. To lose it now would be a disaster.”
For now, however, the focus is clear.
“We have to remember we are still top of the league with everything in our own hands,” captain Martin Odegaard said.
UNITED PULL CLEAR IN TOP-FOUR RACE AS STAR ANSWERS CRITICS
Third-placed Manchester United are now firmly on course to finish in the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League. After three straight league wins they are six points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham.
United travelled to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday (local time) without their injured first-choice centre-backs Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as well as topscorer Marcus Rashford.
But Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen (in his first appearance since January) pulled the strings in an impressive display, while the much-maligned Antony had a goal and an assist.
The 23-year-old winger arrived from Ten Hag’s old side Ajax for £81m in August, the fourth most expensive transfer in Premier League history. After a bright start saw him score in all three of his first league games, he failed to score a single goal since October – a woeful 15-game goalless drought that saw him take 38 shots without finding the net.
He has now picked up eight goals and two assists in 35 appearances, but improving his end product remains crucial.
“We said we wanted more goals and assists out of Antony and he produced,” former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live after the game.
“I think he was the difference between the two teams.”
Ten Hag said: “Antony knows and I know that when you are a striker, you need an end product.
“But already he has a lot of end product — he has scored in all the competitions now.
“Eight or nine goals in his first year at United is not bad and he still has games to go.”
The big concern for United is their injury toll, with four injury-forced changes for the match. Besides Martinez and Varane, Tyrell Malacia was ruled out while Marcel Sabitzer was injured in the warm-up. Goalkeeper David de Gea seemed to be struggling with a limp in the first half, with reserve Jack Butland warming up and ready to replace him.
Nevertheless, the promising return of Eriksen was a huge boost, while Antony finding form could make a serious difference to their top-four hopes.
Kerr goal clinches Chelsea final spot! | 00:52
ON FIRE VILLA GET LAST LAUGH OVER MAGPIES STAR
Although Aston Villa came into their clash against Newcastle United on the back of red hot form – namely six wins from their last seven – eagle-eyed observers will have pointed out the difficulty of their opponents.
The victories all came against teams in the bottom half of the league with the notable exception of Chelsea; a loss that ultimately spelled the end for Graham Potter’s tenure at Stamford Bridge.
With a game against Newcastle, a team who were on a five-game winning streak themselves, it would be the ultimate test to see just how far Unai Emery’s Villa Park revolution had come.
What transpired over the following 90 minutes left Toon fans scratching their heads in disbelief as the Villa Park faithful were in dreamland.
Ollie Watkins hit the post inside the opening 40 seconds, a warning sign Newcastle never heeded. Watkins laid on the assist for Jacob Ramsey’s opener in the 11th minute and ran the Toon backline ragged.
Even Newcastle legend Alan Shearer could scarcely believe how limp his former employers were.
“Should be 3-0 down,” Shearer wrote on Twitter. “Newcastle can’t get near Villa at the minute. Terrible start for the Toon.”
Despite the first-half dominance, Emery’s side led only through Ramsey’s goal and there was a hint of fear among Villa fans Newcastle could make the hosts pay for failing to capitalise on the plethora of opportunities they had.
Those fears quickly subsided as Villa kept their foot on the gas pedal as Watkins got the goals his performance deserved in the 64th and 83rd minute, making it 11 goals in his last 12 games.
Once the full-time whistle blew, Shearer was left in disbelief at what he’d seen.
“Well done Villa. Brilliant today,” Shearer wrote. “Not many teams have done this to Newcastle. They have battered them from start to finish and been better in every position.”
Speaking before the game, Newcastle striker Callum Wilson laughed at his opponents on The Footballer’s Football Podcast, joking: “Aston Villa are on fire? Let them know the fire brigade are in town … it looks like we will have to put the fire out.”
After the match, Villa captain John McGinn hit back, saying: “Actually, I didn’t notice that but like a lot of emergency services at the minute, the fire brigade must have been on strike …”
The 3-0 win was as emphatic an answer Emery could have dished up to the critics as Villa moved to within six points of the Champions League places.
Spurs, who conceded a last-gasp goal in losing 3-2 to Bournemouth, and fourth-placed Newcastle, hammered 3-0 by Aston Villa, will now be looking nervously over their shoulders.
Champions League qualification may seem a far-fetched dream, but with five wins on the trot and Watkins in unstoppable form, perhaps it’s closer to reality than some may care to admit.
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LAMPARD’S BIG PROBLEM
Chelsea slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, their third defeat in seven days under new interim manager Frank Lampard.
It leaves them winless in six games (all competitions) and down in 11th, with their slim hopes of qualifying for the European places fading by the minute.
Lampard became the club’s third manager of the season when he replaced Graham Potter – but is clearly struggling for answers to the crucial problem that laid his predecessor low.
In his three games in a week, Lampard has fielded 19 starters and used a different formation each time.
He started with a 4-3-3 against Wolves, swapped to a 3-5-2 against Real Madrid in a midweek Champions League clash, then went for a 4-2-3-1 against the Seagulls.
But changes in personnel and formation had little impact against Brighton, who took 26 shots to Chelsea’s eight in a dominant performance despite the Blues taking an early lead.
So desperate has Lampard seemed to find a successful combination of players and formation that he delivered a rare quadruple substitution against Brighton.
On came Reece James, Mateo Kovacic, Joao Felix and Hakim Ziyech for Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernandez, Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling.
Then, after going down 2-1, Lampard made ANOTHER tactical switch, moving to 4-4-2.
If he can’t find an effective formation and starting XI soon, the Blues could endure a torrid finish to the year.
Mariners spoil City’s potential party | 00:50
HODGSON DELIVERS IN STYLE
The decision to bring former manager Roy Hodgson back to Crystal Palace last month looks inspired.
The team have scored nine goals in three Premier League matches since the ex-England boss returned to Selhurst Park — as many as they had netted in their previous 16 league games between November 2022 and March 2023.
Chairman Steve Parish spoke of the “immediate requirement of keeping us in the league”, when he appointed the 75-year-old to replace the sacked Patrick Vieira.
Three games and three wins later, Palace are nine points clear of the relegation zone and are close to safety.
Eberechi Eze, who scored both goals in Saturday’s 2-0 win against bottom side Southampton, said Hodgson had taken the shackles off.
“We’re playing with a lot more freedom, more energy, and we’re so much more positive, which is a huge credit to the gaffer coming in and helping us with that,” he said.