Manchester City continued their push for the Premier League title as they convincingly defeated Newcastle 2-1, while Chelsea’s Champions League aspirations took a hit after drawing home against Burnley. In stark contrast to Manchester City’s victory at the Etihad Stadium, where Nico O’Reilly scored his second brace of the season, Chelsea’s attempt to secure a positive result ended in a stalemate, as Burnley secured a late equalizer and salvaged a point.
O’Reilly opened the scoring for Manchester City within half an hour but Newcastle fought back to tie it up through Lewis Hall. Despite not having their best game, Pep Guardiola’s team managed to keep its lead and maintain its two-point buffer over Arsenal in the title race. The Gunners will face Tottenham on Sunday, providing further momentum to Manchester City as they prepare for a potential derby clash in April.
Guardiola praised his players’ performance, noting that this kind of play is what they need for their upcoming season: “We saw today this is how we need to play. It’s coming to the best part of the season. Every single game will be similar to today.”
The stalemate at Stamford Bridge dropped Chelsea from fourth place in the table due to a poor goal difference, as Wesley Fofana was sent off for two yellow cards. Burnley’s late equalizer saw them remain eight points above safety and continue their desperate battle.
On the other end of the league, West Ham held on to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City despite drawing 0-0 at Bournemouth’s London Stadium. Tammy Abraham struck a crucial free-kick for Villa to secure his side’s point, moving closer to avoiding relegation but still two points behind fourth-bottom Forest.
Just as they did last season, five English clubs have now secured Champions League spots due to strong performances in European competitions this term. Liverpool and Manchester United are set to close the gap when they play Nottingham Forest and Everton respectively in coming matches.
James Milner notched his 654th Premier League appearance for Brighton against Brentford, further cementing his status as one of English football’s all-time greats. His teammate Ferdi Kadioglu also found a way past Brentford’s defenses, setting up Diego Gomez’s goal to give Brighton their second win in seven games.
At West Ham, Danny Welbeck’s late strike prevented an unwanted 0-0 result that would have jeopardized survival hopes. Head coach Daniel Farke’s men remain on the brink of avoiding relegation despite losing just twice in their last 14 league matches.