Manchester City completed its ominous, late-season rise to the top of the Premier League by beating Burnley 1-0 thanks to Erling Haaland’s early goal on Wednesday, ending Arsenal’s 200-day stay in first place.
The result condemned American-owned Burnley to relegation after one season back in the top flight.
Haaland ran onto Jeremy Doku’s pass to convert a deft finish in the fifth minute for his league-high 24th goal of the campaign, snatching a win that allowed City to back up its newfound credentials as title favorite following its 2-1 victory over Arsenal on Sunday.
“We played a really good game, unfortunately we missed a lot of chances. We defended better in the second half. Second half we had fewer problems,” Guardiola, whose side faces Southampton in the FA Cup semifinal on Saturday, said.
“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 played 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, but it was with a mixture of relief, as they could never truly relax in the face of a spirited Burnley display that betrayed its lowly status.
Arsenal has led the race since early October, but has stalled in April. Haaland’s winner in a 2-1 victory against the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday has now given City the edge.
With the race so tight, however, City would have expected to sweep Burnley aside by a wider margin on Wednesday and give itself the advantage of a better goal difference.
It certainly looked as if that would be the case at the start, as Rayan Cherki forced Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka into a great save, before Haaland was played through and the Norwegian dinked a subtle left-footed finish past him.
City had 10 goal attempts before the break, although Burnley was still a threat, with Jaidon Anthony having an early shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma and Zian Flemming firing wide.
Antoine Semenyo poked a chance over the bar early in the second half, and Haaland and Cherki hit the post as City strained for a second goal.
Nico O’Reilly also had a weak shot saved with the net at his mercy, as City’s players threw everything at Burnley — they finished the game having had 28 shots.
It was a nervous finale, though, as Burnley won a corner deep in stoppage time with Dubravka sent forward, but City avoided any stumble to take all three points.
With goal difference potentially coming into play, City might regret its profligacy at Turf Moor.
Winning by a one-goal margin left City and Arsenal tied on both points (70) and goal difference (+37). City only leads courtesy of more goals scored (66 to Arsenal’s 63).
“I was not frustrated. Why would I be?” Guardiola said. “We won three points, we are top of the league.”
“In these types of games, if you score the second or third that you deserve, everything’s more fluid and natural,” Guardiola said.
“But,” he added, “the main target was winning the game.”
City was nine points adrift of Arsenal after drawing with West Ham on March 14.
Three straight wins, combined with back-to-back losses for Arsenal, have turned the title race on its head.
Burnley relegated
For next-to-last Burnley, a third relegation from the Premier League in the last five seasons has been inevitable for weeks.
Scott Parker’s team slipped to its 22nd loss of the campaign and is 13 points from safety with four games remaining.
Having come up from the Championship with 100 points, Burnley will be returning to the second tier with last-placed Wolverhampton, the fate of which was sealed over the weekend. They’ll be joined by one other team, which, based on the current standings, could be Tottenham.
“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.”
Leeds closer to safety
In the other match Wednesday, Leeds scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to draw 2-2 at Bournemouth and edge nine points clear of third-to-last Tottenham, which is looking ever more vulnerable in the relegation zone.
Sean Longstaff’s late equalizer denied Bournemouth a win that would have lifted the Cherries to sixth place, four points off Champions League qualification.
