LONDON: Arsenal strengthened their position at the top of the Premier League over the weekend, opening a six-point gap after Manchester City’s poor run continued with a 3-1 defeat away to Nottingham Forest.
The result marked City’s third successive league defeat, leaving them increasingly vulnerable as Arsenal moved to 27 points from 10 matches.
Brighton climbed to second on 22 points, one ahead of City, while Liverpool occupy fourth place with 18 points.
Forest deepen City’s misery
Despite enjoying 79% possession at the City Ground, City found themselves two goals down inside the opening 18 minutes.
Jair Cunha headed Forest into the lead after six minutes before Liam Delap doubled their advantage in the 18th minute.
Rayan Cherki pulled one back shortly after the interval, raising hopes of a City comeback, but Delap struck again in the 74th minute to secure Forest’s second victory of the season.
Senegalese forward Iliman Ndiaye started for City, who have now gone from winning their opening seven league matches to losing three in succession. Their slide began with a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa a fortnight ago.
City manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged his side’s defensive problems but insisted there was no need to panic.
“We are conceding too many goals unfortunately and we need to improve that,” he said. “No panic.”
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Forest manager Oliver Glasner was in a lighter mood, joking about his sprint along the touchline after his side’s third goal.
“One of my best running stats, I guess,” he said.
Ødegaard keeps Arsenal on course
Arsenal had to be patient before eventually overcoming Hull 1-0 at the Emirates.
Martin Ødegaard broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute, securing three important points for the league leaders.
Hull, who collected five yellow cards, managed just two shots on target. Nigerian defender Semi Ajayi featured in their starting line-up.
Jackson stars in eight-goal Old Trafford thriller
The weekend’s most entertaining encounter came at Old Trafford, where Manchester United twice fought back from behind to earn a dramatic 4-4 draw against Aston Villa.
Villa made a blistering start, taking a 2-0 lead inside four minutes through John McGinn and Nicolas Jackson.
Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans restored parity before the break, but Villa struck twice again early in the second half, with McGinn and Jackson both finding the net to make it 4-2.
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United refused to surrender. Joshua Zirkzee pulled one back in stoppage time before Patrick Dorgu scored with virtually the last kick of the match, seven minutes into added time, to rescue a point.
Jackson was again among the standout performers, having also scored twice against Manchester City a fortnight ago to end their perfect start to the season.
Cameroon’s Bryan Mbeumo and Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo started for United, who remain 18th in the standings.
Liverpool climb as Chelsea stumble
Liverpool continued their push up the table with a 3-1 away victory over Crystal Palace.
Alexis Mac Allister headed home Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross in the 40th minute before Florian Wirtz doubled the lead after the interval. Alexander Isak added a third a minute from time, while Eddie Nketiah converted a stoppage-time penalty for Palace, who remain bottom.
Chelsea, meanwhile, suffered a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland.
Enzo Le Fée scored the decisive penalty in the 36th minute after Levi Colwill brought down Brian Brobbey.
Sunderland’s starting line-up included DR Congo’s Noah Sadiki, Mozambique’s Reinildo Mandava and Morocco’s Chemsdine Talbi.
Elsewhere
- Brighton beat Brentford 2-0 through goals from Diego Gómez and Pascal Gross, who converted a penalty. Brentford’s Igor Thiago was sent off in the first half. Burkina Faso’s Dango Ouattara and Mali’s Mamadou Sangaré started for Brentford.
- Leeds edged Tottenham 1-0, with substitute Noah Okafor scoring in the 79th minute, just 97 seconds after coming on.
- Bournemouth beat Ipswich 2-1. Evanilson scored early before Leif Davis put through his own net. Jack Clarke converted a 73rd-minute penalty for Ipswich.
- Fulham and Newcastle played out a 1-1 draw.
- Everton beat Coventry 3-1 on Friday.
The Premier League resumes after the international break, with Liverpool hosting Manchester United on 22 November and Arsenal travelling to Newcastle on 21 November.
