Arsenal regain the upper hand with victory; Man City Tie

LONDON (AP) — In a Premier League title race that continues to swing, the pendulum has swung back to Arsenal after a frustrating day for Manchester City.

Arsenal rallied from two deficits to beat Aston Villa 4-2 on Saturday, ending a three-game league run without a win.

City conceded the second-half equalizer to surprisingly draw 1-1 with Nottingham Forest after missing chances to win. Erling Haaland, usually prolific, missed several shots.

With the result, Arsenal returned to the top of the table two points ahead of City, who still have one game left, this after Pep Guardiola’s side took the lead on goal difference after beating 3- 1 against the Gunners.

Moreover, Chelsea have reached a new low point after losing at home to Southampton 1-0 and that could put even more pressure on manager Graham Potter.

There was also a moment of concern in the game after Chelsea defender César Azpilicueta suffered a head injury after being kicked in the face. He was helped on a stretcher.

Liverpool improved their chances of finishing in the top four with a 2-0 win over Newcastle at 10 to end the hosts’ 17-game unbeaten run in the league.

GUNNERS RECOVER

After seeing an eight-point lead slip away, Arsenal needed to beat Villa and bounce back from a midweek loss to City.

It happened thanks to a lucky bounce.

With the score at 2-2, Jorginho shot just outside the box in injury time, the ball bouncing off the crossbar and over the head of Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez before entering the net to give them the advantage.

“We needed a magic moment and Jorginho produced it,” admitted Arteta of his new player who signed in January from Chelsea.

Whereas with Chelsea, none of the new acquisitions produced much. James Ward-Prowse scored the only goal at Stamford Bridge before half-time.

The result came after three straight league draws and a 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Worse still, Azpilicueta needed treatment for several minutes on the pitch after being hit in the face when Sékou Mara attempted a header in the 74th minute.

Azpilicueta left on a stretcher, with a neck brace and an oxygen mask after lying down for 10 minutes.

LIVERPOOL RESURGENCE

After a disappointing first half of the season, Liverpool could move closer to the top four spots.

Liverpool followed up their encouraging win over Everton with a comfortable win at St. James Park that was all but doomed in the first half.

Uruguayans Darwin Núñez and Cody Gapko scored before Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope was sent off for handling the ball outside the box in the 22nd minute.

With the win, Liverpool moved six points behind fourth-placed Newcastle and one game less.

In a low goal afternoon, three of the other six games ended 1-0.

Fulham beat Brighton on the road, Everton picked up a crucial win over Leeds and Bournemouth beat Wolves. With an almost late goal, Brentford drew 1-1 at home to Crystal Palace.