Manchester City hit a new low with yet another loss to slide down the Premier League, while third-placed Arsenal produced a commanding performance to stay in touch in the title race.
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A hat-trick from a Newcastle forward piled on the pain for the league cellar dwellers and Nottingham Forest’s top four fairytale continued with a unique away win.
Plus much more in our Premier League wrap!
VILLA BEAT CITY TO DEEPEN GUARDIOLA’S PAIN
Aston Villa beat crisis-hit Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday to heap more misery on floundering manager Pep Guardiola, who has now suffered nine defeats in his past 12 matches, after losing only eight times in his previous 106 contests.
Jhon Duran finished off a fine team move to give the home side an early lead and Morgan Rogers doubled Villa’s advantage in the 65th minute.
Phil Foden scored his first Premier League goal of the season in stoppage time to pull one back but it proved to be too little too late.
Guardiola, in the worst run of his glittering career, said Friday that “sooner or later” things will turn around but City’s fear factor has vanished and they have just one win in their past 12 games in all competitions.
City have now lost six Premier League games in the current campaign, twice as many as they suffered during the whole of last season, when they were crowned champions for a fourth straight season.
They have dropped to sixth in the Premier League, nine points behind leaders Liverpool having played two games more, while Villa leapfrogged them into fifth.
Guardiola said he trusted his players despite their shocking form. “It depends on us,” he told the BBC. “The solution is bring the players back. We have just one central defender fit, that is difficult.” “We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys,” he added. “Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back.” Guardiola made six changes to the team side that lost last week’s Manchester derby, bringing in goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and reshaping his defence with Rico Lewis, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
Mateo Kovacic and Jack Grealish also returned.
But the defending champions started the match in chaotic fashion and could have been behind with just 15 seconds on the clock.
Untidy work from Josko Gvardiol allowed John McGinn to steal the ball and he fed Duran, whose shot from outside the box was pushed behind by Ortega.
Villa were millimetres away from taking the lead from the resulting corner, with Ortega, in for injured first-choice goalkeeper Ederson, producing a superb save to deny Pau Torres.
City then settled and their possession numbers topped 75 percent but they created little.
– Duran strikes again –
Instead it was Villa who took the lead in the 16th minute through Duran after a superb team move.
Youri Tielemans delivered a wonderful defence-splitting pass to Rogers, who burst through City’s backline with ease before squaring for Duran and the Colombian international finished crisply for his seventh Premier League goal of the season.
Foden tested Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the 35th minute after an incisive move involving Lewis.
And Gvardiol squandered a glorious chance moments before half-time, heading a Grealish cross over the bar.
Guardiola brought on Kyle Walker for Stones at the break but Villa again took control, this time enjoying much more of the ball.
Minutes into the second half Matty Cash lashed an attempt into the side netting after a speedy attack before Duran had a strike ruled out for offside.
Rogers, formerly of Manchester City, hit the foot of the post just before the hour mark after an intricate team move down the left.
But Emery’s men doubled their lead 20 minutes into the second half, with Rogers finishing unerringly from a McGinn pass.
City created little as they searched for a way back into the game until Foden pounced for a late consolation goal.
Emery told TNT Sports that Villa were “feeling strong”.
“We played the first half very well,” he said. “In the second half we kept possession more and getting in the box to score the second goal, we imposed and dominated more.”
ARSENAL PUT FIVE PAST LONDON RIVALS
Arsenal kept themselves in touch with league leaders Liverpool with a 5-1 rout of Crystal Palace away from home.
The Gunners sit three points shy of the Reds, who have two games in hand, and one point behind second-placed Chelsea, who also play tomorrow, courtesy of dominant display in south London spearheaded by Gabriel Jesus.
The Brazilian scored twice in the opening 14 minutes of the game to ensure Arsenal had the early ascendancy despite an 11th minute goal to Palace’s Ismaila Sarr.
Jesus was giving the home side nightmares after also scoring a hat-trick against them in Arsenal’s thrilling 3-2 League Cup quarter-final victory on Thursday, and the five goals he has put past Palace this week are as many as he had scored in his previous 45 appearances.
“It’s been such an amazing week for Jesus,” Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp said.
“I’m really happy for him because he’s had injuries, he’s always got a smile on his face and obviously had his problems when he was at Manchester City with the injuries.
“But to see him playing at that level, he’s never been the most clinical goal scorer, the two that he missed were probably easier than the ones he scored, but just to see him playing, it’s been a fabulous week for him.”
Kai Havertz got on the score sheet before half time, and Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice scored goals of their in the second half to give the Gunners a much-needed goal difference boost – which now stands at 18, the equal best in the league alongside Liverpool and Chelsea.
Arsenal also finish the year with bragging rights over their London rivals.
With eight wins and two draws, they became the first team since Chelsea in 2005 to go unbeaten in Premier League London derbies in a calendar year. It was the first time Arsenal had kept that unblemished record since 2004.
They also created a slice of history by scoring five or more goals in an away game for the sixth time in all competitions this year, the most ever by an English top-flight club.
FOREST FAIRYTALE CONTINUES, ISAK’S HAT-TRICK
Nottingham Forest won their third consecutive Premier League match, condemning Brentford to their first home defeat this season.
Coming into the game, Thomas Frank’s team boasted the best home record in the league, with seven wins and a draw from their eight games at the Gtech Community Stadium.
But they came unstuck against Nuno Espirito Santo’s in-form team. Ola Aina slotted home the opener towards the end of the first half and Anthony Elanga made it 2-0 early in the second period.
Newcastle deepened Ipswich’s plight and lifted themselves to seventh in the table with a 4-0 win at Portman Road.
Isak volleyed Eddie Howe’s team ahead in the first minute and Jacob Murphy doubled their lead before Isak side-footed in from close range just before the break.
The Sweden international scored his third nine minutes into the second half, poking the ball home after more fine work from Murphy.
It was a ninth defeat in 17 games for Ipswich since they returned to the Premier League and they remain in the relegation zone, two points from safety.
Mats Wieffer gave Brighton a 51st-minute lead against West Ham but Mohammed Kudus equalised seven minutes later and the match finished 1-1.
Premier League leaders Liverpool face a tricky trip to Tottenham on Sunday while second-placed Chelsea visit Everton among five matches.