After a recent improvement in their results, the struggles returned for Manchester City and Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
City gave up a goal within the first two minutes and were dominated in the second half, losing 5-1 to Arsenal. This loss reduced the gap to league leaders Liverpool to just six points.
United suffered another home defeat, losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace. This was their seventh loss in 13 league games at Old Trafford this season, a result not seen since the 1890s.
With 14 matches still to play, Manchester City’s chances of winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title are slim, as they are now 15 points behind Liverpool. City arrived at the Emirates having won six of their last eight games in all competitions, but something still isn’t quite right with Pep Guardiola’s team.
They gave up a careless opening goal when Manuel Akanji lost the ball near his own penalty area, allowing Martin Odegaard to score.
After that, Haaland was taunted by Gabriel, continuing the tension from the 2-2 draw between the teams in September. Haaland responded by scoring an equalizer in the 55th minute, but Arsenal regained the lead just two minutes later through a deflected shot by Thomas Partey. Arsenal then scored more goals through Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz, and Ethan Nwaneri.
Lewis-Skelly celebrated his goal by sitting down, crossing his legs, and doing a “Zen” celebration, a move often seen from Haaland.
Arsenal is now second in the league, three points ahead of Nottingham Forest and nine ahead of fourth-placed City.
In United’s loss to Crystal Palace, striker Marcus Rashford came closer to leaving Old Trafford, and there was more bad news when Lisandro Martinez was carried off on a stretcher after suffering a serious knee injury. This was the latest setback for the Argentina defender.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored both goals for Palace in the second half, ending United’s three-match winning streak in all competitions. This streak had come after manager Ruben Amorim had called his team “the worst team, maybe, in the history of Manchester United.”
The Amorim era seems set to continue without Rashford for the rest of the season, as he is reportedly having a medical exam at Aston Villa ahead of a loan move with the option to make it permanent.
Despite Rashford’s absence, Amorim chose to field a team without a recognized striker and failed to create many good chances against Palace, which struck back on the counterattack. Mateta’s goals came in the 64th and 89th minutes.
United has now lost seven of its first 13 home games this season, a stat not seen since the 1893-94 season, according to Opta. Five of those losses have come in the last six home games under Amorim.
“It is difficult to play here because we want to please our fans,” said Amorim. “This season is going to be like that, I said it since the first day.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham got a much-needed win with a 2-0 victory over Brentford, ending a four-match losing streak in the league. This result lifted Tottenham to 12th place, just two points ahead of United.
Vitaly Janelt scored an own goal to give Tottenham the lead at halftime, and Pape Sarr sealed the win with a second goal in the 87th minute.
“We needed a big effort again today, a physical effort. We put that in,” said Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, who had rested defender Micky van de Ven after his return from injury. “Outstanding effort by the players.”
The victory was a huge boost for Tottenham before their second leg in the English League Cup semifinals against Liverpool on Thursday, with Tottenham leading 1-0 from the first leg.
