Pressure on Arsenal as Manchester City edge Newcastle to ignite Premier League title race

Manchester City has cut the gap with table-toppers Arsenal with a 2-1 win over Newcastle United on Saturday (Feb 21). Nico O'Reilly's brace helped the former champions reign supreme in a crucial home game to stay alive in this season’s title race. O'Reilly put City ahead in the first half at the Etihad Stadium and restored their lead after Lewis Hall had equalised. While Pep Guardiola’s City weren’t the best on the day, they did enough to keep their noses in front and Arsenal in check.

WATCH City's winning goal -

Meanwhile, Arsenal will travel to Tottenham on Sunday (Feb 22), and regardless of the outcome of the north London derby, City has a significant chance of leapfrogging them. Guardiola’s City will have a game in hand on Arsenal after this weekend and host the Gunners in April, with 11 wins from as many remaining matches guaranteed to secure Manchester City’s record seventh Premier League title.

Guardiola had claimed on Friday that he "couldn't care less" about Arsenal's recent stumble breathing new life into the title race. But while Arsenal have spluttered with two wins from their last seven league games, City are heating up at just the right time. A fifth successive win in all competitions extended their unbeaten run to eight games.

This was the fourth meeting between City and Newcastle already this season, with a fifth on the way in the last 16 of the FA Cup next month. Newcastle had never managed a win in 20 previous visits to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League, also losing there in the League Cup semi-finals this season.

Drained by a 5,000-mile round trip to Baku for their Champions League play-off first leg against Qarabag on Wednesday,

Newcastle had persuaded the Premier League to move their trip to Manchester to Saturday evening from its original early slot.

Tense finale

City wasted little time testing Newcastle's fatigue levels with a vibrant start. Their early pressure paid off with an eye-catching opener in the 14th minute. After Erling Haaland flicked the ball into Omar Marmoush, the Egyptian played a clever pass towards O'Reilly, who advanced to the edge of the area and planted a powerful finish past Nick Pope.

Anthony Gordon scored four times in Newcastle's 6-1 rout of Qarabag and the England forward threatened an immediate equaliser with a stinging strike that Gianluigi Donnarumma palmed away.

Far too open at the back throughout the game, City were caught by a sucker punch in the 22nd minute. They made a hash of clearing a corner and Hall pounced with a drive from the edge of the area that took a hefty deflection off City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri on its way past the wrong-footed Donnarumma.

Guardiola's men hit back, retaking the lead five minutes later.

(With inputs from AFP)