MANCHESTER:
Manchester City needed an Erling Holland penalty 12 minutes from time to beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Saturday as Liverpool’s revival from a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth was short-lived.
The win left City within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s men almost dominated the 94 minutes at Selhurst Park but Michael Olise struck another big blow to their title defense before cutting down Ilkay Gundogan inside the box.
Haaland kept his cool to score his 34th goal of the season from the spot.
“I like it, it’s England, it’s what I’ve seen all my life,” said Holland as they battled for their first Premier League title.
“I’m enjoying every second of it. It’s good to be around him.”
Earlier, Liverpool came back to earth last weekend with a 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United after suffering a record defeat.
Philip Billing scored Bournemouth’s only goal before Mohamed Salah converted a second-half penalty to lift the Cherries out of the bottom three.
“The game was the complete opposite of what we wanted to play and what we wanted to do today. I think we played a game that Bournemouth wanted to play for about 95 minutes,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said.
“That game was a big blow and the way it is with blows, you have to take them, see how big the scars are, and then you go from there.”
Harry Kane moved six points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool in the Champions League after scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest to end a difficult week for Spurs on a high.
The England captain’s future has been the subject of speculation after Spurs were knocked out of both the FA Cup and the Champions League in the space of a week.
Antonio Conte’s men had failed to score in their previous three games, but Kane ended that drought by heading in Pedro Porro’s cross.
Kane coolly slotted home his first penalty after missing a crucial spot-kick as England cruised past France in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Richarlison made amends for his criticism of Conte this week, firing Son Heung-min in Tottenham’s third game.
Joe Worrall pulled a goal back for Forest, who then won a stoppage-time penalty from Andre Ayew, which Fraser Forster saved.
Gary Lineker made the most of his absence from the BBC’s flagship football program Match of the Day to watch his beloved Leicester lose 3-1 against Chelsea.
Lineker was forced to “step back” from his presenting duties this week after comparing the UK government’s rhetoric on refugees to Nazi-era Germany.
Leicester remain rooted in the relegation battle to stay just one point above the relegation zone after suffering a fifth successive defeat.
Ben Chilwell put Chelsea ahead before Patson Daka equalized against his former club.
But Enzo Fernandez’s sensational pass and Kai Havertz’s finish put Chelsea ahead and Mateo Kovacic’s strike secured a third win in a row for the Blues, who continue to pile the pressure on Graham Potter.
Everton climbed out of the bottom three to 15th thanks to a third 1-0 win in four games under Sean Dyche.
Dwight McNeill scored the only goal in the first minute to end Brentford’s 12-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Leeds remain second from bottom but closed within a point of safety after coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 at home to high-flying Brighton.
Alexis McAllister gave the Seagulls the lead before Patrick Bamford equalized before the break.
Jack Harrison then scored either side of the second half to leave Brighton nine points clear of the top four, albeit with three games in hand.
