London – AFP
Manchester City regained the lead in the English Premier League, after losing temporarily for two hours in favor of chasing Liverpool, who beat Watford 2-0 on Saturday, so that the defending champion responded with the same result against its host Burnley, in the opening of the thirty-first stage.
City raised its lead to 73 points from 30 games, keeping the point difference with Liverpool, while Chelsea’s third and European champions’ balance froze at 59 with their resounding fall against their guest Brentford 1-4.
After the difference between the two teams reached 14 points, Liverpool rose up with a series of great matches, leading to its tenth victory in a row on Saturday.
What increases the intensity and excitement of the competition between the two teams is that they will meet twice this month, the first in the league at the Etihad Stadium, next Sunday in a match that may have a decisive outcome to determine the destination of the title, and the second one a week later at Wembley Stadium in the cup semi-final.
In the first, City repeated its victory over Burnley after it was dropped by the same result, with goals from Portuguese Bernardo Silva and Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, achieving his tenth victory over his opponent in various competitions, during which he scored 34 goals and conceded a goal.
And the runner-up of the Champions League last season prepared in the best possible way for his European entitlement, three days later, against his guest, Atletico Madrid, in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the continental competition.
Burnley, the bottom runner-up with 21 points, suffered their fourth loss in a row in the league after Leicester City and Brentford, with the same score, 0-2, and Chelsea by four.
“When you arrive in May and fight for the title, it means you’ve had a great season,” City coach Pep Guardiola said after the win.
“Being here at the top is because we’re doing our best and we’ve done it every season. The credit goes to everyone.”
With Senegalese striker Sadio Mane sitting on the bench a few days after he led his country to the World Cup finals at the expense of his Egyptian colleague Mohamed Salah, who played a key Saturday, the dreamy Liverpool prepared with a historic quartet in the best way for his trip Tuesday to Portugal, where he faces Benfica in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the League competition heroes.
In London at Stamford Bridge, Brentford stunned his neighbor and his guest Chelsea with three goals within 10 minutes, alternating with German Vitaly Yanlet (50 and 60) and Danish Christian Eriksen, returning to the stadiums after a heart attack he suffered in the European Cup last summer (54), before adding The fourth crossed by Congolese Yuan Wesa (87), in response to the first goal from the owners of the land for German defender Antonio Rudiger (48).
Despite its first loss against Burnley since 1939, Chelsea seems to guarantee its participation in the Champions League, in which it continues this season’s campaign to defend the title, but it will clash in the quarter-finals with Real Madrid, the record holder for the number of titles (13).
At Old Trafford, Manchester United, in the absence of its sick Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, fell into a positive draw against Leicester City 1-1.
The guest opened the scoring with a goal by Nigerian striker Kelechi Ihyanacho (63), and Brazilian Adel Farid for the Red Devils (66).
The referee canceled a goal for Leicester midfielder James Maddison after returning to the video assistant referee (VAR) to impute a foul by Ihyanacho on French defender Raphael Varane before passing the ball (80).
Leeds United drew 1-1 with Southampton, and Brighton drew with Norwich City, while Wolverhampton beat Aston Villa 2-1.