<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>2 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p class=\"p1\">Nico O\u2019Reilly\u2019s first-half brace inspired Manchester City to a vital 2-1 victory over Newcastle United, which turned up the heat on Premier \u2060League leaders Arsenal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">City took the lead on Saturday when O\u2019Reilly slammed in a left-footed shot in the 14th minute before Lewis Hall levelled.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p class=\"p1\">O\u2019Reilly headed in Erling Haaland\u2019s cross to restore City\u2019s lead \u2060in the 27th minute, and it proved to be the match-winner as Pep Guardiola\u2019s side cut Arsenal\u2019s lead to two points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Arsenal face north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, knowing that City are now breathing down their necks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The stuttering form of Arsenal, who drew with the bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers \u200con Wednesday, opened the door for City, but victory over Newcastle was imperative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It looked like a formality early on as they overran their visitors, but it was a different story after the break as they nervously held on to the victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Nothing illustrated City\u2019s determination more than the sight of goal-machine Haaland working tirelessly back in his own area, blocking shots and making clearing headers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Newcastle pushed hard for an equaliser, and \u2060when the final whistle blew, there was relief around Etihad \u2060Stadium. They will now be watching Arsenal\u2019s Sunday derby with added interest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">City were slick at the start and went ahead when a surging Omar Marmoush played in O\u2019Reilly. He could have touched it on for Haaland \u2060to his left, but the 20-year-old opted to trust his left foot, and his powerful shot beat Nick Pope.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Newcastle were level soon afterwards, \u2060though, as a weak clearance fell to Hall, whose \u2060shot took a touch off a City player before beating keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Haaland was not on the scoresheet but showed many other attributes to his game, and it was his measured cross that was met by O\u2019Reilly, \u200cwho directed his header past Pope.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">City were nowhere near as effective as an attacking force after the break, but they defended doggedly when required and were always a threat on the \u200ccounter-attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They \u200cnow have 56 points from 27 games. Should Arsenal fail to beat Tottenham on Sunday, City will feel they have the title race firmly in their hands.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Reilly said he was \u201cover the moon\u201d about the goals and three points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe win was the most important thing: close the gap and apply as much pressure as possible,\u201d he told TNT Sports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery happy with the two goals. It is a dream of mine to win [the Premier League].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked if City, unbeaten in eight games, can win the title, he added: \u201cYeah, definitely. We always believe we can win games.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Elsewhere on Saturday, \u2060Aston Villa\u2019s faint Premier \u2060League title hopes suffered a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds United, and Chelsea\u2019s top-four ambitions were damaged when they dropped two points against relegation-bound \u2060Burnley.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Anton Stach\u2019s stunning 31st-minute free kick past Emiliano Martinez looked like giving Leeds a vital victory at Villa Park, but substitute Tammy Abraham levelled late on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Chelsea moved above Manchester United into fourth spot on goal difference, but it felt like two points dropped for the second week running as they drew 1-1 with Burnley at home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Joao Pedro put Chelsea ahead, but the hosts were reduced to 10 men when Wesley Fofana received a second yellow \u2060card and Burnley equalised in stoppage time through Zian Flemming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Brighton\u2019s James Milner broke the Premier League appearance record in \u2060their 2-0 win at Brentford.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The 40-year-old former Manchester City and Liverpool \u2060player made his 654th appearance to go past Gareth Barry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">West Ham had the opportunity to really put some pressure on Nottingham Forest and Spurs in the relegation battle, but played out a turgid draw with visiting Bournemouth. It \u200cwas \u200cthe sixth successive Premier League stalemate between the sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester City\u2019s win cut Arsenal\u2019s lead at the top of the Premier League to two points. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a02 mins info Nico O\u2019Reilly\u2019s first-half brace inspired Manchester City to a vital 2-1 victory over Newcastle United, which turned up the heat on Premier \u2060League leaders Arsenal. City took the lead on Saturday when O\u2019Reilly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}