TITLE RACE REALITY: DANIEL FARKE PUTS MAN CITY AHEAD OF CHELSEA AND ARSENAL
Leeds boss Farke claims Man City and Pep Guardiola are the world's best, warning title rivals Arsenal and Chelsea that City is the team to beat.
Daniel Farke thinks if Arsenal or Chelsea want to win the Premier League, they'll have to beat Manchester City, which he considers one of the best teams in the world, led by the best manager in the world, Pep Guardiola.
Man City barely edged out Farke’s Leeds United 3-2 at home, moving them up to second place in the Premier League.
Phil Foden scored early, putting City ahead within a minute.
It looked like an easy win for Manchester City when Josko Gvardiol made it 2-0 in the first half.
But Leeds, who are trying to avoid relegation after moving up from the Championship, made a comeback, tying the game with goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha in the second half.
After losing to Newcastle United the previous week, it looked like City would drop points again. But Foden scored in added time, pushing Guardiola’s team to second place, ahead of Chelsea by two points.
Chelsea could take back that spot and get within three points of first-place Arsenal if they win their game against them.
Before last season, when they finished third, Manchester City won four league titles in a row under Guardiola. They were behind Arsenal by three points and Liverpool by 13.
Man City hasn't been consistent this season, but Farke warned Arsenal and Chelsea that Guardiola’s team is still one of the best in the world.
First, congrats to Pep and Man City, Farke said after the game. Today, we played one of the best teams, not just in the UK, but worldwide.
They’ve been the most successful team here for the last ten years, and they have the best manager.
Manchester City has superstars all over the field, and Phil Foden's great goal made the difference.
It's tough and unlucky for my players, but they should feel good about their performance, especially in the second half.
We didn't just come for praise; we needed points. We started the game badly.
Usually, you need to win set pieces to get points here. I have to praise my guys because they deserved something from the game.
Manchester City's Phil Foden said that the title chase has been tough, but he hopes the win against Leeds will help them move forward.
"That was a crazy game," Foden said. We controlled the first half, but they switched things up in the second, and we struggled.
It was frustrating, but the manager got us together during a break, and we adjusted to their formation.
We had a few chances, and I finally found some space to score. We can still improve, but we’re happy with the win.
The title race is never easy. There are always ups and downs and times when you can’t get going. We’ve been there.
Our belief and teamwork showed at the end. Hopefully, we can build on this, but you never know.
Guardiola said he would be watching closely when Arsenal plays Chelsea.
Arsenal, who haven’t won the league since 2004, have only lost once this season (to Liverpool) and have only allowed six goals in 12 games.
I was relieved when he scored at the end; it shows he’s a big player, Guardiola said. I was relieved, yes.
The game wasn’t perfect in the first half, but we should have finished it with the chances we had.
Getting the three points after two losses is huge for our mood. It’s good to be second, and we’ll see what happens with Arsenal and Chelsea tomorrow.
It’s important to be as close to the top as we can and try to stay there until the end.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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