Manchester City reignited the Premier League title race on Sunday, scoring three goals in 17 second-half minutes to crush Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and move within six points of leaders Arsenal.
Nico O’Reilly started the rout, shrugging off Andrey Santos to head the ball home from a Rayan Cherki cross in the 51st minute. Cherki was on hand six minutes later to cross for former Chelsea defender Marc Guehi to finish in the bottom corner.
Jeremy Doku made it three in the 68th, robbing Moises Caicedo of the ball just outside the Chelsea area and flashing his shot past the stranded Robert Sanchez in goal.
City, who have a game in hand, play Arsenal, who lost to Bournemouth on Saturday, next weekend with their tails up, but the result severely dented Chelsea’s Champions League qualification ambitions. They remain sixth, four points adrift of Liverpool in fifth.
Tottenham loses again as new coach Roberto gets off to a bad start
Tottenham’s Premier League survival fight took another blow on Sunday after a 1-0 loss to Sunderland that left the London club rooted in the relegation zone.
In coach Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge, Spurs fell to its 16th league loss of the season. Its 14-game winless run in the league dates back to Jan. 1.
Nordi Mukiele’s deflected shot sealed the game at the Stadium of Light and plunged Tottenham’s campaign deeper into crisis.
Tottenham is two points adrift of safety with six games to go. Its plight wasn’t helped by relegation-fighting Nottingham Forest drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa.
Crystal Palace came back from 1-0 down to beat Newcastle 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
Second-placed Manchester City played at Chelsea later Sunday.
