Title now a two-horse race
Manchester City saw off a feisty challenge from Nottingham Forest last Sunday (Apr 28) to keep the heat on Arsenal after Mikel Arteta’s men held their nerve to beat Tottenham 3-2 and keep their grip on top spot in the Premier League.
The Gunners silenced the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a three-goal blast before half-time thanks to a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own goal and further strikes from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.
Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min struck for Tottenham after the interval to set up a nervous finish, but Arsenal clung on by their finger tips.
Shortly afterwards, City battled past profligate Forest 2-0 with goals from Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland.
Arsenal are on 80 points with just three matches to go, one point clear of City, but the champions crucially have a game in hand and remain firm favourites.
Pep Guardiola’s team will clinch an unprecedented fourth successive English title if they win their last five matches.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s fading title hopes were dealt a near-fatal blow on Saturday as West Ham rescued a 2-2 draw against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Klopp’s glittering reign at Anfield appears to be ending on a flat note after they dropped points for the fourth time in five league games.
Liverpool would have moved level on points with leaders Arsenal with a victory at West Ham, at least temporarily, but they failed to make the most of their chances and now find themselves five points behind the Gunners.
Klopp also attempted to play down a touchline spat with Mohamed Salah, who was left out of the starting line-up, but the Egyptian fanned the flames, telling reporters “there’s going to be a fire today if I speak.”
Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s top four challenge was dented by a 2-2 draw against Chelsea, whose furious manager Mauricio Pochettino claimed VAR has “damaged the Premier League” after his side had a late goal controversially disallowed.
Manchester United’s push for Europe stalled after a 1-1 draw with Burnley as
Everton secured their top-flight status with a 1-0 home win against Brentford.
However, Sheffield United were officially relegated after a 5-1 defeat at Newcastle, while Wolves deepened Luton’s woes with a 2-1 win and Fulham drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.
Bournemouth beat Brighton 3-0 with goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert to set a new club Premier League points record.
Meanwhile, Leicester City were promoted from the Championship to the Premier League last weekend after rivals Leeds United crashed to a shock 4-0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers.
The result leaves Leicester top of the Championship on 94 points with two games to play while Leeds stay second on 90 but with just one match left.