Category: Football (Soccer)

Gunners lose their heads while Mohamed Salah outperforms Kevin De Bruyne in Liverpool’s triumph

• Premier League top scorers | Latest table | Full fixtures

Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah have mirrored each other as leading men in the Premier League. They even share the status of being discarded by Chelsea, but Sunday’s match may be where their paths finally diverge. Salah delivered a goal and an assist while De Bruyne was a shock selection, unused by Manchester City in Madrid. On Friday Pep Guardiola hinted the Belgian’s time at the club was done. If Sunday was a last hurrah, De Bruyne misfiring passes and chasing shadows was a brutal reminder of how time catches up with even the very best. Where the Belgian exhibits physical decline from sheer miles on the clock, Salah, just a year younger, played to his peak, often buzz-sawing into midfield areas De Bruyne once commanded. The Egyptian king’s contract situation remains at an impasse, the sense being he awaits the right offer from Liverpool. De Bruyne may now be reduced to mere cameos as Guardiola rebuilds, a sad coda. John Brewin

Match report: Manchester City 0-2 Liverpool

Match report: Arsenal 0-1 West Ham

Match report: Everton 2-2 Manchester United

Match report: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea

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Salah and Van Dijk stood out for Liverpool while Savinho and Foden disappointed in City’s attack

Ederson Possibly unsighted for second goal. The keeper’s judgment was well poised, as usual. 6/10

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Goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai helped Liverpool to a deserved win and 11-point cushion

Chris in Corfu gets in touch: “It’s just like in years gone bye. City will be two down in 15 minutes and all of sudden l will be back at Maine Road watching peak Cityitis.”

Graeme Neill gets in touch: “Obviously The Narrative suggests that between Arne’s comments the other night and the fact he’s on the bench, Nunez will come on when the game is delicately poised and score the first of the 15 goals he’ll boot in between now and the end of the season. But let’s face it, he’s going to shank the ball into Old Trafford when the goal is gaping in the 94th minute, isn’t he?”

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Anyone doubting the determination of Eddie Howe and Nuno Espírito Santo to take their players on grand tours of Europe next season will have changed their minds after watching this.

When the final whistle blew, Howe’s fifth-placed team had closed the gap on Nuno’s Forest to three points and must have felt that Madrid, Milan, Munich and the rest of the Champions League staging posts had moved into sharper focus on the horizon.

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Four goals in 11 minutes saw Newcastle rebound from conceding early, but when Forest came back at them in the second half they were left hanging on

What could possibly go wrong?

Also going on…

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Marcus Rashford was the provider as Marco Asensio’s first two goals for Villa helped them come from behind to take all three points

• Read Ben Fisher’s match report from Villa Park

1 min: Villa get the ball rolling, their players wearing their usual home kit. Their visitors are in – I’m going to say – cream shirts, shorts and socks, with blue and orange trim.

Not long now: Black Sabbath are blaring over the Tannoy and the Champions League qualification hopes of both teams are very much up in the air. Referee Michael Oliver leads both sets of players out on to the Villa Park pitch, their arrival greeted by the thick end of 43,000 supporters, the vast majority of whom will be hoping for a game every bit as entertaining – but slightly less end-to-end and even – as the match between Villa and Liverpool on Wednesday night. Kick-off will be along very shortly.

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National supporters will see their heroes play against each other when Manchester City meet Liverpool on Sunday

The rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool has grown in recent years thanks to the coaching of Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp turning it into a battle for the title over numerous seasons. The fixture has become significant around the world but in one north African nation it has a new edge as their rising star and their national hero come face-to-face.

Omar Marmoush arrived in Manchester in January after City paid £59m to buy him from Eintracht Frankfurt. The Egypt forward built his reputation in Germany and has added to it in the Premier League after a hat-trick against Newcastle followed some promising performances to indicate he is up to Guardiola’s high standards. Marmoush is a beacon in a disappointing season for City but has some way to go to match his compatriot Mohamed Salah, the man leading Liverpool towards a second Premier League title. From Alexandria to Zagazig, eyes in Egypt will be on the Etihad on Sunday as the country’s heroes do battle.

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Fabian Hürzeler said his only ­disappointment was not winning by more after seeing his side thump Southampton at St Mary’s.

The Seagulls ripped Southampton apart throughout with goals from João Pedro, Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood ­taking them to within three points of the top six. But for some wasteful finishing and a brilliant performance from the Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, the scoreline might have been even more impressive for Hürzeler’s Europe-chasing side.

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