SOCCER: Man City and Villa close gap on Arsenal, Liverpool edge Sunderland

MANCHESTER – Manchester City cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League to three points with a dominant 3-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday, while Aston Villa stayed in contention with a late 1-0 home victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Sunderland’s unbeaten home run came to an end as Liverpool claimed a 1-0 win to boost their top-four hopes. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest missed a chance to climb out of the relegation zone, drawing 0-0 with bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Burnley staged a remarkable 3-2 comeback at Crystal Palace to strengthen their survival bid.

City Shows Clinical Edge Against Fulham

Manchester City, with little room for error in the title race, delivered a clinical first-half performance against Fulham. Three goals in a 15-minute span sealed the victory for Pep Guardiola’s side, who moved to 53 points from 26 games, keeping the pressure on leaders Arsenal, who face Brentford on Thursday.

Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring in the 24th minute and then assisted Nico O’Reilly for the second. Phil Foden’s pass found Erling Haaland, who scored his 22nd league goal of the season, marking City’s 17th successive Premier League win against Fulham—the longest run by one team over another in the competition.

“The team in certain moments is growing, people are coming back. It is really, really important,” Guardiola said.

Brighton Own Goal Gives Villa Late Victory

Aston Villa appeared to be struggling at home, but a late own goal by Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood in the 86th minute secured a 1-0 win. Brighton midfielder James Milner, 40, made a substitute appearance for his 653rd top-flight game, equaling Gareth Barry’s record.

Van Dijk Sends Liverpool Past Sunderland

Liverpool ended Sunderland’s perfect home record this season with a 1-0 win. Captain Virgil van Dijk scored from a Mohamed Salah corner just past the hour mark, despite efforts from Sunderland’s Habib Diarra.

The result puts Liverpool in sixth place with 42 points, two behind Chelsea, who drew 2-2 at home to Leeds United on Tuesday.

“We can't deny that it feels very big, but there are still 12 games to go. So we have to keep improving and trying to find consistency,” Van Dijk said.

Forest Frustrated by Wolves Stalemate

Nottingham Forest dominated at the City Ground with 35 attempts on goal but were unable to score, drawing 0-0 with Wolverhampton. The draw leaves Forest in 17th place, just three points above third-from-bottom West Ham United.

“It is very frustrating to dominate a game like that, with so many chances. There were plenty of good opportunities, but it's about finding that killer moment,” said Forest manager Sean Dyche.

Wolves remain at nine points, just two points above the lowest-ever Premier League total.

Burnley Stuns Palace in Dramatic Comeback

Burnley ended a 16-game winless streak with a stunning 3-2 comeback at Crystal Palace. Palace looked comfortable with two early goals from new signing Jorgen Strand Larsen, but Burnley responded with Hannibal Mejbri halving the deficit and Jaidon Anthony equalizing. Burnley then went ahead in first-half stoppage time after Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson parried a shot, and the ball deflected off teammate Jefferson Lerma.

Burnley held on after the break for their first league win since October, leaving them nine points behind Forest.

-Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis and Ken Ferris/Reuters