BRIGHTON: Manchester City are in ominous form as the champions chase an unprecedented fou­rth successive Premier League crown.

Phil Foden struck twice as City cut Arsenal’s lead to one point with a game in hand with a ruthless 4-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.

A day after Liverpool’s title challenge suffered a huge blow with a 2-0 defeat at Everton, City kept up the pressure on Arsenal with a dominant display.

Kevin De Bruyne’s header put them in front before Foden netted twice in the first half to put the result beyond doubt. Julian Alvarez ended his goal drought after half-time to ensure injured striker Erling Haaland wasn’t missed as his absence with a muscle problem stretched to a second successive game.

“The statement is three points,” City manager Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports. “There are five games left, we know the margins are so tight. We have to win every one. Each game we are closer.”

He added that it remains very much a three-team race with third-placed Liverpool two points adrift of Guardiola’s men.

“What happened to Liverpool, two defeats in a row, it can happen to Arsenal, it can happen to us,” Guardiola said. “What is important is that still we are there. There is a lot of games to play.”

Guardiola’s team, who have a game in hand on both Arsenal and Liverpool, will be crowned champions if they win their last five matches, starting at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, while Arsenal head to Tottenham Hotspur just hours earlier.

With at least four goals in each of their last four league games, City are rounding into form at just the right moment once again.

“I said before, what we have done in the past, it does not mean we will do it in the future,” said Guardiola. “We know the margins are so tight. We have to win every one. Each game we are closer.”

De Bruyne’s superb diving hea­der that lifted the ball over Brig­hton keeper Jason Steele into the roof of the net put City ahead in the 17th minute at the Amex Stadium.

Foden scored his first with a deflected free kick and Brighton defensive errors allowed Bernardo Silva to win the ball and set up the England midfielder to sweep a shot into the bottom corner before halftime.

Alvarez completed the rout midway through the second half and Brighton, who remained 11th in the table, never looked capable of launching a fightback.

City are unbeaten in 30 games in all competitions with 24 wins and six draws, making them the third English top-flight side to reach that landmark after Nottingham Forest (40 in 1978) and Manchester United (34 in 1993-94 and 33 in 1998-99).

“City are one of the best teams in the world and today they played very well,” Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said.

Guardiola’s side remain favourites to claim the English crown but unlike last season when Arsenal collapsed down the home stretch under City’s relentless pressure, they seem capable of lasting the distance.

DERBY TEST

Arsenal, though, must win at bitter rivals Tottenham for a second consecutive season to keep City at bay.

Like all big city derbies, pride and bragging rights are always huge motivating factors, but the fact this one arrives with Arsenal glimpsing a first title for 20 years adds considerably more spice to the occasion.

It looks the toughest of Arsenal’s final four games but they will head to Tottenham with confidence brimming after Tuesday’s 5-0 mauling of Chelsea.

It is a long time since Arsenal faced their arch-rivals in such a position and probably the last occasion in which either had serious title chances by the time of their second meeting of the season was in 2016.

Then, it was Tottenham eyeing a long-awaited title but a 2-2 home draw damaged those ambitions and Leicester City went on a fairytale run to glory.

Arsenal re-established superiority over Tottenham last season when they were runners-up behind City, ending a streak of six seasons finishing below Tottenham in the league.

Fifth-placed Tottenham’s hopes of finishing in the top-four and returning to the Champions League hang by a thread and defeat on Sunday could end any realistic hopes they have, especially if fourth-placed Aston Villa beat Chelsea and move nine points clear.

Irrespective of form and league positions, however, Tottenham will be desperate to sabotage Arsenal’s quest for glory on Sunday and are quite capable of doing so.

Liverpool kick off the weekend action at West Ham United when anything other than victory could all but end their hopes of winning the title in Juergen Klopp’s farewell season.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2024