Man City and Aston Villa win to stay in touch with Premier League leader Arsenal

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City and Aston Villa kept the pressure on Premier League leader Arsenal with wins on…

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City and Aston Villa kept the pressure on Premier League leader Arsenal with wins on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest pulled further away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory against Tottenham and Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby after an own-goal from Nick Woltemade.

Arsenal had extended its lead at the top of the standings to five points with a 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. But a day later its closest rivals both responded with victories – second-place City winning 3-0 at Crystal Palace and Villa, in third, twice coming back to beat West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium.

City is two points behind Arsenal and Villa is a point further back.

Revenge for City

Beaten by Palace in the FA Cup final last season, City exacted some revenge to take all three points at Selhurst Park.

“They are so strong. Every time we play against them it’s so difficult,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Still, we are not top, but we are learning and after what happened we will be closer in the future.”

Erling Haaland scored his 101st Premier League goal to put City in front late in the first half and he got his second of the match with an 89th-minute penalty. The Norwegian has 36 goals in 27 appearances for club and country in another remarkable scoring season. He is the league’s leading scorer with 17 goals.

Phil Foden got City’s other goal in between Haaland’s double.

Rogers leads Villa fightback

Morgan Rogers scored twice in the second half to extend Aston Villa’s winning run to nine-straight games in all competitions and keep Unai Emery’s team on the heels of Arsenal and City.

Villa has lost just one of its last 13 games in the league and won 10 of its last 11, but twice had to come from behind at relegation fighting West Ham.

“We feel unstoppable, but we are making it difficult for ourselves,” Rogers said. “The battle and resilience we have means we know we can get back into it against a good team.

“We want to keep this going, it’s about being confident and I’m feeling good.”

Mateus Fernandes scored the fastest goal in England’s top flight this season when putting the home team 1-0 up after just 29 seconds. But Konstantinos Mavropanos’ own-goal leveled the game eight minutes later.

Jarrod Bowen then gave West Ham the lead at halftime with his second goal in as many games in the 24th.

Rogers leveled the game again five minutes after the break and struck the winner in the 79th.

Frank ‘burning’ after Spurs humbled by Forest

The pressure is mounting on Tottenham coach Thomas Frank, who was left infuriated after a latest loss.

Spurs have won just one of their last seven games in the league and face defending champion Liverpool at home next week.

“It’s hugely annoying, (I’m) burning inside,” said Frank. “I had such a good feeling going into this game, then we deliver this performance, which is not good enough.”

Two goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi at the City Ground put Frank’s team on course for another defeat – a sixth in the league this season. Ibrahim Sangare completed a miserable day for the visitors, but a joyous one for Forest, which is five points clear of the relegation zone after being re-energized since the appointment of Sean Dyche as coach in October.

Forest has won six of its last eight under Dyche, including four in the league.

Woe for Woltemade, respect for Sunderland

Woltemade endured an agonizing first Tyne-Wear derby since joining Newcastle after his own-goal handed victory to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The Germany striker has impressed since his club record $93 million move from Stuttgart in August. But he made himself a hero to Newcastle’s fiercest rival Sunderland when heading past Aaron Ramsdale a minute into second half.

To make matters worse, Woltemade was barely a threat at the other end – registering one shot before being replaced by Yoane Wissa in the 75th.

“Derbies are there to be won, it doesn’t matter how,” Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka said.

Sunderland is up to seventh in the standings — level on points with Liverpool.

“This team deserves respect, because where we are is what we deserve,” said Xhaka.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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