Tottenham's Crisis Persists at Sunderland, Manchester City Ruthlessly Exploits Arsenal's Stumble

The Spurs are extending their incredible winless streak and remain in a relegation spot. Meanwhile, City is drawing ever closer to the league leaders.

It's now official: after 32 Premier League matchdays, Tottenham Hotspur finds itself in a relegation spot for the first time in 17 years. Following their drop to 18th place on Friday evening due to a win by rivals West Ham United (4-0), the Spurs lost 0-1 (0-0) to AFC Sunderland on Sunday. The decisive goal was scored by former Leipzig player Nordi Mukiele (61st minute).

Even after the debut of manager Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham is still waiting for their first league victory of 2026. Their last three points came on December 28th (a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace). Since then, they have suffered nine defeats and secured five draws in 14 encounters.

In their away game against promoted side Sunderland, De Zerbi, who is the third manager for the Spurs this season after Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, opted to leave former Bundesliga professionals Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig) and Mathys Tel and Palhinha (both FC Bayern) out of the starting lineup.

Nick Woltemade Experiences Newcastle's Knockout After Late Substitution

Newcastle United is not faring much better than the Spurs. The team, featuring national players Nick Woltemade and Malick Thiaw, lost 1-2 (1-0) to Crystal Palace, managed by Oliver Glasner, after taking the lead and conceding in the final minute.

Jean-Philippe Mateta, with two goals (80th and 90+4th minute via penalty), brought joy to Palace. While Thiaw was once again in the starting eleven and played the full match, Woltemade came on in the 84th minute.

Manchester City Secures Clear Victory at FC Chelsea

At the top of the table, Manchester City has made up ground on the runaway leaders FC Arsenal, positioning themselves well for the eagerly anticipated title race clash between the two.

With a 3-0 (0-0) win in a top-team duel at FC Chelsea, Pep Guardiola's team has reduced the deficit to the Gunners to six points. Kai Havertz's team had lost to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday (1-2).

O'Reilly and Guehi Open the Scoring for City

Chelsea started better: a well-worked goal by Marc Cucurella (17th minute) was disallowed due to offside. For the visitors, who were offensively lacking in the first half, Bernardo Silva (35th minute) missed the first major chance of the game.

Shortly after halftime, Nico O'Reilly was given too much space in the penalty area and headed in to give City the lead (51st minute). Centre-back Marc Guéhi (56th minute) extended the lead shortly after, following a dream pass from Rayan Cherki.

Jérémy Doku (68th minute) sealed the victory early with his goal, a result facilitated by a Chelsea error in build-up play.