Arsenal and Manchester City battled to a draw on Easter Sunday. The real winner was Liverpool.
In a defensive-minded game at Etihad, second-place Arsenal and third-place Manchester City combined to take just three shots on goal in a scoreless draw. While City dominated possession, it really only had one chance at scoring. That’s been a common theme in its two league matches with Arsenal, where Man City has no goals — and only two shots on goal.
Appropriately for the holiday, Arsenal’s best chances came from Gabriel Jesus. He missed twice in the second half, then ironically enough, missed a cross from Bukayo Saka.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah and Liverpool had no trouble getting shots. Salah took 12 shots in the 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, and one of them gave Liverpool the winning margin and three crucial points.
The result of a busy Sunday was Liverpool at the top of the table, two point ahead of Arsenal and three ahead of Man City. With nine matches to go, Liverpool controls its own destiny in the Premier League, as none of the top three will face each other the rest of the way.
That means fourth-place Aston Villa has a chance to play spoiler, facing all three top teams. Villa is likely too far behind to take the title, but it has a chance to ruin a rival’s dreams. Things are neck and neck, but on a huge weekend, only Liverpool truly scored.