Late Surge Keeps City in Top-Four Fight, Villa Hammer Newcastle to Stay in the Race

TDT | Manama

Email: hussainm@newsofbahrain.com

Manchester City left it late but kept their Champions League hopes alive with a gritty 2-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, while Aston Villa blew past Newcastle United 4-1 to climb back into contention.

With the Premier League title looking increasingly destined for Liverpool and the relegation picture mostly settled, the battle for the top five has taken center stage. And on Saturday, it was all about who could hold their nerve.

City were far from their fluent best for much of the afternoon but found their breakthrough late on. Academy product Nico O’Reilly tapped in the opener after a sharp low cross from Matheus Nunes, before Mateo Kovacic sealed the result with a clean strike from the edge of the box. The win lifts Pep Guardiola’s side to fourth place with 58 points—just one behind third-placed Newcastle and one ahead of both Nottingham Forest and Villa.

“It’s in our hands now,” said Guardiola. “We need a final on Tuesday against Villa. It’s a massive chance to secure our Champions League spot.”

Villa, meanwhile, were ruthless at Villa Park. Just days after their Champions League exit, Unai Emery’s side responded in emphatic fashion. Ollie Watkins opened the scoring within 33 seconds to match the club’s Premier League goal record. Although Fabian Schär equalized for Newcastle, Villa turned up the pressure in the second half with goals from Ian Maatsen, a Dan Burn own goal, and a slick finish by Amadou Onana.

“It’s a special place,” Emery said. “Our fans gave us everything tonight.”

Elsewhere, Brentford edged Brighton 4-2 thanks to a double from Bryan Mbeumo and a goal-and-assist showing from Yoane Wissa. Brighton, who had Joao Pedro sent off, slipped to 10th. Brentford are 11th but just three points shy of eighth-placed Bournemouth, who were held 0-0 by 10-man Crystal Palace.

At the bottom, already-relegated Southampton snatched a 1-1 draw at West Ham, with Lesley Ugochukwu scoring deep into stoppage time. They now sit on 11 points, the same total that doomed Derby County in the infamous 2007/08 campaign.

Liverpool could mathematically clinch the title on Sunday—if they beat Leicester and Arsenal stumble at Ipswich.