Newcastle in disaster, Man City dreams of competing for Top 4

The absence of Erling Haaland clearly still has a significant impact on Man City's attacking power, despite the defending champions using "replacement" Omar Marmoush.

An unlucky day for the Egyptian striker, coupled with a solid home defense from Everton, left Man City almost deadlocked at Goodison Park.

Newcastle gặp — Jarrad Branthwaite attacks in front of Man City's goal

With a little more luck, Everton would have scored the opening goal from James Tarkowski's header that hit the post in the 31st minute. Everton's captain had a good day, so his early exit from the field in the second half due to injury was considered part of the reason for the home team's collapse.

In a tight match, the turning point for Man City came in the 84th minute when young talent Nico O'Reilly suddenly shone. The 20-year-old defender appeared out of nowhere, calmly receiving Matheus Nunes' cross and finishing close to the goal.

Everton officially collapsed and in the 90+2 minute, the home team's net shook for the second time after Mateo Kovacic's decisive finish. The 2-0 away win helped Man City rise to 4th place in the Premier League table with 58 points, further strengthening their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

The race for European qualification continues to heat up the Premier League, especially at Villa Park, where the fierce battle between Aston Villa and Newcastle is taking place.

The pain of being eliminated at the threshold of the Champions League semi-finals has not yet subsided, but home team Aston Villa still maintains its focus as there are still many goals to conquer in the season.

Just a few dozen seconds after the opening whistle, Aston Villa opened the scoring when Ollie Watkins' shot hit the visitors' center back Fabian Schar's leg, changing direction, defeating goalkeeper Nick Pope. Watkins then had consecutive chances to finish but the ball hit the crossbar and then hit the post of Newcastle's goal, to the regret of the fans.

In the 18th minute, Fabian Schar made up for Newcastle's mistake with a dangerous close-range header, completely defeating goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. The match was quite balanced despite both sides playing with great determination in the remaining time of the first half.

No one expected Newcastle to collapse completely when they lost control of the game to their opponents in the second half of the match. Unable to develop the ball in counter-attacks, the "Magpies" continuously conceded goals after a goal by Ian Maatsen, an own goal by midfielder Dan Burn and a cannon shot to seal the 4-1 score by Amadou Onana.

Newcastle were lucky to avoid a heavier defeat but Eddie Howe's six-match winning run, including beating Liverpool in the League Cup final, came to an end.

More seriously, the third place in the rankings that they just won in the middle of the week is also at risk of being shaken by the rise of competitors such as Man City, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/newcastle-gap-tham-hoa-man-city-lai-mo-tranh-top-4-196250420064031337.htm