Manchester City remained in contention with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, holding off a fierce challenge from Nottingham Forest after Mikel Arteta's side were determined to beat Tottenham.
A fascinating three-way title battle pitted Josep Guardiola's City against Mikel Arteta's Gunners. Both teams are determined to make up for the collapse in the second half of last season.
Arsenal have 80 points with three games left, one point behind City, but the champions still have an important game to play and remain firm favorites to win the title.
The Gunners raced to a 3-0 lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after an early kick-off on Sunday and overcame a late scare to win 3-2 and temporarily move four points clear of the leaders.
Although City were not at their best, goals from Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland helped them defeat prodigal Forest, who were fighting for their lives.
Croatian defender Gvardiol put the Reds ahead after the half-hour mark with a header off Kevin De Bruyne's corner, before Haaland calmly slotted home in the 71st minute with an assist from the impressive De Bruyne. -0.
But Forest, who are just one point clear of the drop zone with three games remaining, will be rueful for squandering a number of chances, including two glaring errors from forward Chris Wood.
Guardiola was relieved that his side were in first place, but warned them not to become complacent in the final week of the season as they aim to win a double domestic title.
He believes his side cannot afford to drop points as they aim for an unprecedented fourth successive title in England's top flight.
“We want them (Arsenal) to lose. We can't control what they do. They've had good results,” the City manager said. The team is currently undefeated in 31 official games. “We have four games left. I don't think we will lose points and we know what we have to do.”
Nuno Espirito Santo will be staring down the trapdoor, desperate to get at least one point back in his appeal against a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League's financial rules.
Arsenal know they won't be able to catch up with City if they win their remaining games, but they show no signs of faltering under intense pressure.
Arteta's side silenced the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with three goals before half-time.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own goal gave Arsenal the lead, before goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz put Arsenal in full control.
Tottenham had a tense finish after the interval with goals from Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min, but the visitors held on tenaciously.
Arteta believes his side are better prepared to win the title than they were last season, when they suffered a major setback in the run-up despite leading by eight points at one point.
The Spaniard revealed he was hoping for divine intervention during the nerve-wracking closing stages of the game against Spurs.
“I was praying,” he said. “There were so many Spurs players in the box. It was a really emotional game. We had to dig and suffer and react. I'm very happy with the way the team did.”
The loss to fifth-placed Tottenham was a huge blow to their chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League. Although they still have two games left, they are seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Liverpool were in the box seat in the title race just a few weeks ago, but have won just one of their last five games and Jurgen Klopp is almost certain to win the League Cup in his final season at Anfield. I'll have to be satisfied with that.
JW/MW
© Agence France-Presse
