LONDON — Manchester City’s calamitous spell continued with a shocking 4-0 rout by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, while Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a confident 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Aston Villa’s winless streak continued when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to lowly Crystal Palace.
James Maddison scored twice while Pedro Porro also netted and Brennan Johnson added a fourth for Spurs deep in added time as the Londoners subjected City to their most lopsided loss at the Etihad Stadium.
The limp display left hundreds of shell-shocked City fans beating a hasty exit, ending the champion’s record run of 52 consecutive home matches unbeaten in all competitions.
City manager Pep Guardiola, who signed a two-year contract extension two days earlier, has now lost five consecutive games across all competitions for the first time in his career, and three in a row in the league in his tenure with City.
The loss left City five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, with the Reds having a game in hand. Spurs climbed to sixth.
Goals by Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey and teenager Ethan Nwaneri got Arsenal back on track after four league games without a win in manager Mikel Arteta’s 250th game in charge.
Arsenal stayed in fourth spot, level on 22 points with third-placed Chelsea who began the day’s action with a 2-1 victory away at Leicester City, and one point behind City.
Leaders Liverpool have 28 points ahead of their Sunday clash with bottom club Southampton.
Arsenal began the day level on points with surprise package Forest but outclassed the Midlands club in the London rain.
The returning Saka and captain Martin Odegaard were hugely influential for Arsenal, combining after 15 minutes for Saka to clip a superb left-footed drive high past Forest keeper Matz Sels.
Partey curled in Arsenal’s second after 52 minutes and 17-year-old Nwaneri, on as a substitute, put the icing on the cake with his first Premier League goal late on. — Reuters
