Manchester City have fallen behind in the Premier League title race after a 0-0 draw against Arsenal. Both teams couldn’t create many chances throughout the match, thanks to defensive displays from the likes of Manuel Akanji and William Saliba.
The draw is more like a defeat for the Citizens, who are now three points behind league leaders Liverpool. And Akanji feels that the game against Arsenal was not fair for his team and has now come out in criticism of the refereeing.
Manuel Akanji charges Arsenal of tactical fouling vs Man City
The game between Manchester City and Arsenal was expected to be a high-scoring one, yet it was relatively quiet. However, Manuel Akanji believes his side could have created more chances, but that Arsenal’s constant tactical fouling disrupted that. He further said that the referee, Anthony Taylor, did nothing to punish all those tactical fouls.
Indeed, Arsenal have recorded 20 fouls in the game while only having two yellow cards dished out to Gabriel Jesus and goalkeeper David Raya, though they were both for time wasting. On the other hand, City only made 9 fouls with zero cards. While none of the fouls were too severe, Akanji believes the referee should have been more stern with the opposition players.
Manuel Akanji on if he thought Arsenal did tactical fouling: “Definitely. When we got through sometimes they stopped us with the fouls. If there’s no action to it [from the referee], it’s hard.”
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) April 1, 2024
“I don’t understand. One in the first-half [from Havertz] was a very late tackle on… pic.twitter.com/VZJtaKql1z
His exact words were, “Definitely. When we got through sometimes they stopped us with the fouls. If there’s no action to it from the referee, it’s hard.” Manuel Akanji also pointed out some example of when a yellow card should have been given out, while also claiming that Arsenal were also unjustifiably given some foul decisions in their favor.
Arsenal only held the ball for 27% of the match, and it seems manager Mikel Arteta did not prepare his team to win the game. City are very dangerous in their home stadium, the Etihad, and perhaps that is why Arteta instructed his players to use tactical fouls to ensure a favorable result for them. On the other hand, City were missing many key players, with John Stones and Kyle Walker picking up injuries in the international break, while goalkeeper Ederson may be out for a long time.
Man City-Arsenal draw give Liverpool title-race advantage
While Arsenal may feel like they got the better result, or City may feel they lost out on two crucial points, it is Liverpool who really won the fixture. Indeed, the Premier League’s title race is heating up, with the three teams actively challenging for the trophy. Liverpool won their game against Brighton 2-1, which puts them on top of the league table with 67 points. Arsenal are second with 65 points, while City are third with 64 points. In such a close title race, these results make all the differences.
Liverpool sit two points clear of Arsenal, with City three points behind 📊 pic.twitter.com/SfzA3nl7q1
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 31, 2024
But the race is far from over, with only 29 games of the season finished. There are 9 more games left for all teams, and they will each try to win all of them. There are no more clashes between the three teams, which means that dropping points in the remaining games would be very detrimental to each.
Manuel Akanji will hope that his side can reduce the gap in the next match when Manchester City take on Aston Villa on Thursday.
