Manchester City cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League in half with a convincing 3-0 home win over Fulham, while Aston Villa kept their slim title hopes alive thanks to a late 1-0 victory against Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
City clinical in first-half blitz
Pep Guardiola’s side showed no room for slip-ups in chasing the leaders, who face Brentford away on Thursday.
Three goals in a 15-minute burst during the first half sealed the points for City, who climbed to 53 points from 26 matches, trailing Arsenal by three.
Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring in the 24th minute before assisting Nico O’Reilly for the second.
Phil Foden then teed up Erling Haaland, who fired home his 22nd league goal of the season.
Villa snatch points late, Liverpool revive top-four bid
Villa struggled at home to Brighton but grabbed the win when Jack Hinshelwood turned the ball into his own net after 86 minutes.
Brighton midfielder James Milner, 40, entered as a substitute for his 653rd top-flight appearance, matching Gareth Barry’s record.
Virgil van Dijk boosted Liverpool’s Champions League push with the only goal in a 1-0 win at Sunderland.
The Reds captain struck in the second half to hand Sunderland their first home Premier League defeat this season.
Liverpool’s second victory in eight league games pulled them to within two points of fifth-placed Chelsea and three behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
Forest sack Dyche after goalless draw
Nottingham Forest missed a chance to pull clear of the drop zone, settling for a 0-0 home draw with bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Forest fired off 35 shots but failed to score, leaving them 17th and three points above third-from-bottom West Ham United.
The result prompted the club to sack manager Sean Dyche on Wednesday, less than four months into his tenure.
“Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach,” the club stated on X.
“We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the club and we wish them the best of luck for the future.”
Wolves sit bottom with nine points, just two shy of Derby County’s record-low 11 from the 2007-08 season.
Second-from-bottom Burnley staged a stunning 3-2 comeback at Crystal Palace to end a 16-game winless run.
Palace led 2-0 through new signing Jorgen Strand Larsen inside 35 minutes.
Hannibal Mejbri pulled one back, Jaidon Anthony levelled with a low drive, and Jefferson Lerma’s foot deflected in a stoppage-time winner off a parried shot by Dean Henderson.
