Kevin De Bruyne, a midfielder from Manchester City, celebrated after scoring the first goal in their Premier League football match against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on April 26, 2023. A photo of the celebration was taken by AFP.
Manchester City gained the upper hand in the race for the Premier League title after a 4-1 victory against league-leaders Arsenal, with Kevin De Bruyne scoring two goals. This win brings them closer to keeping their title as champions of England.
Arsenal are currently leading the table with a two-point advantage, but Manchester City have two games left to play. This means that even if City lose one of their remaining seven games, they could still win their fifth title in six seasons.
Arsenal’s attempt to win the league after 19 years has already derailed before their match against Etihad. They have not won in their last four games under Mikel Arteta’s management.
They were outclassed by City who demonstrated their power, which had not been seen before this season.
The addition of Erling Haaland has added a new aspect to a team that was already the strongest in English football.
Haaland scored his 33rd goal in the Premier League during stoppage time, breaking a record for the most goals in a 38-game season. This brought his total goals in all competitions for the season to 49.
The Norwegian player displayed his diverse skills by making a beautiful touch that allowed De Bruyne to score the first goal within just seven minutes of the game.
Arsenal couldn’t recover from the disastrous beginning and were lucky to not be completely defeated before the first half was over.
Ben White prevented De Bruyne from scoring a second goal that was almost identical to his first one, as Haaland had set him free behind the defense.
Ramsdale saved Arsenal from losing and prevented Haaland from scoring by making three impressive saves against the 22-year-old.
Despite VAR reviewing and confirming that John Stones was onside when he headed in De Bruyne’s free-kick during first-half stoppage time, there was no relief for the opposing team.
Ramsdale remained successful in his fight against Haaland even after halftime, as Haaland ran swiftly through from a long ball by Ederson.
Arsenal was defeated when Haaland assisted De Bruyne for another goal, which went through Rob Holding’s legs and into the bottom corner, at the 54th minute.
Holding has been blamed for Arsenal’s defensive problems lately because he has had difficulty filling in for the injured Saliba.
Arteta’s team has let in 10 goals in their last four matches and will need to work hard in the remaining weeks of the season to maintain pressure on City.
Arsenal managed to score a goal with only four minutes remaining, thanks to an unexpected player, Holding, who scored by smashing the ball into the goal.
Despite a possible reaction from Arsenal, Manchester City are dominant as they approach their third consecutive Premier League title and a treble.
The main challenge next month for a team is a meeting with Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League, followed by an FA Cup final against Manchester United on June 3.
Haaland scored the final goal of the game and surpassed Mohamed Salah’s record of 32 Premier League goals in the 2017/18 season by doing so.