Manchester City ended Arsenal’s six-month stay on the Premier League summit and condemned Burnley to relegation with a laboured 1-0 victory at Turf Moor on Wednesday.
Erling Haaland’s clinical finish after five minutes could have paved the way for a boost to City’s goal difference but they lacked a cutting edge as Burnley dug deep.
Haaland hit the post and had other chances as City tried to give themselves a safety margin, but Pep Guardiola’s side had to make do with a surprisingly narrow victory.
After reeling Arsenal in, they now lead the table on goals scored with both sides on 70 points from 33 games and with an identical goal difference of plus 37.
For Scott Parker’s Burnley, the inevitable has now become a reality as they are stuck on 20 points, 13 points behind the safety zone, with only four games remaining.
“We played a really good game, unfortunately we missed a lot of chances. We defended better in the second half. Second half we had less problems,” Guardiola, whose side face Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, told Sky Sports.
“It was such a demanding game on Sunday. It is not easy after three days but in the Premier League you have to adjust. We are used to doing it. We competed really well, we made a really good game but it’s a pity the chances we had.”
City’s fans sang “we are top of the league” at the final whistle as their team hit the top but it was with a mixture of relief as they could never truly relax as Burnley betrayed their lowly status with a spirited display.
Arsenal have led the race since early October but have stalled in April and Haaland’s winner in a 2-1 victory against them at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday has given City the edge.
With the race so tight, however, they would have expected to sweep Burnley aside by a wider margin on Wednesday and given themselves the edge on goal difference.
It certainly looked that way at the start as Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka made a great save from Rayan Cherki before Haaland was played through and the Norwegian advanced before dinking a subtle left-footed finish past the keeper.
City had 10 goal attempts before the break although Burnley were a threat with Jaidon Anthony having an early shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma while Zian Flemming shot wide.
Antoine Semenyo poked a chance over the bar early in the second half and Haaland drifted a shot against the post as City strained for a second goal.
In the end, it was a nervous finale as Burnley won a corner deep in stoppage time with Dubravka sent forward, but City avoided any stumble to take the points.
While they may have hit the top after stretching their unbeaten league run to 11, City will need to play better in a relatively tough run-in to win a fifth title in six seasons.
They also are at a disadvantage with Arsenal playing twice in the league before City’s next league game away at Everton.
For Burnley, it is a second relegation in three seasons, having come up from the Championship with 100 points.
“I came here with a dream to keep this club up,” Burnley captain Kyle Walker, a multiple title winner with City, said. “Hopefully we can do the fans proud next season.”
Reuters.
