London: Manchester City beat Premier League basement clubs by Southampton on Saturday, while Aston Villa defeated Bournemouth in the Champions League match.
Pep Guardiola’s champion is expected to score three points on the South Coast of England (Waltz) and pull out the level with 67 points second-place Arsenal.
But despite the FA Cup finalists taking possession, they still couldn’t break their opponents despite the return of top scorer Erling Haaland.
He can still get an edge in the top five in the FA Cup final next week, which will ensure a Champions League qualification next season.
However, Villa is sixth in the 1-0 victory after Bournemouth, now just two points behind.
“(Southampton) is defending, defending and defending and wasting time,” Guardiola told the BBC. “We still take that into our hands.
“I didn’t expect them to go so deep. We were so good on defense, but unfortunately we missed the final move.”
Even though Southampton’s relegation fate was sealed a few weeks ago, the joy of home fans exploded amid the final whistle.
The key to countless Saints has brought them to 12 this season, meaning they avoided the label of being the worst team in Premier League history.
Now, during the 2007/08 campaign, the derby statistics are getting bigger and bigger.
“Everyone knows it’s been a tough season for us,” Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale said.
“That’s for fans and the lads who give it to everything. After a crushing defeat, I came in many Mondays. Today is a relief.”
– Watkins Records –
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Ollie Watkins’ goal within seconds of dying in the first half gave Villa a puny victory at Bournemouth.
In scoring, England striker Watkins became the club’s all-time high scorer in the Premier League, with his 75th goal putting him past Gabriel Agbonlahor’s 74 points.
Villa’s Jacob Ramsey was fired after a second yellow card, and about 10 minutes left, adding to the danger.
Antoine Semenyo flashed a ball and Emiliano Martinez subtly rescued Evanilson, but the 10-man side maintained a crucial three-pointer.
Unai Emery’s team has suffered frustrating defeats in recent weeks in the Champions League quarterfinals and FA Cup semifinals, and he can still score high.
Elsewhere, Brentford and Brighton both won European ambitions.
Brentford beat Ipswich to climb to eighth with a fourth straight win of 1-0, which might be enough for European football next season.
Kevin Schade returned home from a corner kick from Bryan Mbeumo in the 18th minute and received his 11th Premier League goal of the season.
“I saw a strong team and we got a big momentum,” said Brentford owner Thomas Frank.
“We are close to eighth and it will be the best position in the league ever. We focus on what we can do with lasers.”
Brighton beat Molineux 2-0, only trailing the goal at Brentford.
Danny Welbeck scored a penalty in the first half and Brajan Gruda added a second point in the 85th minute to get a three-pointer.
Everton beat Fulham 3-1, which was the goal of Vitaliy Mykolenko, Michael Keane and Beto.
Fourth-ranked Newcastle host Chelsea is at a place below Sunday, with the seventh-place Forest against relegated Realed Leicester.
Champions Liverpool plays Arsenal, and despite being the closest challenger to Arne Slot this season, they are not sure to be in the top five.
