Premier League: Arsenal floor Luton, dethrones Liverpool as Foden hat-trick sees City crush Villa

Arsenal floor Luton to dethrone Liverpool as Foden hat-trick sees City crush Villa

Arsenal coasted to a 2-0 win over struggling Luton on Wednesday to dislodge Liverpool from the top of the Premier League table, once again edging ahead in a thrilling three-way title tussle.

Gunners captain Martin Odegaard opened the scoring midway through the first half and an own goal just before the break gave the home side a cushion.

The result lifts Arsenal to 68 points - one ahead of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, who host Sheffield United on Thursday.

Defending champions Manchester City, playing fourth-placed Aston Villa on Wednesday, started the evening in third place, a point behind Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta's men dominated possession in the opening stages at the Emirates but created few clear-cut openings in front of an expectant crowd.

But they broke the deadlock in the 24th minute, courtesy of a sweet left-footed strike by Odegaard.

Emile Smith-Rowe, a peripheral figure this season, stole possession and fed Odegaard, who played a one-two with Kai Havertz before stroking the ball home.

Arsenal doubled their lead in the 44th minute thanks to an own goal from Luton defender Daiki Hashioka, who turned into his own net following more good work down the left by Smith-Rowe.

The home side, playing in second gear, had just three shots on target in the first half but were well worth their lead.

The bulk of the second half was largely flat, although Luton came into the game more, probing for an opening to haul themselves back into the contest.

Arteta brought on midfielder Declan Rice and forward Eddie Nketiah, adding Gabriel Martinelli with 15 minutes to play.

Arsenal substitute Takehiro Tomiyasu went close, bending one just wide, and Nketiah forced a save from the scrambling Thomas Kaminski in the closing minutes.

They were unable to score a third but saw the game out with few alarms.

The Gunners, who have not been crowned English champions since 2004, set the pace for the bulk of last season before flagging as the finishing line approached.

But, adding steel to their style, they have now won nine of their past 10 league games, with the only blip in that sequence a goalless draw against City on Sunday.

Arsenal, who have conceded just four goals in the league in 2024, travel to Brighton on Saturday before hosting Villa on April 14.

Defeat for depleted Luton leaves Rob Edwards' side third from bottom of the English top flight, three points from safety, and facing an immediate return to the Championship.

Foden hits hat-trick as Man City crush Aston Villa

Phil Foden shone in the absence of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne as the England international's hat-trick handed Manchester City a thumping 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The champions responded emphatically to questions over their ability to win the biggest games and move to within one point of leaders, Arsenal, at the top of the Premier League.

City had not beaten a side in the Premier League's top five in six attempts this season before the visit of fourth-placed Villa to the Etihad.

But Pep Guardiola showed faith in the depth of his squad by leaving Haaland and De Bruyne on the bench for the full 90 minutes ahead of a hectic schedule in their defence of three competitions.

"The schedule is terrible and we have to bring energy. Everybody has to be involved," said Guardiola on his decision to leave out Haaland and De Bruyne.

Guardiola has hailed Foden as the best player in the English top-flight this season, and the 23-year-old backed up his manager's words by taking his goal tally for the season to 21.

"Phil, when he plays in a central position, he has a sense of goal," added Guardiola.

"He's a really top class player - he has a natural talent, a gift."

City were beaten 1-0 by Villa when the sides met in December, but that was their last defeat as Guardiola's men are now unbeaten in 24 games.

And Unai Emery conceded the gulf between the sides showed.

"We performed very well in different circumstances (at home to City). Today, they showed their power and deserved to win," said the Villa boss.

Jeremy Doku was one of those who returned to the City side among four changes, and the Belgian rewarded his manager with his brightest display in a City shirt for months.

Doku was the creator for the opener as he skipped past Lucas Digne, and his cross was swept high past Villa's stand-in goalkeeper Robin Olsen, by Rodri.

Villa's normal number one, Emiliano Martinez was just one of a host of key absences for the visitors.

Top scorer Ollie Watkins was sidelined by injury, while captain John McGinn was suspended.

However, Jhon Duran showed he is an able deputy to Watkins as the Colombian swept home a fine equaliser after exchanging a one-two with Morgan Rogers.

City restored their lead just before half-time to calm the rising tension among the Etihad crowd, thanks to Foden's first of the night. His free-kick sneaked through a hole in the Villa wall caused by Nicolo Zaniolo jumping out of position to leave Olsen unsighted.

City's number two 'keeper Stefan Ortega is enjoying a rare run in the side due to Ederson's thigh injury.

And the German was needed to make a vital save after the break to deny Villa levelling for a second time through Douglas Luiz.

Foden made the points safe when he swept in Rodri's pass off the inside of the post. And he completed his hat-trick in style by blasting into the top corner from outside the box.

Liverpool can retake top spot when they host bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United on Thursday.

But City will be quietly confident of becoming the first side to ever win four consecutive English top-flight titles with the worst of their run-in now cleared.

Guardiola's men have just one more match against a top-six opponent, away to Tottenham, in their final eight games of the season.

Defeat leaves Villa still just two points above Spurs in the race for a top-four finish, having played a game more.

- AFP

Tottenham held by West Ham, Everton hit back at Newcastle

Tottenham missed the chance to move into the Premier League's top four after a 1-1 draw at West Ham, while Newcastle were also held 1-1 by Everton on Tuesday.

Spurs have made a habit of recovering from slow starts to win in recent months, but this time they failed to capitalise on scoring after just five minutes.

Brennan Johnson was left with the simple task of tapping into an empty net from Timo Werner's cross.

West Ham were under pressure to respond after collapsing from 3-1 up to lose 4-3 at Newcastle on Saturday.

The Hammers were quickly level as Jarrod Bowen's corner flew in off the back of Kurt Zouma.

A draw kept West Ham one point ahead of Newcastle in seventh, but they missed the best chance to take all three points when Michail Antonio fired straight at Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham close to within two points of Aston Villa in fourth and extend their lead over sixth-placed Manchester United to nine points.

"Disappointed not to get a better outcome, but a tough game," said Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou.

"There's a lot of games to go still. I will be very surprised if all games aren't tight. Everyone is fighting for something. We have to maintain our levels."

Everton's unwanted record

Injury-hit Newcastle's hopes of European football next season were dented by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's late equaliser for Everton from the penalty spot.

Alexander Isak netted for the fifth consecutive game at St James' Park to open the scoring.

The Swede took his tally for the season to 19 as he cut inside Jarrad Branthwaite and slotted into the far corner on 15 minutes.

"Alexander Isak is an outstanding technician," said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe. "He looks like he will score in every game at the moment."

How Sean Dyche longs for a striker of Isak's quality. But Calvert-Lewin ended a near six-month goal drought from the spot after Ashley Young was hauled down inside the box by Paul Dummett.

Everton set a new club record winless run of 13 Premier League games to leave their 70-year stay in the top flight still at risk.

The Toffees edge four points above the relegation zone but have the threat of a second points deduction for breaches of financial rules hanging over them.

Forest blitz

Nottingham Forest pulled three points clear of the relegation zone with a first-half blitz of Fulham to win 3-1.

The home side sped out of the blocks at the City Ground as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood smashed home inside the first 19 minutes.

Fulham boss Marco Silva showed his disgust by making a triple substitution after just half an hour.However, even that did not halt Forest's momentum as Morgan Gibbs-White made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time.

"It's important but it can not distract us because we have a long way to go," said Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

"We've had good performances before and not been able to sustain them so let's take that into this game and try to sustain the performance."

Fulham pulled one back through Tosin Adarabioyo in the second half but it was too little, too late for the Cottagers.

Second-bottom Burnley are now unbeaten in four but slip six points adrift of safety after a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves.

Jacob Bruun Larsen put the Clarets in front, but Rayan Ait-Nouri's header secured Wolves a point.

Bournemouth climbed above Chelsea into 11th thanks to Justin Kluivert's winner as they beat Crystal Palace 1-0.

Arsenal can leapfrog Liverpool to go top of the table when they host Luton, while Manchester City take on Aston Villa in the pick of Wednesday's action.

Liverpool are expected to ease past bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United when they visit Anfield on Thursday.

- AFP