NEWCASTLE – Manchester City’s 32-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League ended in a 2-1 loss at Bournemouth on Saturday as Liverpool wrested back the lead in the title race.
Pep Guardiola had warned this week that his Manchester City team could be “in trouble” after injuries kept piling up, and those comments quickly proved prophetic on an eventful day that also saw Arsenal lose 1-0 at Newcastle while Liverpool needed a late comeback to beat Brighton 2-1 and go top of the league.
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The biggest surprise came at Bournemouth, though, as the Cherries stunningly took a 2-0 lead at home thanks to goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson and then held off City’s comeback attempt. Josko Gvardiol pulled one goal back in the 82nd while Erling Haaland had a header saved in injury time and then hit the post from the rebound.
It was City's first league loss of 2024 but second straight 2-1 defeat in all competitions after being eliminated from the League Cup by Tottenham in midweek, and the defending champion now trails Liverpool by two points.
"Today we could not handle their intensity that they had and that’s why we lost the game,” Guardiola said.
All three leading title rivals looked headed for defeat after Newcastle won in the early kickoff and Brighton then largely outplayed Liverpool in the first half at Anfield and easily could have led by more than one goal at the break, but Liverpool turned things around in less than three minutes in the second.
Cody Gakpo’s attempted cross sailed past both teammate Darwin Nunez and the Brighton defense into the net for the equalizer in the 69th and Mohamed Salah’s sublime finish in the 72nd sealed the win.
Salah was released down the right by Trent Alexander-Arnold on a quick counter, cut inside a defender and curled an unstoppable shot into the net with his left foot for a goal that put Liverpool two points clear of City in first place.
“We needed another second-half performance because we were outplayed in the first half," Liverpool manager Arne Slot said. “They were better on the ball, more aggressive without the ball. Then, everything changed in the second half because it was completely the opposite.”
Arsenal is now seven points off the pace and fell to fourth place behind Nottingham Forest, which beat 10-man West Ham 3-0, and the Gunners could find themselves in sixth if Aston Villa and Chelsea both win on Sunday.
Also, Southampton earned its first win of the season thanks to Adam Armstrong’s 85th-minute goal in a 1-0 victory over Everton to climb out of last place. But fellow promoted side Ipswich is still looking for its first win after giving up an injury-time equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Leicester.
Lack of creativity costs Arsenal
The absence of injured midfielder Martin Odegaard proved costly again as Arsenal looked devoid of creativity at St. James' Park even after going behind early.
Alexander Isak’s early header was enough for Eddie Howe’s team to end a five-game winless run in the league as the hosts easily neutralized Arsenal’s struggling attack the rest of the way. It was the second year in a row that Newcastle beat Arsenal 1-0 at home.
Declan Rice had the visitors' best chance in the third minute of injury time but headed wide after a cross by Bukayo Saka.
“We needed more answers, we didn't (have them),” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
Forest surges into third place
Nottingham Forest and its free-scoring striker Chris Wood are proving to be the surprise package of the season so far.
Wood scored his eighth goal of the campaign as Forest moved into its highest top-flight position in 26 years with a dominant performance against a West Ham team that had Edson Alvarez sent off for a second booking in first-half injury time.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina also scored for Forest, which earned its third win in a row and also beat Liverpool away earlier in the season.
While Forest looks rejuvenated under Nuno Espirito Santo, the pressure is back on Everton manager Sean Dyche after a five-game unbeaten run in the league ended with a dispiriting loss to Southampton, which only had one point going into the game.
Everton thought it had scored an injury-time equalizer through substitute Beto but it was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR review.
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