Foden’s three goals, coming after Neal Maupay had put Brentford ahead, were a masterclass in movement, touch and poise when it mattered most, rewarding manager Pep Guardiola for keeping him in the middle where he dovetailed smoothly with De Bruyne.
Aston Villa bounced back from a winless January to thrash Sheffield United 5-0 and climb up to fourth in the Premier League as relegation-threatened Everton rescued a late point against Tottenham Hotspur in a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
Arsenal reduced Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to two points after a deserved victory in a tense encounter at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners knew defeat was unthinkable and their cause was helped hugely by two errors from Liverpool’s normally reliable keeper Alisson, who gifted Arsenal the goals that ensured three crucial points.
It sparked joyous scenes at the final whistle as Arsenal condemned Liverpool to only their second league defeat this season, their first since a highly controversial loss at Tottenham in late September.
Arsenal were rewarded for a lightning start when Bukayo Saka gave them a 14th-minute lead, turning home a rebound after Alisson saved from Kai Havertz.
The hosts dominated proceedings but a defensive shambles allowed Liverpool to restore parity seconds before the break, Gabriel turning the ball into his own net via his hand after a mix-up between keeper David Raya and William Saliba as they challenged Luis Diaz.
Liverpool carried more momentum after the interval with Alexis Mac Allister going close twice and Curtis Jones just off target before the Gunners were the next beneficiaries of a calamitous error, this time between Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, that saw them restore their lead after 67 minutes.
Alisson rushed from his goal and kicked fresh air as Van Dijk tried to deal with a long clearance, leaving Gabriel Martinelli with the simplest of finishes into an empty net.
And Liverpool’s misery was compounded in the closing stages when defender Ibrahima Konate was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Havertz, before substitute Leandro Trossard added a third in stoppage time – Alisson once again at fault as he allowed a routine near-post shot through his legs.
Brighton & Hove Albion moved up to eight with a 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace, Newcastle United fought back from two down in a rollercoaster 4-4 draw with Luton Town and David Datro Fofana scored twice to earn relegation-threatened Burnley a 2-2 draw with Fulham.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a goal and two assists as Villa served notice of their top-four intentions with their rout of Sheffield United..
“I’m happy because before the match we were very focused,” Villa manager Unai Emery told the BBC. “We scored goals, created chances and stopped them. Winning away is difficult.”
Bottom side Sheffield, who are 10 points from safety, have conceded 59 goals this season, the most ever by a Premier League team at this point of a campaign.
“For our 30,000 Sheffield United supporters it wasn’t good enough,” Blades manager Chris Wilder told Sky Sports. “Myself and my players have got to accept that responsibility. We have got well and truly took to the cleaners.”
Jarrad Branthwaite headed in Everton’s equaliser in the 94th minute after Spurs striker Richarlison had netted a first-half brace against his old team.
“It is a massive point, we have had a rough patch recently,” Branthwaite told BBC. “We took our chances, obviously a bit disappointed with the goals we conceded but it is a good point and shows the fight we have as a team.”
Spurs are fifth in the table on 44 points while Everton are 18th.
Brighton ended a run of three games without a win, Palace, whose loss piled more pressure on manager Roy Hodgson, are five points above the drop zone in 14th.
Lewis Dunk opened the floodgates for Brighton in the third minute and they were 3-0 up at halftime after goals from Jack Hinshelwood and Facundo Buonanotte.
“We killed the game off in the first half. A top performance from everyone,” Brighton captain Dunk told the BBC. “It is always nice to score a goal and especially in a derby.”
Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff scored twice in the first half but Luton went 4-2 up through a Carlton Morris penalty and Elijah Adebayo’s strike.
Kieran Trippier pulled one back for the hosts and substitute Harvey Barnes equalised in the 73rd minute.
“To be honest, I don’t know what the feeling is,” Longstaff said. “I feel as though, with no disrespect to Luton, we should win at home. And going twice ahead, we should win it.”
Burnley clawed back from two goals down against Fulham and Fofana bundled home the equaliser in the 91st minute.
Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz had struck in the first half to put Fulham in a commanding position but Fofana pulled a goal back in the 71st minute before sliding in to push Wilson Odobert’s cross over the line.
“Completely disappointed, we should win this game,” Fulham midfielder Willian said. “It was completely our fault as well.”
The draw kept Burnley second-bottom of the standings, seven points from the safety zone. Fulham are 12th.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says “you can see potential” in his team after they brushed aside West Ham to move back into the Premier League top six.
Rasmus Hojlund made it four Premier League goals in as many games and Alejandro Garnacho scored twice as the Red Devils recorded a comfortable victory.
For Ten Hag, there was some satisfaction in their biggest home league win of the season on the day he was finally able to select from an almost full-strength squad.
Matheus Cunha scored a hat-trick as Wolves came from behind to stun Chelsea and replace the Blues in the top half of the Premier League table.
Cole Palmer gave Mauricio Pochettino’s hosts a 19th-minute lead when he calmly slotted past Jose Sa following Moises Caicedo’s defence-splitting pass.
But Wolves levelled less than three minutes later when Cunha’s shot took a significant deflection off Thiago Silva and wrong-footed Djordje Petrovic.
The turnaround was complete shortly before the break, courtesy of another deflected shot, as Rayan Ait-Nouri met Pedro Neto’s cutback and sent the ball in off Axel Disasi.
The home supporters greeted the half-time whistle with boos but Chelsea were unable to produce a fightback of their own, instead falling two goals behind when the electric Neto beat Silva for pace and picked out Cunha for his second.
The Brazilian then completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after being brought down by Malo Gusto, sending Petrovic the wrong way with eight minutes remaining to put the result beyond doubt before Silva headed in a late consolation.
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s sublime strike earned Nottingham Forest a much-needed Premier League point at Bournemouth.
The hosts took the lead after five minutes when Justin Kluivert prodded in at the far post from a corner.
But Hudson-Odoi equalised just before the break, beating Ryan Christie and Illia Zabarnyi before bending a right-footed effort into the bottom corner.
