Salah's back and Liverpool and Arsenal win big in EPL as Man City falls
bBig wins for Liverpool and Arsenal looked even bigger after Manchester City lost ground in the English Premier League title race on Saturday.
Leaders Liverpool won at Brentford 4-1 and Arsenal defeated Burnley 5-0 before City drew 1-1 at Chelsea.
There is still plenty of football ahead and City have a game in hand, but a rare slip-up by the defending champions could prove to be a key moment in the league.
It took a deflected shot from Rodri in the 83rd minute for City to salvage the tie after former player Raheem Sterling had given Chelsea the lead in the first half.
“We have enough experience to know that it's just the beginning of the last part of the season,” Rodri said. “We want to win, but we have to control ourselves and in the first half with our defense we have to be stronger for the rest of the season.”
Liverpool and Arsenal have suffered the pain of going toe-to-toe with City for previous league crowns and know the importance of capitalizing on any missteps.
Liverpool twice lost the title to City by a single point in recent years, while Arsenal imploded at the end of last season.
Despite dropping points, City extended their unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions, having won 11 in a row against Chelsea.
City were four points behind Liverpool and two behind second-placed Arsenal.
Salah is back
Mohamed Salah has returned from injury and is back among the goals.
While the return of the talismanic striker was good news for Liverpool, beating Brentford came at a cost as the team's injury concerns mounted.
Salah, back after a month out with a hamstring injury, scored the third of Liverpool's goals.
However, first-half injuries to Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota threaten to leave Jurgen Klopp's side even more under pressure in their fight for the trophy on four fronts.
“We have to see how much it costs us; we don't know yet,” Klopp said. “That Curtis can't continue playing, he tells you it must be something because he would have continued playing at all costs.
“Diogo probably looks the worst. I didn't see him, but I heard the photos didn't look very good either.”
Jota was stretchered off the field with an apparent knee problem, while Jones was injured after receiving a blow above the ankle.
Darwin Núñez was also removed, but it appeared to be a precautionary measure.
Liverpool are already without goalkeeper Alisson, who was injured in training on Friday, as well as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Dominik Szoboszlai.
They will miss some regulars in the League Cup final against Chelsea next weekend.
Klopp's team made light work of Brentford and took a 3-0 lead with goals from Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister and Salah. Ivan Toney pulled one back for Brentford before substitute Cody Gakpo scored Liverpool's fourth.
Arsenal pressure
After thrashing West Ham 6-0 last week, Arsenal produced another rout at Burnley's expense. Bukayo Saka scored twice at Turf Moor, while Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz also scored in the 5-0 win.
It was the sixth consecutive victory for Arsenal and the third time in that sequence that they have scored five or more goals.
Haaland frustration
Erling Haaland missed a header from close range to cap a frustrating match against Chelsea for the Norwegian striker.
In total, he took nine shots without scoring. It is the first time that he has made so many unsuccessful shots since he arrived at City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Not that coach Pep Guardiola seemed worried.
“I played 11 years and scored 11 goals, so I can't give Erling much advice,” Guardiola said. “The next one will score.”
The first four
The race for the top four was tightening.
While it appears to be a penalty shootout between Liverpool, City and Arsenal for the title, the battle for Champions League qualification could also cause tension.
Aston Villa returned to fourth place after winning 2-1 at Fulham, and Tottenham lost at home to Wolves 2-1.
Just two points separate Villa and Spurs, while Manchester United could boost their chances of finishing in the top four by beating Luton on Sunday.
Sixth-placed United have won their last three league games and could move within three points of Tottenham with a win at Kenilworth Road.
Newcastle fight
Newcastle's problems at home continued when they twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Bournemouth at St James' Park.
Matt Richie's goal in the second minute of added time earned them a point but failed to end a four-game winless streak at home dating back to December.
Seventh-placed Newcastle were one point ahead of West Ham after the London side suffered a third consecutive defeat, 2-0 at relegation-fighting Nottingham Forest.
Some West Ham fans held signs calling for the departure of manager David Moyes.
