Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal played out a hard-fought but largely forgettable goalless draw as Liverpool ended the weekend top of the Premier League.
After Jurgen Klopp’s men came back to beat Brighton earlier on Sunday, attention turned to the Etihad Stadium for the final league meeting between any of the three teams vying for glory.
But the high-profile clash fell well short of the pre-match hype as Pep Guardiola’s men were held by former City coach Mikel Arteta and his well-drilled Arsenal side in a cagey 0-0 draw – the first time in 76 Premier League games that last season’s treble winners have been involved in a goalless stalemate.
Whether this proves an important point for either side or a missed opportunity remains to be seen, with Liverpool now at the summit on 67 points ahead of Arsenal on 65 and City on 64.
There is sure to be plenty of twists and turns over final nine matches, but Sunday’s Etihad Stadium encounter was devoid of any such excitement.
Gabriel Jesus had Arsenal’s best opportunities in a drab first half dominated by the home side for most part without creating opportunities.
Referee Anthony Taylor gave little in terms of cards during a game that limped towards a draw, ending the Gunners’ eight-game losing streak in all competitions at the Etihad.
Guardiola made two changes to his starting line-up as Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake came in for Jeremy Doku and the injured Kyle Walker, with Arsenal’s only alteration seeing Jesus replace Leandro Trossard.
The former City forward had the first meaningful chance of a tense afternoon, meeting Ben White’s cross from the right with a touch and strike narrowly wide. Arteta slapped his thighs in frustration.
But City were camped in the visitors’ half before and after that seventh-minute warning shot, albeit their patient probing and possession failed to translate into clear-cut chances.
Ake had the hosts’ only first-half attempt on target – a close-range shouldered effort straight at David Raya from a corner – and was forced off with an apparent calf injury in the 26th minute.
Rico Lewis replaced him shortly after Kai Havertz stretched to meet the ball in a challenge with Stefan Ortega and City’s subsequent defensive rejig was nearly punished by the Gunners five minutes later.
Good play down the right ended with a deep cross to Jakub Kiwior, who dropped the ball back for Jesus to jink into space and hit a low shot across the face of Ortega’s goal.
City responded with a few half-chances but were unable to seriously test an Arsenal side fortunate to go into half-time without a single booking to their name.
Mateo Kovacic bent a 20-yard effort wide within two minutes of the restart as Arsenal began to become as incensed with the lack of yellow cards and fouls as the hosts.
Arteta’s gesticulations in the technical area were mocked by City fans, who held their breath when Bukayo Saka got behind to slide a low ball across the face of goal that just evaded Jesus at the far post.
Manuel Akanji had smartly disrupted the forward’s move otherwise it could have been the opener.
Tempers were rising around the ground and there were ironic cheers in the 67th minute when Jesus received the first booking of the day after throwing the ball away.
But the former City man received applause from some of the home support when he was taken off among a swathe of changes made by both managers.
Arsenal star Saka was another replaced, walking off gingerly shortly after being caught out, but not punished, by De Bruyne.
Raya was booked for time-wasting as Taylor went to his pocket for just the second time, before both sides wasted chances to win it.
First Erling Haaland just failed to get his toe on a ball in the box, then substitute Trossard got behind to test Ortega when he needed a cleaner shot or a pass to Gabriel Martinelli.
Haaland received treatment late on and saw penalty hopes ignored, with the five minutes of stoppage time coming to nothing.
Prior to the match, Liverpool had come from behind to defeat Brighton 2-1 at Anfield. Danny Welbeck gave the visitors a shock lead after two minutes, but Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah both scored to ensure the Reds emerged triumphant.
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
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