City defeat rivals Arsenal 3-1 to grab summit spot
- London: Manchester City earned a crucial 3-1 win against title rivals Arsenal as the resurgent champions knocked the Gunners off the top of the Premier League on Wednesday.
- Pep Guardiola's side showed they are not ready to surrender the title with a ruthless display of finishing that lifted them above Arsenal on goal difference.
- Kevin De Bruyne put City ahead in the first half at the Emirates Stadium and, although Bukayo Saka equalised with a controversial penalty, Jack Grealish landed the vital blow in the second half when he restored the visitors' lead. Erling Haaland's 26th goal in 22 league appearances for City killed off Arsenal in the closing stages.
- In the eagerly anticipated Premier League clash this season, City seized the momentum in the title race. Although Arsenal has a game in hand that could tip the balance back in their Favour, City headed home with renewed belief they can win their fight for a fifth title in 6 seasons.
- Benzema strikes twice as Real beat Elche: Real Madrid earned a comfortable 4-0 home win over bottom side Elche in LaLiga on Wednesday, restoring their eight-point gap to leaders Barcelona.
- Real, who on Saturday won the Club World Cup for a record-extending fifth time, are second in the standings on 48 points from 21 games- behind table-toppers Barcelona who are on an unbeaten run of 12 games.
- Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric were all on target as Real, without the suspended Vinicius Jr. won the game in style. Asensio opened the scoring while Benzema doubled their advantage from the spot just after the half-hour mark.
- Scoring his goal number 229, the Frenchman surpassed former captain Raul Gonzalez (228) to become Liga's. fifth highest scorer and second-best scorer in the league for Real Madrid, with only Cristiano Ronaldo in front with 311 goals.