Man City blow the title race wide open
Could we now have a three-way battle for the EPL crown?
The Premier League title race has been blown wide open after Man City defeated leaders Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates.
The defending champions turned on the power, with Kevin DeBruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland scoring for the Citizens, in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in the race for the trophy.
It moves them top of the table for the first time since November, ahead of the Gunners on goal difference, although the London club have a game in hand.
Arsenal being Arsenal again…
One could argue that it wasn’t City who blew the race open, rather than Arsenal allowing it to happen.
Mikel Arteta’s side have led the table since the third weekend of the season and had opened up an eight-point lead just last month.
Despite a few blips here and there, they were widely regarded as genuine title favourites.
Now, however, they’ve drawn once and lost three of their last five league games, in addition to an FA Cup fourth round defeat (also to City).
Their campaign, which had appeared as almost a sure-thing at one stage, now has question marks hanging all over it.
City, on the other hand, now find themselves on the front foot. Their lead (albeit only on goal difference) will be a huge morale booster, as they seek to retain the Premiership title.
And you simply cannot rule them out, not when they have goal-machine Erling Haaland firing on all cylinders. The Norwegian striker has now netted 26 goals in 23 league matches.
And then, there is Manchester United.
At first glance, the Red Devils do not look like legit title contenders, with a record of two wins, two draws and a defeat in their recent games.
But Erik Ten Hag’s side have shown moments of brilliance on more than one occasion, especially when Casemiro is in the team.
United are third in the standings, just five points behind Arsenal and City, and have to be taken seriously.
Mathematically, they have every chance of catching up, especially with the up-and-down performances that the Gunners and Citizens have been putting on in recent matches.
For a team that was described as ‘under construction’ following Ten Hag’s arrival in the summer, they have certainly made themselves a force to be reckoned with.
All this sets up what could very likely be a nail-biting end to the season…and we just can’t wait!
