City suffer third straight loss, Arsenal open six-point lead

AP:

It may be too early to speak of an on-field crisis at Manchester City, but the champions slipped to a third straight Premier League defeat yesterday.

After opening the campaign with seven consecutive victories, City were beaten 3-1 by struggling Nottingham Forest, falling six points behind league leaders Arsenal, who edged Hull 1-0.

Former City academy graduate Liam Delap scored twice for Forest, who had failed to find the net at home this season before yesterday’s encounter.

The victory was only Forest’s second of the campaign and lifted them two points clear of the relegation zone. Manchester United dropped into the bottom three ahead of today’s clash with Aston Villa.

Forest made a dream start.

Jair Cunha dispossessed City defender Josko Gvardiol and surged forward before calmly sliding the ball into the bottom-left corner in the sixth minute.

Further defensive errors from City allowed Delap to race from inside his own half, split two defenders and fire home in the 18th minute to double Forest’s lead.

City pulled one back early in the second half when Jeremy Doku latched onto a long ball down the left flank. His cross was deflected into the path of Rayan Cherki, who drove the ball into the top-left corner.

The visitors pressed hard for an equaliser, but Forest restored their two-goal cushion in the 74th minute when Delap completed a swift counterattack with a composed finish that went in off the inside of the far post.

Forest coach Oliver Glasner sprinted half the length of the field to celebrate with his players.

Defending champs grind out narrow win

Earlier, Arsenal appeared headed for a frustrating afternoon against a well-organised Hull side before Martin Ødegaard found the breakthrough in the 72nd minute.

Noni Madueke cut inside from the right wing and Konstantinos Tzolakis could only parry his shot into the path of the Arsenal captain, who slammed home the loose ball.

Controversy at Leeds

Substitute Noah Okafor had been on the pitch for only 97 seconds when he scored the winner in Leeds United’s 1-0 victory over Tottenham in a match overshadowed by controversy.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed on a throw-in before Harry Wilson nudged the ball into Okafor’s path, allowing him to fire home in the 79th minute.

It was Leeds’ first victory in almost two months and moved the club into eighth place, two points above Spurs, who had been seeking a fourth successive win after failing to win any of their opening six matches.

Tottenham felt Leeds should have played the second half with 10 men following Jayden Bogle’s heavy challenge on Mathys Tel in the 34th minute.

While there appeared to be no malice in the tackle, Bogle’s studs caught Tel on the trailing ankle, leaving the Tottenham forward in visible pain.

A lengthy VAR review for a potential red card ended without any action being taken. Tel attempted to continue but was substituted a few minutes later.

Newcastle and Fulham played to a 1-1 draw.