The four-time holders of the title are back on track in a Premier League where they had slipped, weighed down by a catastrophic series of four consecutive defeats.
They needed this to cherish the hope, damaged, of conserving their crown at the end of the season, given the pace set by their competitors.
Certainly, Liverpool dropped two points to Newcastle, with an equalizer conceded in the 90th minute of a meeting with multiple twists and turns. But the current leader has already amassed an impressive haul of 35 points after 14 days.
Behind, two rivals from London are neck and neck: Chelsea (2nd, 28 pts), defeated bottom side Southampton 5 goals to 1, and Arsenal (3rd, 28 pts) dominated Manchester United 2-0 at home.
Manchester City occupies fourth place with 26 points and remains within striking distance of Brighton (5th, 23 pts), Fulham’s opponent on Thursday.
– De Bruyne, winning return –
The main thing for the “Citizens” was to return to a victory that had eluded them since October 26, an eternity on their scale. And they did it convincingly.
The major player in the recovery is Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian, undermined by an injury this fall, guided his team to success for his first start since mid-September in the championship.
He was at the origin of the first goal, scored by Bernardo Silva (8th, 1-0), then scored the second (31st, 2-0) on a good serve from Jérémy Doku, the third scorer (57th, 3- 0).
“We won. That’s all that matters. Today is a good day,” summed up coach Pep Guardiola, weakened at kick-off by seven matches without a victory in all competitions.
The flamboyant leader, Liverpool, remained on seven consecutive victories, with the scalp of Real Madrid and City, precisely, last week. But the pink streak stopped at St James’s Park.
The star striker of the “Reds”, Mohamed Salah, however, did everything to extend the momentum: he served Curtis Jones (50th, 1-1), scored himself (68th, 2-2), shot over the bar transverse (82nd) then made a double after a pivot control and a left strike (83rd, 3-2).
But Fabian Schär equalized in the 90th for Newcastle and inflicted on Liverpool their second draw of the season in the Premier League (against one defeat and eleven victories).
– Amorim beaten –
Chelsea, for their part, martyred Southampton, reduced to ten in the first period, thanks in particular to their French. Axel Disasi (7th, 1-0) and Christopher Nkunku (17th, 2-1) celebrated their rare start in the league with a goal, and Malo Gusto offered himself an assist.
Arsenal dominated Manchester United and their new coach, Ruben Amorim, thanks to goals from corners by defenders Jürrien Timber (54th) and William Saliba (73rd) in the second half.
Moribund before the international break, the “Gunners” have found some pep since then: they have had four victories, against Nottingham Forest (3-0), Sporting (5-1), West Ham (5-2), and therefore Manchester United.
The “Red Devils” are eleventh after conceding the first defeat of the Ruben Amorim era. The Portuguese coach had previously recorded a draw at Ipswich (1-1), largely dominated Everton (4-0) and, in the meantime, won 3-2 against Bodo-Glimt in the Europa League.
Aston Villa, seventh, a rematch against Brentford (3-1). Unai Emery’s team had not won since mid-October, eight matches in a row.
The poorly ranked Everton (15th, 14 pts) made short work of the penultimate, Wolverhampton (4-0). This is the third victory of the season for the Toffees, the first since October 19.
Ideal, before the derby against Liverpool on Saturday at Goodison Park.
Par Le360 (with AFP)
12/05/2024 at 12:48 a.m.
