Pep Guardiola might have thought he would be taking over the champions of England when he agreed to join Manchester City from next season. If City’s current form is anything to go by, the world’s best manager might be coaching a side in the UEFA Europa League.
City’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United on Sunday, courtesy of another goal by teenager Marcus Rashford, did not only end their realistic chances of winning the English Premier League, it also left the club under severe threat of being displaced from the top four in an increasingly fraught race for UEFA Champions League qualification.
Manchester United and West Ham United are only one point behind fourth-placed City, who have won just one of their past six league games and have got a Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain to further complicate their schedule.
Photo: EPA
First-placed Leicester City are now 15 points clear of Manchester City. Tottenham Hotspur, though, have not given up hope of reeling in the surprise leaders.
Harry Kane scored two goals for the second straight league game as Spurs beat AFC Bournemouth 3-0 to stay five points adrift of Leicester City.
The title race looks to be down to two teams, although third-placed Arsenal — 11 points behind Leicester with a game in hand — could still have a say.
Liverpool’s improbable ambitions of making the top four were hit after squandering a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Southampton.
The Reds could have moved four points behind City with a win, but that honor instead goes to Southampton in another example of the unpredictable nature of the campaign.
At the other end of the standings, Newcastle United and Sunderland drew 1-1 in the northeast derby and both remain in the relegation zone.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored an 83rd-minute equalizer for Newcastle, who avoided a seventh straight loss to their fierce rivals.
City became the latest team to be exposed by Rashford, United’s new star striker. The 18-year-old took his tally to five goals in eight games since being plucked from United’s youth team to answer a striker crisis last month.
Playing in his first Manchester derby, Rashford slipped past Martin Demichelis and slotted a finish under the body of goalkeeper Joe Hart for the 16th-minute winner.
Demichelis had a day to forget. Embarrassed for the goal, he was lucky not to concede a penalty for chopping down Rashford near the end of the first half. Then, he underhit a back-pass to Hart early in the second half, causing the goalkeeper to stretch to make a clearance and hurt his calf muscle. Hart was carried off on a stretcher, with City having already lost Raheem Sterling to injury.
Demichelis was substituted in the 53rd minute, after which City looked more composed and wasted a series of chances to equalize.
United held on, despite looking jaded near the end, having played Liverpool in the Europa League on Thursday, and picked up maximum points from a match United manager Louis van Gaal had dubbed “do or die” for his side’s top-four hopes.
“Now it is in our hands,” Van Gaal said.
City have failed to score in four of their past five matches, but scoring is not a problem for Kane this season.
The England striker became the top scorer in the Premier League by moving to 21 goals thanks to strikes after 44 seconds and then in the 16th minute.
Christian Eriksen added the third in the 52nd minute for Spurs at White Hart Lane.
“I’m very happy with the collective performance,” Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “I thought we were fantastic.”
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