Top contenders City, Villa falter in Premier League title race

Manchester City and Aston Villa missed the chance to make significant inroads into Arsenal’s Premier League lead on Wednesday as managerless Manchester United were held at lowly Burnley.

Elsewhere on a frantic night of action, 10-man Chelsea went down 2-1 at Fulham in front of new boss Liam Rosenior and Antoine Semenyo scored a fairytale winner for Bournemouth against Tottenham.

Erling Haaland scored his 150th City goal from the penalty spot to put Pep Guardiola’s team ahead at the Etihad but Kaoru Mitoma made it 1-1 in the second half.

Norway forward Haaland has reached 150 goals in all competitions in his 173rd appearance -- 28 games faster than any other Premier League player.

But he and his teammates squandered a succession of chances as they drew a third game in a row.

Villa are level on points with City following a costly goalless draw at Crystal Palace.

City boss Guardiola bemoaned his team’s profligacy in front of goal.

“I love a lot the way we played, we did many good things, but we don’t score goals,” he said. “There are too many clear chances.”

“Of course if you don’t win games we cannot think about these things,” Guardiola said when asked if City were still in the title hunt.

Guardiola bemoaned City’s wasted chances as Brighton joined Chelsea and Sunderland in successfully frustrating the Spaniard over the last three matches.

“The result is the result. I’m not a person who believes what we have done isn’t fair. One point for them, one point for us. That is what it is,” he said.

“I love a lot the way we played, we did many good things, but we don’t score goals. There are too many clear chances.

“It is not just one or two players, it is all the players up front who create a lot. Unfortunately we couldn’t score and scoring goals is part of the job.

“That is the reason why we could not win the games.”

Guardiola was booked during the game for his angry reaction when the penalty decision initially went against City.

The spot-kick, for a foul on Jeremy Doku by Diego Gomez, was only awarded following a VAR review.

Guardiola, who argued with Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on the touchline during the penalty controversy, said: “I was complaining, why it was no penalty. And I was right.”

Hurzeler played down the incident, saying: “I think when it’s a tight game it’s always emotional and everyone shares their opinion. That’s football.

“I have huge respect for everyone from City and everyone from the staff. Emotions are part of the football game so everything is fine.”

City are poised to sign Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth this week after reportedly meeting his £65 million ($87 million) release clause.

Chelsea’s new head coach Rosenior watched his charges from the stands at Craven Cottage.

The Englishman, who replaced the departed Enzo Maresca this week, will be in the dugout for the first time at second-tier Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

The former Strasbourg boss said before kick-off that the team “need to hit the ground running for the rest of the season”.

But, still under the interim leadership of Calum McFarlane, they were reduced to 10 men midway through the first half when Marc Cucurella was shown a straight red card for hauling down Harry Wilson.

Liam Delap cancelled out Raul Jimenez’s opener but Wilson scored what proved to be the winner from the edge of the area.

Bournemouth beat troubled Tottenham 3-2, with Semenyo scoring from outside the area deep into stoppage time on his 26th birthday.

The winger, expected to join City in the next few days, was given a standing ovation when he was substituted moments before the final whistle.

Defeat heaps the pressure on Spurs boss Thomas Frank, who has overseen just two wins in his past 12 Premier League matches during his first season at the London club.

“It’s extremely painful to be on the Tottenham side after the game,” the Dane told the BBC. “We put everything into the game.”

Agencies