At the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England yesterday, Manchester City delivered a masterclass to overwhelm Premier League leaders, Arsenal 4-1, and strike a huge psychological blow in the title race for the English Premier League.
The confrontation billed as a potential title-decider turned into an embarrassingly one-sided affair.
Manchester City, now two points behind Arsenal with two matches in hand, were inspired by the devastating partnership of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne.
Haaland sent De Bruyne away for a silky opener after seven minutes, and Arsenal then survived a constant bombardment of attacks before John Stones headed home from a free-kick in first-half stoppage time, the goal given by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after originally being ruled offside.
Manchester City’s goal machine, Haaland was outstanding throughout and again set up De Bruyne for their third goal in the 54th minute, as he passed a classy finish between the legs of Gunners defender Rob Holding.
Holding pulled one back for Arsenal late on before Haaland, denied four times by Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale earlier in the match, sealed a memorable night with his 49th minute goal for Manchester City.
City can go top with victory at Fulham on Sunday, while Arsenal must somehow pull out of a slump that has seen them go four league games without a win at a crucial stage of the season.
Manchester City still have work to do to retain their title but, in yesterday’s biggest game of the Premier League season, they delivered a brutal message.
