Four days after winning their summit against Arsenal, Manchester City won (2-1) on Sunday at Fulham, which allowed them to take the lead in the championship on the 34th day of the English Championship. With a point ahead of their main rival Arsenal and one more game to play, the Citizens have their destiny in their hands more than ever to retain their title.
If the victory was less controlled than during the shock against the Gunners (4-1), it took shape from the 3rd minute, with a fault by Tim Ream on Julian Alvarez, then a penalty converted by Erling Haaland. Under the eyes of actor Hugh Grant, the Norwegian has equaled the number of goals scored in a Premier League season, tied with Andy Cole (1994) and Alan Shearer (1995).
While Manchester City seemed to have definitely taken control, Fulham took advantage of one of their rare opportunities to equalize, thanks to Carlos Vinicius, who took advantage of a good discount from Harry Wilson (15th, 1-1) . A great inspiration from Julian Alvarez finally restored the advantage to the formation of Pep Guardiola, on a shot from 20 meters which lobbed Bernd Leno (36th, 2-1). Less brilliant than Arsenal in the same place last month (3-0 victory), Manchester City is strengthening its impressive series of eight consecutive successes in the league. The Gunners will have the opportunity to temporarily pass City in the standings and preserve the flame by receiving Chelsea on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.).
For their part, the Red Devils beat (1-0) the team in form of the moment, Aston Villa which remained on ten matches without defeat. While Casemiro had shot the crossbar ten minutes earlier, Bruno Fernandes took advantage of a Rashford strike badly repelled by Emiliano Martinez to score from a tight angle (1-0, 39th). This victory allows Erik Ten Hag’s players to consolidate their fourth qualifying place for the next Champions League, nine points behind Tottenham and Aston Villa.
A demonstration of several hundred supporters was also organized in front of Old Trafford before the match, to demand the permanent departure of the club’s owners. A banner required a full sale (“Full sale only”). The Glazer family received a third offer on Friday from the two takeover candidates, the owner of Ineos, Jim Ratcliffe who proposes the purchase of the majority of the shares, and the president of the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Sheikh Jassim, who wants to buy the club in full.
Also note the more complicated than expected victory of Newcastle against the bottom of the championship, Southampton (3-1), which allows the Magpies to keep a point ahead of Manchester United, in third position. Led at the break after a goal from Stuart Armstrong (41st), Eddie Howe’s players did not let their opponents breathe afterwards (17 shots to zero) and took advantage of a double from Callum Wilson (54th, 81st) , and an own goal from Theo Walcott (79th) to take the three points.