Arsenal fights back

LONDON - Arsenal staged a thrilling comeback to beat Bournemouth 3-2 and preserve their five-point cushion in the title race, after champions Manchester City turned up the heat earlier on Saturday by beating Newcastle United.

City’s 2-0 win earlier in the day sliced Arsenal’s advantage to two points, and when the leaders trailed 2-0 against relegation-threatened Bournemouth with an hour gone in north London it appeared their hold on top spot was weakening.

But goals from Thomas Partey and substitutes Ben White and Reiss Nelson – Nelson’s arriving in the seventh minute of stoppage time – sparked wild scenes of celebration.

Chelsea eased some of the pressure on manager Graham Potter as a second-half header from France defender Wesley Fofana earned them a nervy 1-0 home win against Leeds United – their first victory since January 15.

Fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur’s top-four ambitions suffered a dent as they went down 1-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are gradually pulling clear of the relegation zone.

Brighton & Hove Albion, meanwhile, boosted their own hopes of qualifying for Europe as they thrashed struggling West Ham United 4-0 to stay in eighth place but with games on hand of all the teams above them.

Mid-table Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 1-0.

Arsenal had not won a Premier League game in which they had trailed by at least two goals since 2012, so the omens looked bad for the Gunners as they were rocked by Bournemouth.

The visitors needed only 9.1 seconds to take the lead when Philip Billing scored with a close range finish after an audacious move straight from the kickoff. It was the second-quickest goal in Premier League history behind Shane Long’s 7.69 seconds effort for Southampton against Watford in 2019.

Tottenham remain fourth with 45 points but have played two games more than Newcastle (41) and Liverpool (39) who face third-placed Manchester United on Sunday.

Tottenham had the chance to move seven points clear of fifth-placed Newcastle in the race for a top-four finish but suffered a second defeat of the week after tumbling out of the FA Cup at Sheffield United.

At the bottom Bournemouth, Southampton and Everton all have 21 points, with Leeds on 22 and West Ham on 23.