Bournemouth stun leaders to give Man City a boost, while Salah scores in Liverpool win at Anfield
Football writer Sam Cunningham looks at the talking points from Saturday’s Premier League action including key results in the title race and battle for Europe.
Arsenal left the title race wide open after losing at home to AFC Bournemouth just over a week before a mouthwatering top-of-the-table showdown with Manchester City.
Anything can still happen, of course, but there is now a scenario in which Man City beat Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, win their two games in hand and head into the final run-in level on points.
What a difference 90 minutes makes. Had Arsenal beaten Bournemouth, they would’ve been 12 points clear by the end of the day. Instead, the gap remains nine with City having two games in hand.
History is still on Arsenal’s side, though. No team has ever failed to win the Premier League after holding a nine-point lead after playing 32 games. But Pep Guardiola is a specialist in breaking records.
Take no credit away from the Cherries, who deserved their victory at Emirates Stadium and are now unbeaten in 12 league games – the longest run in the club’s Premier League history.
Junior Kroupi gave them an early lead but when Viktor Gyokeres scored a penalty before half-time, most expected Arsenal to take control. Instead, Andoni Iraola’s side pushed on and Alex Scott struck the winner.
“It’s a big punch in the face and now it’s about the reaction,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told the BBC.
“How you stand up and fight and go with everything we have forward because it’s a painful day, for sure.”
Watch: Ramsey’s analysis on Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth
April is becoming a bogey month for Arsenal and this is shaping up to be another shaky one. They have won only 42 per cent of their April games under Arteta – the only month in which they have failed to win at least half.
It was also the month they started to unravel when Man City chased them down in the 2022/23 season.
Arsenal won only once that April, drew three and lost once: the 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium that swung momentum decisively towards Man City before they went on to lift the trophy.
The two managers’ contrasting Premier League records in April – often a defining period – are stark, as shown by the picture below:
And this is a worrying spell more broadly. After losing only three of their first 49 games this season, Arsenal have been beaten three times in their last four, including against Man City in the EFL Cup final last month.
Arteta rejected the idea that pressure was to blame, insisting they have “been coping with a lot of pressure since the beginning of the season” and that they were simply “very far from the level that we have shown.”
He added: “That shocks the system. We weren’t good enough. We asked a lot from our crowd, today we didn’t respond to those standards and we have to apologise, take it on the chin and move on.”
Goals from a player at the beginning of his Liverpool journey and another nearing the end tightened Liverpool’s grip on fifth place, which is set to be an extra UEFA Champions League qualifying spot for next season.
The 16 years and 75 days between the ages of Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah was the biggest age gap between two Liverpool goalscorers in the club’s history.
Ngumoha became the youngest Premier League goalscorer at Anfield with some silky skills before a sublime finish bent inside the far post.
At 17 years and 225 days, he broke the record set by Raheem Sterling (17 years and 317 days) in October 2012 against Reading.
“Liverpool, for me, are the biggest club in the world,” Ngumoha told Sky Sports. “To start so young and [have] the manager and all the players having belief in me… I’ve just got to keep working hard.”
In his first home game since announcing he will leave this summer, Salah curled a trademark effort into the opposite corner four minutes after Ngumoha’s opener.
Maybe the Egyptian King will conclude his nine years at Liverpool on a high after all. He has struggled in a disappointing season for the reigning Premier League champions, which can still be salvaged by Champions League qualification.
Watch: Salah’s sensational display against Fulham
Nevertheless, Salah became only the fifth player to reach 250 Premier League non-penalty goals and assists, joining Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.
The victory temporarily moved Liverpool four points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea, who play their game in hand against Man City on Sunday.
It was a significant afternoon across the pack chasing European places.
Brentford and Everton have been hovering just behind the top five, but neither was able to apply pressure as their meeting ended in a stalemate.
Liverpool’s win leaves both clubs five points adrift of fifth, with their chances of catching Arne Slot’s side slipping away.
Brentford’s season has been driven by the goals of Igor Thiago and he scored twice at the Gtech Community Stadium – either side of Beto’s finish for Everton – to move to 21 for the season, only one behind Erling Haaland in the battle for the Golden Boot.
Five of those goals have come in two matches against Everton. But Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall struck in stoppage time to level late for the Merseyside club.
Watch: All five of Thiago’s goals v Everton this season
Even so, the Brazilian continues Brentford’s tradition of unearthing brilliant forwards and he surpassed Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo for most goals in a Premier League season for the club.
Brighton & Hove Albion, meanwhile, were the big winners in that cluster of clubs, beating Burnley – who sit 12 points from safety – thanks to two goals from Mats Wieffer.
The victory moved them within a point of Brentford and Everton, into ninth.
As it stands, the top seven will qualify for Europe – sixth for the Europa League and seventh for the Europa Conference League – and Brighton, with five wins from their last six games, are the in-form team on the cusp.