Three days the leadership lasted for Manchester City. Guardiola's men drew (1-1) at Nottingham Forest's home and lost first place in the Premier. Arsenal benefited from this tie, which did do their homework by winning (2-4) against Aston Villa. Arteta's team is two points ahead of City with one game less.
But it cost him. Arsenal was forced to pull off an epic comeback from a game that had choked them at the home of Unai Emery's Aston Villa. A kick from outside the area by Jorginho, with the collaboration of the crossbar and the Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Dibu Martínez finished giving air to Arsenal. Before that, Aston Villa took the lead twice on the scoreboard. First in minute 5 through a steal and a long pass from Matty Cash to Ollie Watkins. The kick went past Aaron Ramsdale.
Later, although Arsenal cornered the locals and equalized after fifteen minutes with a shot from Bukayo Saka, Aston Villa regained the initiative in a choral attack by the locals that ended with a cross from the left by Alex Moreno that Coutinho took advantage of to bring the ball into the net.
The pressure took over the Gunners who began to play hastily. Eddie Nketiah was able to equalize at the start of the second half but it was Zinchenko who picked up the ball sent by Martin Odegaard to execute a precise shot from outside the area to get the tie (2-2).
In added time the duel reached madness. Jorginho pulled an impeccable shot out of his hat, a missile that repelled the post and hit Dibu Martínez's back to reach the net (2-3). Later, desperately, when Aston Villa was looking to straighten out the match, the fourth came, which rounded off Arteta's relief from Arsenal (2-4).
Then came the delivery of the leadership of Manchester City at the City Ground, a fortress of Nottingham Forest that they have not lost since September 16. Wood's goal in the 84th minute and Keylor Navas' saves prevented the defending champion from winning, who will have to fight again to regain first place.
None of the 29,365 viewers would have guessed such an outcome even a minute or an hour before. Pep Guardiola did not believe it or explain it to him, who, barely two days after retaking the top, fell from it.
Bernardo Silva, with a missile on the brink of rest, knocked down Navas's goal. Later, after 26 shots attempted by Manchester City, six of them on goal, including a double chance by Haaland which, except this Saturday, is always a goal, the unexpected goal for Nottingham Forest arose in minute 84. It was scored by Chris Wood, integrated in the field five minutes earlier and who finished off the pass that Gibbs White put on him.
After a horrendous start to 2023, Liverpool are refining their set-up to receive Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and achieved an important victory against Newcastle (0-2) to get closer to fourth place, which they now have six points behind. .
Klopp's team, which was also left out of the FA Cup, has not only recovered Virgil van Dijk, who was injured on January 3 and was already a starter in the center of defense yesterday, but also the strikers are seeing again door. Darwin Núñez opened the scoring in the 10th minute and Cody Gakpo, who cost 50 million in the winter market, had not yet made his debut and scored against Everton in the Merseyside derby and repeated yesterday in the Newcastle field.
Salah did not score, but he did against the toffees. Already 0-2, in the 22nd minute, the reds were left with numerical superiority due to the expulsion of goalkeeper Pope. At game time, Klopp made a fourfold change to reserve Gakpo, Núñez, Henderson and Bajcetic from Vigo.
