Man City Leapfrog Arsenal to Top of Premier League
Manchester City's Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in south London on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES. AN ADDITIONAL 40 IMAGES MAY BE USED IN EXTRA TIME. NO VIDEO EMULATION. SOCIAL MEDIA IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES. AN ADDITIONAL 40 IMAGES MAY BE USED IN EXTRA TIME. NO USE IN BETTING PUBLICATIONS, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. /
Manchester City continued their charge towards the Premier League title with 1-0 victory at Turf Moor to move Pep Guardiola’s side top of the table and relegate Burnley back to the Championship.
City have hit form at the right time and are looking in ominous mood, clawing back nine points on Arsenal in less than two weeks to narrowly climb to the summit on goals scored.
Guardiola’s men had not been in the number one spot since the opening week of the campaign, but an 11-game unbeaten streak has led to them overtaking the Gunners with five games left.
Top scorer Erling Haaland grabbed the opener after just five minutes, running clear following Jeremy Doku’s pass and dinking a delightful finish over the advancing Martin Dubravka, and he struck the post in the second half.
The visitors could have scored moments before but the excellent Rayan Cherki’s thumping effort was brilliantly tipped on to the crossbar by Dubravka.
City were being wasteful in front of goal, knowing goal difference could play a factor come May, with Nico O’Reilly’s header being batted out by Dubravka and Rayan Ait-Nouri blazing over after a fine team move.
