Brentford tip over Man City

As the Premier League gets ready to pause for the World Cup, some unlikely storylines are in place for the second half of the season.

Arsenal have a five-point lead and are undoubtedly Manchester City’s biggest challengers for their title.

The final round of matches before a six-week break saw Arsenal respond to City’s shock 2-1 home loss to Brentford by beating Wolverhampton 2-0 to open up their biggest lead so far in the league.

Martin Odegaard’s goals in the 55th and 75th minutes earned Arsenal a 12th win in 14 games.

While Arsenal’s players maintained their intensity at Molineux, City’s stars – including the recalled Erling Haaland – were unusually flat at Etihad Stadium as Ivan Toney reacted to his snub by England for the World Cup by scoring the opener in the 16th and the winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Phil Foden had equalised for City, who are two points clear of third-placed Newcastle after their 1-0 win over crisis-hit Chelsea.

Newcastle have now won five straight games. Seven points separate Newcastle and fifthplaced Manchester United, who visit Fulham in one of two games taking place today.

Joe Willock’s curling shot from outside the area condemned Chelsea to their third loss in a row.

Tottenham had a wild 4-3 win at home against Leeds, which saw Spurs come from behind three times before a double from Rodrigo Bentancur – in the 81st and 83rd minutes – sealed victory.

Darwin Nunez scored twice in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Southampton, while Leicester booked a 2-0 win over West Ham, Bournemouth tipped over Everton 3-0 and Nottingham Forest beat Crystal Palace 1-0. –