London, May 9: Manchester City will have to wait at least 24 hours before they are crowned Premier League champions for this season after they lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea on Saturday evening.
Guardiola made plenty of changes to the side that beat Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday but saw his side take the lead through Raheem Sterling on the stroke of halftime.
It should have been game over moments later when City was awarded a penalty, but Kun Aguero tried to score a chipped ‘Panenka’ style penalty only for Chelsea keeper Eduoard Mendy to stand tall and make an easy save.
Chelsea improved drastically after the break with Hakim Ziyech taking advantage of good work by Christian Pulisic to level with his left foot. Marcos Alonso put down a marker for the Champions League final with a finish into the top corner of the net after excellent work from Timo Werner.
Liverpool kept its faint top four hopes alive in the English Premier League after beating Southampton by an unconvincing 2-0 at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s side stumbled over the line for only a second league win at home in 2021 on Saturday, thanks to Sadio Mane’s first-half header and Thiago Alcantara’s first goal for the club in the 90th minute.
The game quickly settled into a familiar pattern at Anfield of chances created but not converted.
Mane made no mistake from Mohamed Salah’s 31st-minute cross the first time this season the pair combined for a Premier League goal.
The host’s anxiety wasn’t calmed until just after 90 minutes when Thiago scored from outside the edge of the penalty area.
Manchester United further delayed Manchester City’s coronation as Premier League champion by rallying to beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Sunday.
City would have clinched the title if United lost, and that scenario was on when Bertrand Traore put Villa into the lead in the 24th minute.
United was more energized in the second half and a 52nd-minute penalty by Bruno Fernandes his 17th goal of the campaign was followed four minutes later by a strike by Mason Greenwood.
Substitute Edinson Cavani headed in a third goal in the 87th, and Villa had striker Ollie Watkins sent off in the 89th for picking up a second yellow card.
Earlier, Wolves managed a 2-1 win over Brighton who had Lewis Dunk (53) and Maupay (90+7) sent off.
Brighton’s Dunk scored in the 13th minute before the Wolves staged a comeback, scoring through Traore (76) and Morgan Gibbs-White (90).
West Ham’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League were damaged by a 1-0 home loss to Everton in the Premier League on Sunday, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring the first-half winner. Everton celebrated an 11th away win of the campaign and closed to within three points of fifth-place West Ham. (Agencies)
