BURNLEY: Sergio Aguero’s 20th Premier League goal of the season left Manchester City just two wins from the title after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday.
Aguero, who has now scored nine times in his past eight appearances against Burnley, struck in the 63rd minute, with a shot that only just crossed the line despite the best efforts of defender Matt Lowton to keep it out, although goal-line technology was needed to award the goal.
The win takes City on to 92 points, one ahead of Liverpool, with two games to play.
Pep Guardiola’s side now need to win their final matches at home to Leicester City and away to Brighton and Hove Albion to retain the title and break the hearts of second-placed Liverpool who have tracked them all the way.
The victory was the 12th win in a row for City, who have shown no signs of giving Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool, who have lost just once all campaign, the slightest opening.
For the first time in months, City’s elimination from the Champions League means they will crucially have a free midweek to prepare for those key matches.
By contrast, Liverpool must travel to Newcastle United next weekend, either side of the two legs of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, before hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers on May 12.
City have now won 12 consecutive Premier League games but they had to work to maintain their composure against the Clarets and broke through with an uncharacteristically scrappy goal.
Aguero’s shot was chested out and cleared by Lowton on the goalline but technology ruled the effort had crossed — a minor compensation for Guardiola after a VAR video review had led to his team’s elimination from the Champions League.
It was an unusual sight to see Guardiola take off two forwards in the latter stages and replace them with central defenders and while the City boss joked that he was “trembling” at the end, his counterpart Sean Dyche claimed the Spaniard had been yelling for his team to get the ball in the corner.
City had enough possession and chances to have put the game to bed well before the tense final minutes, but even if Burnley created very little attacking threat, Guardiola was leaving nothing to chance.
“In the first half we didn’t create too much but of course it is what it is,” said Guardiola, who pointed the finger at a dry pitch and what he viewed as long grass for his side lacking their usual slickness.
“Ninety-two points is incredible — it is in our hands, we must win our next two games and our next one against Leicester. We didn’t concede one shot on target or one corner, we are a small team but we are smart, in the first half the pitch was so dry and it was slow but in the second half we knew we had to score our goal. In the last minutes anything can happen, always it is difficult if you cannot close the game.”
ARSENAL’S TOP-FOUR HOPES HIT
Earlier on Sunday, 10-man Arsenal suffered a 3-0 Premier League defeat at Leicester City in another blow to their hopes of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.
Goals from Youri Tielemans and a Jamie Vardy double ensured Arsenal suffered a fourth loss in their last five league games, three of which have now come on the road.
Unai Emery’s side remain in fifth on 66 points, with top-four rivals Manchester United in sixth place (64 points) playing fourth-placed Chelsea (67) later on Sunday.
Leicester climbed to eighth, three points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in seventh place, which may still earn a route to the Europa League.
Arsenal were up against it after 36 minutes when Ainsley Maitland-Niles was sent off for a second bookable offence and Tielemans opened the scoring with a header in the 56th.
Then Arsenal were exposed twice by Vardy in the closing stages, once from a goal-kick that was missed by the entire Gunners backline and then for a stoppage-time tap-in after Ricardo Pereira was allowed to stroll unchallenged into the penalty area.
