Premier League title race state of play as Manchester City gain upper hand

Manchester City took the initiative in the Premier League title race by hammering Luton on Saturday before rivals Liverpool and Arsenal both lost on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the state of play with six games remaining.

Momentum shift

While City took only a two-point lead in what remains a close race, the momentum swing felt significant as they jumped from third to first.

The manner of their 5-1 win also sounded a warning, while Arsenal were outplayed in the second half as they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa and Liverpool missed a hatful of chances as Crystal Palace held on for a 1-0 upset.

Commitments in other competitions mean City do not play their next league game until April 25 at Brighton, by which point their rivals will both have played twice more knowing they need wins to put the pressure back on Pep Guardiola’s side.

Arsenal have the first chance to get back on track, away at Wolves late on Saturday evening, with Liverpool travelling to Fulham the following day.

Both are back in action three days on with eye-catching fixtures, Arsenal hosting Chelsea a week on Tuesday before the Wednesday brings a Merseyside derby at Everton’s Goodison Park, with City playing on the Thursday.

City’s trip to Tottenham has been put back to May 14, the Tuesday before the season ends on Sunday, May 19, meaning from this weekend on they will have a game in hand.

Course and distance winners

Another reason for City’s psychological edge is their title-winning pedigree under Guardiola.

They have finished first in five of the last six seasons, and second to Liverpool in the other, and have been noted for their strong finishes in that time.

Of the final 18 points available to them in each of the last six seasons, City have won 16, 18, 15, 12, 16 and 13 – an average of 15 which, if repeated this term, would require either Liverpool or Arsenal to win all six of their remaining games.

Arsenal, under Guardiola’s former assistant Mikel Arteta, put themselves in prime position last season but faltered by taking only 12 points from their final nine games, and nine in the last six including successive defeats to Brighton and Nottingham Forest, as they finished five points behind City.

Liverpool have previous achievements of their own to fall back on after winning the 2019-20 title, the only interruption to City’s run of dominance.

They had done their work earlier that season, though they still won four and drew one of their last six to ease home with an 18-point winning margin.

The previous season they won their last nine games in succession to push City all the way, finishing a point behind with their total of 97 the highest ever for a team who did not win the title.

They have taken 16, 16 and 14 points from their last six games in the three seasons since their title win but know they will need something similar, allied to an unfamiliar City slip-up, if they are to provide a glorious finale to Jurgen Klopp’s managerial reign.

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Barcelona decide on Xavi replacement - report
Xavi confirmed he plans to step down as Barcelona head coach earlier this year
Former midfielder insists he will not change his mind
Report claims Barcelona have reached a decision on his replacement

By Tom Gott
11:00 AM GMT+1
Xavi is expected to leave Barcelona this summer
Xavi is expected to leave Barcelona this summer / Fran Santiago/GettyImages
Barcelona have decided that they will promote Rafael Marquez to first-team manager if they find themselves forced to replace Xavi this summer, a report claims.

Xavi confirmed earlier this year that he plans to step down at the end of the season and, amid several calls for him to stay on and continue the club's impressive run of form, he recently stressed he will not change his mind.

According to SPORT, Barcelona are no longer looking for a replacement for Xavi and have decided that if they cannot convince the current boss to continue, they will turn to Marquez.

The former Mexico international, who spent seven years as a player at Camp Nou between 2003 and 2010, has impressed since returning to the club to take charge of Barca Atletic, and the report claims he is now the only candidate under consideration to replace Xavi.

While hope of keeping Xavi has not yet vanished, his insistence that nothing could change his mind has left club officials aware that they may be fighting a losing battle.

Rafa Marquez
Marquez could be Barcelona's next manager / Alex Caparros/GettyImages
Barcelona have searched for possible replacements for Xavi but have now ruled out moves for managers with high termination clauses, such as Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim or Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi.

Former Germany manager Hansi Flick is seen as the only feasible external candidate as he is available for free, but concerns over his inexperience in Spain and high salary demands have seen club officials cool talk of a move for Flick.

As a result, the focus is now on Marquez, whose knowledge of the club's academy also works in his favour.

Marquez will be promoted to first-team coach only if president Joan Laporta fails to convince Xavi to stay on. He hopes to keep Xavi and will spend the next few weeks trying to reach a positive resolution with the current boss before switching his attention to Marquez.

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Manchester United
Diogo Dalot disagrees with Erik ten Hag over Man Utd tactics
Man Utd dropped to seventh in Premier League table with 2-2 draw at Bournemouth
Manager Erik ten Hag has defended his tactics despite alarming number of shots conceded
Diogo Dalot at odds with Ten Hag over team's vulnerabilities at the back

By Sean Walsh
11:25 AM GMT+1
Dalot is unhappy with Man Utd's performances
Dalot is unhappy with Man Utd's performances / James Gill - Danehouse/GettyImages
Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has expressed concern over the number of shots his side face, despite manager Erik ten Hag routinely downplaying the issue.

Only relegation-battling Premier League newcomers Luton Town (576) have faced more shots this season than United (574), while the Red Devils have given up over 20 shots in nine of their last ten league games.


Ten Hag, who has been criticised for using a tactical system which leaves huge gaps between the midfield and defence, has regularly defended this issue, claiming the goals conceded stat is more important than just shots alone.

But speaking after Saturday's 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, Dalot insisted United's tactics leave them too vulnerable at the back and they want to find a solution to this problem.

"I think it's a fact, something we are looking for. Maybe we are taking too many risks, sometimes the gap between the defence and midfield is a little bit too big," he said.


Erik ten Hag, Willy Kambwala, Harry Maguire
Ten Hag has been bullish in defence of his own tactics / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
"This is why we are sometimes getting the counter attacks too many times and are conceding too many shots, but overall we are looking forward to taking this as a learning process and trying to do better.

"I'm disappointed [with the draw]. We wanted to come here and get the three points. We were down twice, so we had the hunger to fight for the game. I think we lost control in situations we shouldn't and that was the script of the match.

"I mean, we lost a little bit of control, especially building up from the back in situations where we shouldn't and we conceded two goals in the first half - we could have avoided that, but overall we have the attitude to fight for the result and that’s a positive to take away."

United return to action on Sunday at Wembley in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, taking on Championship side Coventry City.

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Man Utd players 'convinced' Erik ten Hag will get sacked this summer
Ten Hag is under mounting pressure after Man Utd's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth
Sir Jim Ratcliffe tipped to hire new manager this summer
Several players reported to be delaying contract decisions due to managerial uncertainty

90min Staff
By 90min Staff
10:30 BST
Ten Hag faces an uncertain future
Ten Hag faces an uncertain future / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages
A number of Manchester United players are delaying decisions on their futures as they are 'convinced' manager Erik ten Hag will get sacked, a report has claimed.

Ten Hag's position has been under real pressure since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS arrived at Old Trafford earlier this year, with tensions continuing to rise amid a run of underwhelming results, the latest of which came in the form of a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at the weekend.


With United now at risk of securing their lowest-ever Premier League finish, the Manchester Evening News state there are several players who are now convinced that Ten Hag will not be in charge of the club next season.

With certain members of the squad expecting a change in manager, those players are also said to be delaying decisions over their own futures until they know who will be in the dugout next year.

There is no mention of which players share this stance but United do have several players approaching the end of their contracts and facing uncertain futures this summer, and there is a reluctance to make any decisions until Ten Hag's future is resolved.


Erik ten Hag
Ten Hag remains confident he will keep his job / Charlie Crowhurst/GettyImages
Ten Hag has publicly insisted he is confident he will still be in charge at United next season but Ratcliffe has declined to make any concrete statements on the manager's future.

INEOS chiefs have also been searching the market for potential replacements in case they decide to part ways with Ten Hag this summer, with England boss Gareth Southgate among the names linked with a move to Old Trafford.

Ten Hag will enter the final year of his own £9m-a-year contract this summer, so United officials would have to agree a compensation fee to buy their way out of Ten Hag's deal.


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Erik ten Hag reveals Man Utd defender played through injury against Bournemouth
Ten Hag reveals Harry Maguire played through pain during 2-2 Bournemouth draw
Red Devils have suffered mass injuries in defence throughout 2023/24 season
Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans all absent at centre-back

Jude Summerfield
By Jude Summerfield
14 Apr 2024
Injuries have seen Maguire partner youngster Kambwala in defence
Injuries have seen Maguire partner youngster Kambwala in defence / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
Erik ten Hag revealed Harry Maguire played through an injury during Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Saturday night.

The Red Devils were once again without a number of key players and fell behind twice at the Vitality Stadium. However, two strikes from Bruno Fernandes helped Ten Hag's side leave the south coast with a point for their efforts.


Maguire partnered youngster Willy Kambwala in central defence, with Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans all missing due to injuries. Fellow defenders Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia also remain out of contention.

While Ten Hag did criticise his players for the performance in the draw, he picked out Maguire for some praise having overcome a knock earlier.

Harry Maguire
Maguire is a regular in United's defence / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages
"We have a team that is resilient, has character, we want to win. Twice we fought back from losing positions," he told Sky Sports. "Second half was better. We took more responsibility and we closed up the sides.


"That also has to do with in the middle Harry Maguire was struggling in the first half, and you see we don't have many options at centre-half any more. But in the second half his leadership and guidance helped us to be more closed.

"We have used the same back line twice and these players gave everything, their maximum."

He later said in his post-match press conference: "One thing was Harry Maguire had an issue in the first half and for us he overcame [it].

"During the game, he recovered from it and you see in the second half, he was up there and then he can express his leadership, he can express his defending qualities and his [ability] on the ball.

"We needed that in this back four, we lost some balls in areas we shouldn’t lose them. For instance, the first goal, the setup was good, but in that area, you should never lose the ball."

Maguire had come close to leaving Old Trafford to join West Ham in last year's summer transfer window but injuries elsewhere have seen the England international start 16 Premier League games for Man Utd so far this season.

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