MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Manchester City continued its seemingly unstoppable charge towards a third consecutive Premier League title with a 2-1 victory over Leeds United on Saturday that put the club four points clear of Arsenal.
Ilkay Gundogan scored a brace for Man City, but missed a late penalty that left manager Pep Guardiola enraged after the Spaniard had called for Erling Haaland to take it, with Leeds grabbing a goal back a minute later.
Liverpool’s faint hopes of a top-four finish continued as it beat Brentford 1-0 at Anfield thanks to Mohamed Salah’s first-half strike.
Harry Kane scored to lift Tottenham Hotspur to a much-needed 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, its first victory in five games, while Chelsea claimed its first win under interim manager Frank Lampard with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth.
Man City had appeared to be cruising after Gundogan’s double strike put the club in the box seat at the Etihad Stadium but the German’s missed penalty in the 84th minute set up a nervy finish as Rodrigo Moreno pulled a goal back for Leeds moments later.
While Gundogan was on a hat-trick, Guardiola was adamant there should be no room for sentiment and Haaland was the designated taker.
City’s victory, coupled with an Arsenal loss on Sunday to Newcastle United, would all but clinch the Premier League title for the treble-chasers who stretched its winning league run to 10 games.
Liverpool notched up a sixth straight Premier League win to maintain its pursuit of a top-four spot.
Salah bagged the only goal of the game in the 13th minute, starting the move before Fabinho crossed to Virgil van Dijk at the back post, and the big Dutchman headed the ball back for the Egyptian to bundle home his 100th goal at Anfield.
The win left the Merseysiders in fifth spot on 62 points, one behind fourth-placed United, but the Red Devils have two games in hand.