Liverpool, Man City Thrilling Draw Leaves Arsenal at the Summit

Liverpool and Manchester City fought out a thrilling 1-1 draw at Anfield to leave Arsenal top of the Premier League.

This meeting of the pre-eminent domestic powers of recent years lived up to its billing in an encounter of the highest quality in which both sides had chances to claim a vital victory.

Manchester City took a 23rd-minute lead when a slick corner routine caught Liverpool cold and John Stones turned in Kevin de Bruyne’s delivery at the near post.

City deserved the lead but were pegged back when they conceded a penalty only 84 seconds after the interval – Darwin Nunez was sent crashing to the ground by keeper Ederson after intercepting Nathan Ake’s poor backpass. After a delay, Alexis Mac Allister scored the spot-kick.

Ederson, who was injured in the incident, tried to play on initially – facing the penalty – but was unable to continue, and had to be replaced by Stefan Ortega.

Elsewhere, Tottenham boosted their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish with an emphatic 4-0 victory over 10-man Aston Villa at Villa Park.

In an encounter billed as pivotal in the race for a spot in next season’s Champions League, early second-half goals from James Maddison and Brennan Johnson set Spurs on their way.

And a seemingly leg-weary Villa side, who played at Ajax on Thursday evening, rarely looked capable of clawing their way back into the contest once captain John McGinn was dismissed for a reckless tackle on visiting left-back Destiny Udogie in the 65th minute.

With Spurs in complete control in the closing stages, stoppage-time goals from Son Heung-min and Timo Werner only served to rub salt into Villa’s wounds.