The long -awaited Return of Erling Haaland He could not prevent Manchester City from falling to another bad result in a season to forget for the deposed Premier League champion.
A surprising 0-0 draw in Southampton already relegated, the latest Premier League team and one of the worst to play in the maximum flight of England, threw the qualification ambitions of the City Champions League in doubt on Saturday.
After having renounced the Liverpool title, City is offering at least to ensure an end among the top five to enter the lucrative elite competition in Europe.
However, with two remaining games in the league, that is far from safe after a slow exhibition that even the star striker Haaland, back after six weeks with an ankle injury, could not turn around.
The third place City moved two points of Newcastle and Chelsea, which meet in St. James’ Park on Sunday, and four points ahead of Nottingham Forest, which houses Leicester already relegated on Sunday. Seventh place villa was a point back and visited Bournemouth later on Saturday.
It seemed that City bent the corner after a terrible series of results from November to February that eliminated the Pep Guardiola team for dispute for a fifth consecutive title of the Premier League, as well as the Champions League.
In fact, when I arrived in Southampton thoroughly, four consecutive victories, City even looked good to jump on arsenal and finish second behind Liverpool.
This raffle will relive the concerns about Guardiola’s team before the games to close its Premier League campaign, at home to Bournemouth, a club that pursues a first rating for European competition, and far from Fulham.
“Let’s join that point,” Guardiola said. “It is in our hands.”
Southampton was able to celebrate no longer being threatening the label of the worst Premier League team.
The draw transferred the Saints to 12 points, one more than the lowest points in a single season of the Premier League, established by Derby County in 2007-08.
Finishing in eighth could ensure the qualification for the league of the next season conference, the third level competition of Europe, and that remains the carrot for Brentford and Brighton after the victories on Saturday.
Brentford beat Ipswich 1-0 already relegated thanks to Kevin Schade’s viewpoint from a corner in the 18th minute.
Brighton won in Wolverhampton 2-0 after a tenth goal of the Danny Welbeck season, a penalty in 28, and Brajan Gruda, who contributed to the goalkeeper in 85 for his first goal for the South-Coast Club.
The eighth place Brentford and Brighton’s ninth place were tied at points, two more than Bournemouth and four more than Fulham, which he lost at home against Everton 3-1.
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Steve Douglas is in https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
