On Saturday, Arsenal and Manchester City equalized step by step and goal by goal.
The Gunners regained their eight-point lead over Pep Guardiola’s team with a 4-1 win over Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium, shortly after City beat Liverpool by the same scoreline at the start of the Premier League -league.
Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford continued their fight for European football with a spectacular 3-3 draw. Alexis Mac Allister equalized from the penalty spot in the 90th minute.
Meanwhile, it was another dark day for Graham Potter’s Chelsea, who lost 2-0 to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool: Pep scores 100 points to end Reds win
City overcame a potential stumbling block with relative ease, responding to the conceded goal and securing Guardiola’s 100th Premier League win at the Etihad Stadium.
These victories were achieved in just 128 matches (D16 L12), with Guardiola becoming the fastest manager to reach a century of home wins in the competition, beating Arsene Wenger’s previous record of 139 games against Arsenal.
Before kick-off, all eyes were on the absence of Erling Haaland, but it would be unwise to overlook his understudy Julián Alvarez, who has driven his tally to six goals in seven Premier League appearances for City, five of which have come home.
100 – Manchester City have won their 100th Premier League home win under Josep Guardiola in their 128th match at the Etihad Stadium (D16 L12). This is the fastest time a manager has achieved 100 home wins in a tournament, beating Arsène Wenger’s previous record of 139 games. Century. pic.twitter.com/JeTKU58qIc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 1, 2023
For Liverpool, this defeat represents the eighth away defeat of the season, the most in a single season since 2014/15 (also eight).
The Reds also went on a 44-match unbeaten streak when they scored first in the Premier League, winning their last 22 such matches in a row, the first loss in that regard since a 3-1 defeat to Leicester City in February 2021 . .
Jurgen Klopp’s side have already conceded 30 Premier League goals against City, 11 more than against any other opposition.
Arsenal 4-1 Leeds United: Gunners not an April Fool’s joke
City set a record with their victory over Liverpool, but Arsenal have to reckon with it on 1 April by winning all seven of their Premier League games to date with a 25-3 aggregate score – the best 100 per cent win record for any parties on any date.
The Gunners are in excellent condition, having scored three or more goals in three straight league games for the first time since October 2015.
When Bukayo Saka rested, Mikel Arteta’s supporting cast beamed. Leandro Trossar has made his seventh assist since moving in January, more than anyone else in that time period, while Gabriel Jesus’ brace brought his season tally to seven, all in London.
It was Leeds’ 17th loss to Arsenal in the Premier League, equaling their worst record against a single opponent losing the same amount to both Liverpool and Manchester United.
If Javi Gracia wanted a positive result, he needed to look no further than Rasmus Christensen, who, after failing to score in his first 15 league appearances, has now scored in back-to-back scoring matches.
Great ending from Kaoru! pic.twitter.com/azPSH6Nrh5
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 1, 2023
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-3 Brentford: swarm of seagulls after crazy first half
Just 28 minutes later, both sides celebrated two goals each, marking the earliest time each team has scored twice in a game since Burnley’s match against Chelsea in April 2019.
Mac Allister’s dramatic late equalizer was a well-deserved reward for the hosts, who became the first team in history (since 2003-04) to have all 10 of their starting line-ups have at least two shots on goal in a single Premier League game .
The Seagulls hit Brentford’s goal with 33 shots and 15 shots on goal, the highest of any club in any game this season.
Although the late equalizer will sting the bees, Thomas Frank’s side have only lost one of their last 16 Premier League matches (W7 D8).
Ivan Tony’s goals have been invaluable for Brentford, especially away: nine of his 17 league goals this season have come from away, only Haaland and Harry Kane have more (10 each).
Chelsea 0-2 Aston Villa: The Blues lack the comforts of home
By being defeated and not scoring at home for the fourth time this season, Chelsea equaled their worst seasons in this regard (1994–95 and 2019–20) and dropped into the bottom half in the process.
The Blues certainly fought hard for the goal. They had 27 tries, their highest score in a Premier League match since January 2014.
3. Ollie Watkins is one of only three players to score in double figures in each of the last three Premier League seasons (10 in 2022-2023), along with Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah. Repeat. pic.twitter.com/dXTMYNAx0f
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 1, 2023
Villa continues to rebound under Unai Emery and only Arsenal (13) and Manchester City (10) have won more Premier League victories than Villans (nine) since the Spaniard’s appointment on 6 November.
Ollie Watkins stole the show by scoring in his fifth successive Premier League away game, becoming the first Villa player to achieve such success, and scoring double-digit goals for the third consecutive season – something only Mohamed Salah and Kane can boast.