LONDON, April 28 (Xinhua) — Arsenal and Manchester City solidified their positions as the primary contenders for the Premier League title this weekend, with each securing crucial victories, while Liverpool’s title hopes diminished after dropping points.

Arsenal survived a late comeback from Tottenham to win 3-2 away to its neighbor after it had stormed into a 3-0 first half lead.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed into his own net after 15 minutes and Tottenham then had a goal ruled out by VAR and two penalty appeals turned down before Bukayo Saka finished off a move inspired by Kai Havertz after 27 minutes.

Havertz then headed in a corner to put Arsenal 3-0 up at the break, but it had to survive a Spurs fightback after Cristian Romero pulled a goal back after a dreadful clearance from David Raya.

Son Heung-Min scored a penalty after Declan Rice caught Ben Davies three minutes from time, but Arsenal held firm for the win.

That put the pressure on Manchester City for its visit to Nottingham Forest, but it kept its nerve to win a 32nd-minute header from Josko Gvardiol before Erling Haaland confirmed his return from injury with City’s second goal 19 minutes from time.

Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes slipped away with a 2-2 draw away to West Ham on Saturday.

Jarrod Bowen nodded West Ham ahead two minutes before halftime, Andy Robertson leveled with a snapshot in the 47th minute and Liverpool went ahead with 25 minutes left to play after Cody Gakpo’s shot went in after several deflections.

Poor Liverpool defending allowed Michail Antonio to head in a 77th-minute equalizer, and the game ended after a pitch-side argument between striker Mohamed Salah and coach Jurgen Klopp as Salah was preparing to come on as a late substitute.

Aston Villa surrendered a 2-0 lead at home to Chelsea after Marc Cucurella deflected a shot into his own net and Morgan Rogers doubled its lead with a low shot shortly before halftime.

Chelsea was a different side after the break, with Noni Madueke giving it a lifeline, before Conor Gallagher’s 81st minute screamer, and only a VAR decision to rule Axel Disasi’s injury time effort robbed it of a win.

Tottenham’s defeat means Villa is fourth with a seven-point lead over its nearest rivals, who has two games in hand.

Manchester United remains sixth but dropped points in a 1-1 draw at home to Burnley, who keep its survival hopes intact after Zeki Amdouni’s 87th-minute penalty committed by the otherwise impressive Andre Onana canceled out Antony’s 79th-minute opener for United.

Newcastle United is a point behind United after confirming Sheffield United’s return to the Championship with a 5-1 thrashing.

Anel Ahmedhodzic gave Sheffield a fifth-minute lead before Newcastle ran riot.

Alexander Isak equalized in the 26th minute and three goals in 15 second half minutes from Bruno Guimaraes, Isak and an own goal make it 4-1 before Callum Wilson scored Newcastle’s fifth in the 72nd minute.

Hwang Hee-Chan and Toti Gomes gave Wolverhampton a 2-1 win at home to Luton, for whom Carlton Morris scored an 80th-minute consolation goal.

Both Everton and Brentford are safe from relegation after Idrissa Gueye’s 60th-minute goal gave Everton a 1-0 win at home to Brentford, although Nottingham Forest’s defeat means Brentford is also safe.

Bournemouth moved into the top half of the table on Sunday with a 3-0 win at home to Brighton thanks to goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert which have given the club a new top-flight record total of 48 points.

Saturday also saw Fulham and Crystal Palace drew 1-1 in a game between two sides with nothing to play for other than South London pride.

Source(s): Xinhua

LONDON, April 26 (Xinhua) — Leicester City were promoted back to the Premier League from the Championship (second division) at the first attempt on Friday, without needing to kick a ball on Friday night, after Queens Park Rangers beat Leeds United 4-0.

The result means that Leicester with 74 points are four points ahead of Leeds, who are currently second in the classification with just a game to play, with Ipswich Town on 69 points and fourth place Southampton on 64 points, with two games left this season.

Leicester City were relegated from the end of last season from the Premier League, before appointing Enzo Maresca as first team coach.

Maresca has led them to a successful campaign, with 30 wins from 44 matches and with 86 goals in their favor.

The 2016 Premier League winners will be accompanied into the top flight by either Leeds or Ipswich Town, who have the chance to move above Leeds on Saturday if they win away to seventh place, Hull City, who also need a win to maintain their hopes of finishing in the top-six and getting into the end of season play-offs.

Source(s): Xinhua

ROME, April 22 (Xinhua) — Inter Milan won their 20th Serie A title on Monday, beating AC Milan 2-1 in a derby that witnessed three players sent off in the dying minutes.

With a comfortable 14-point lead over second-placed AC Milan and only six rounds remaining, Inter Milan was poised to secure the Scudetto even before the derby, aiming to repeat their 2021 championship success. Entering the match at San Siro, Inter fielded a strong lineup with Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram leading the attack, while AC Milan opted to bench Olivier Giroud, positioning Rafael Leao as the lone striker.

The Nerazzurri, who had previously overwhelmed their city rivals 5-1 earlier in the season, opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Federico Dimarco’s corner was deftly flicked on by Benjamin Pavard to Francesco Acerbi, who headed it in. Lautaro missed an opportunity to extend the lead shortly afterward, sending the ball over the bar from an unmarked position.

AC Milan had the chance to equalize but Yann Sommer got down well to deny Leao’s strike, while at the other end Thuram’s attempt was inches wide.

Inter Milan doubled the lead straight after the break in a spectacular fashion when a long ball over the top found Thuram, who cut inside and feinted a curler to the far top corner, but instead the Frenchman smashed it with ferocity into the near corner, surprising goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

AC Milan then threw on Giroud and Noah Okafor to strengthen the attack, and their efforts paid off in the 80th minute when Matteo Gabbia’s header was parried onto the post, before Fikayo Tomori headed it into the net.

The match escalated in stoppage time with the dismissals of Denzel Dumfries and Theo Hernandez from Inter and AC Milan, respectively, and soon after, Davide Calabria was also sent off for elbowing Inter’s Davide Frattesi.

In the final moments, even Milan’s goalkeeper Maignan joined the attack, but AC Milan could not prevent Inter from celebrating their victory.

In another key Serie A battle for fourth place, Bologna secured a 3-1 victory over Roma away from home. Oussama El Azzouzi put Bologna ahead with a spectacular bicycle kick, Joshua Zirkzee added to the lead before halftime, and despite Sardar Azmoun’s effort to narrow the deficit, Alexis Saelemaekers’ lob ensured Bologna solidified their hold on fourth place, now seven points clear of Roma, who have a game in hand.

Source(s): Xinhua