Junior Kroupi scored a sublime opening goal for Bournemouth against Manchester City to put Arsenal 45 minutes from winning the Premier League title.
Arsenal’s unconvincing 1-0 win over Burnley on Monday left City, a day after it was reported manager Pep Guardiola will leave the club at the end of the season, needing to avoid defeat to keep the title race alive.
They started relatively brightly, with Jeremy Doku denied by a Djordje Petrovic save and Antoine Semenyo correctly seeing an effort ruled out by the linesman’s flag, yet it was Champions League-chasing Bournemouth who took the lead in style to put Arsenal on the brink of a first Premier League crown since 2004.
Adrian Truffert was the creator as he burst down the left and then picked out Kroupi on the edge of the area.
The France Under-21 international still had a lot of work to do from that point, but the manner in which he found the back of the net was outstanding, with the helpless Gianluigi Donnarumma rooted to the spot as Kroupi bent an unerring strike into the top-right corner.
Only Newcastle United (3) have gained fewer points from losing positions than City (4) this season, though Bournemouth have dropped 20 points from winning positions this term, with that tally the third-highest in the league. At half-time, City were left requiring a rare turnaround to send the title race to the final day.
