City closes on Arsenal; Liverpool crushes West Ham 5-2

KATHMANDU: Manchester City reduced the points gap with league leaders Arsenal to just two after a narrow 1-0 win over Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday.

The winning goal came from Antoine Semenyo in injury time of the first half, following a slick combination between Ryan Cherki and Ryan Ait-Nouri.

City manager Pep Guardiola’s side struggled initially without hometown star Erling Haaland, who missed the match due to a training injury. Despite that, City claimed their fourth consecutive Premier League victory.

Leeds threatened early through Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brenden Aaronson, but the visitors gradually asserted control.

Leeds had a late chance to equalize through Jaka Bijol, and coach Daniel Farke received a red card after a dispute with the referee. Despite the loss, Leeds remain 15th, six points above the relegation zone. Arsenal will host Chelsea on Sunday.

Liverpool Overpowers West Ham

Liverpool delivered a commanding 5-2 victory over West Ham United at Anfield, with Hugo Ekitike scoring once and assisting twice. The win boosts Liverpool’s push for a top-four finish, putting them level on points with Manchester United in fourth place.

Liverpool dominated early, scoring three goals in the first half—all from corner situations. Ekitike converted a fifth-minute corner from Dominic Soboslay, followed by a header from Virgil van Dijk in the 24th minute. Alexis Mac Allister added a third before halftime, turning Mohamed Salah’s corner into the net.

West Ham pulled one back early in the second half through Tomas Soucek, but Cody Gakpo restored the three-goal cushion in the 70th minute off another Ekitike assist. Later, Valentin Castellanos scored from a Jarrod Bowen corner to make it 4-2, before Axel Disasi’s own goal sealed the final 5-2 scoreline.

Elsewhere, Everton beat Newcastle 3-2, Brentford defeated Burnley 4-3, and Bournemouth drew 1-1 with Sunderland.