LONDON (AP) — Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester Metropolis beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday and moved to inside one win of a file fourth-straight Premier League title.
The three-time defending champion will go into the ultimate spherical of video games on Sunday with a two-point lead over second-place Arsenal.
Metropolis hosts West Ham in its final league sport of the season, whereas Arsenal can also be at dwelling towards Everton.
“The tennis gamers say ‘the serve to win Wimbledon’, the final sport, is essentially the most troublesome one,” Metropolis supervisor Pep Guardiola stated. “We all know what we’re enjoying for. The stress is there, the rival is so good. It’s why it’s troublesome, we all know that.”
Haaland fired Metropolis forward within the 51st minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when he transformed Kevin De Bruyne’s cross from shut vary.
He struck his second from the penalty spot within the first minute of stoppage time after Pedro Porro had introduced down Jeremy Doku.
Victory means Metropolis is accountable for its personal destiny within the race for the title, regardless of being pushed proper to the wire by Arsenal.
Guardiola is now inside touching distance of a sixth league championship in seven seasons.
No different English staff has managed to win 4 high flight titles in a row, whereas Metropolis can also be trying to safe back-to-back league and FA Cup doubles.
Going into Tuesday’s sport one level behind Arsenal, Guardiola had warned his gamers that something apart from most factors would deliver an finish to their dominance of England’s high division. That solely elevated the strain on his staff, which was additionally trying to finish a four-game dropping run within the league at Spurs.
And the event appeared to get to Metropolis’s gamers in a nervous first half.
“They have been enjoying for the implications of the end result. While you do that you will lose the Premier League,” Guardiola stated. “They’re human beings, I perceive the strain.”
Haaland’s aim six minutes into the second eased the strain. However whereas his targets have been decisive, Metropolis needed to depend on substitute goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to maintain Spurs at bay as the house staff pushed for an equalizer.
Approaching within the 69th after Ederson had sustained a head damage in a collision with Cristian Romero, Ortega rapidly needed to block a close-range effort from Dejan Kulusevski.
Later he produced one other save to disclaim the Spurs ahead, however Ortega’s most interesting second got here within the 86th when Son Heung-min raced by on aim.
With solely the keeper to beat, Son regarded sure to attain as he fired low towards the nook. A draw would have put Arsenal within the driver’s seat for the title heading into Sunday’s season finale — however Son may solely watch as Ortega shot out a leg to deflect the ball.
Guardiola, watching on, had his head in his fingers earlier than falling to the bottom in reduction.
Shortly after, Doku lured Porro right into a lunge within the Spurs field and referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot.
Haaland put the sport past doubt by blasting his shot into the highest nook for his second of the match and thirty eighth of the season.
Metropolis’s win additionally meant Aston Villa secured fourth place and qualification for subsequent season’s Champions League forward of Tottenham in fifth.
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