EPL: Manchester City Suffers Fourth Straight Defeat as Liverpool Move Five Points Clear
Manchester City slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat after blowing the lead to lose 2-1 at Brighton, allowing Liverpool to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday.
City had not suffered a league defeat for nearly a year before losing at Bournemouth last weekend. However, following their exit from the League Cup to Tottenham and a 4-1 thrashing by Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola has now experienced four straight losses for the first time in his illustrious managerial career.
The English champions seemed poised to bounce back from their chastening night in Lisbon when Erling Haaland netted his 15th goal of the season after his initial effort was saved by Bart Verbruggen.
Unfortunately, City was opened up at will in the second half, eventually being punished by two Brighton substitutes. Joao Pedro equalized after City failed to clear a goalmouth scramble, and Matt O’Riley, making his Premier League debut, sealed the comeback with a goal seven minutes from time.
Meanwhile, Liverpool took advantage of City’s slip at Anfield just 30 minutes later. In a superb counter-attack, Mohamed Salah was sent racing clear by Virgil van Dijk.
After Salah was brought down, Darwin Nunez capitalized on the loose ball, firing high into the net from an acute angle for his third goal of the season. Salah’s composed finish in the 84th minute capped off their ninth win in 11 league games and 15th victory in 17 matches across all competitions.
Chasing their first English title since 2020, Liverpool, under new manager Arne Slot, have been revitalized following a challenging season last year. Aston Villa, on the other hand, has slumped to eighth place after losing their last four games in all competitions.
In other matches, Wolves ended a long wait for a Premier League win by defeating Southampton 2-0, moving off the bottom of the table.
Fulham climbed to seventh by beating Crystal Palace 2-0, while Brentford managed a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Bournemouth.
West Ham and Everton played to a disappointing 0-0 draw, leaving both fanbases frustrated.
