Manchester City kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comfortable 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, trimming the gap at the top of the table to two points as the title race sprints toward its conclusion.
Goals from Antoine Semenyo, Omar Marmoush and Savinho ensured Pep Guardiola’s side did all they could on a night when City played with authority and control to lift them onto 77 points, while Arsenal have 79, with two games remaining for each. Palace are 15th on 44 points.
While City still need Arsenal to squander points in one of their remaining matches, Guardiola’s men showed no sign of resignation, and Semenyo put them ahead in the 32nd minute when Phil Foden’s crafty back-heel set him up to slot a shot into the bottom-left corner.
Marmoush doubled City’s lead in the 40th minute, when Foden’s touch on a cross landed at the Egyptian’s feet and he shot on the turn back into the far corner. It marked the first time the seldom-used Foden has provided multiple assists in the first half of a Premier League game in his career.
Savinho added a third in the 84th minute when he latched onto a through ball from Rayan Cherki and finished with a left-footed shot from the edge of the six-yard box.
Had City lost or drawn against Palace on Wednesday, Arsenal would have clinched their first league title in 22 years with a victory over already-relegated Burnley on Monday.
Ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, Guardiola made six changes to his team, including resting his league-leading scorer Erling Haaland for the night.
