Manchester City blew the Premier League title race wide open by edging an epic game 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium to move within three points of long-time leaders Arsenal and hold a game advantage with which to close that gap.
City, who have only been top for a total of six days all season, will have the chance to overtake Arsenal by beating next-to-last Burnley on Wednesday. The remainder of the campaign would then be decided by a tense five-game run-in, with Mikel Arteta's side needing to balance the demands of Europe simultaneously.
The conclusion of this fascinating two-way tussle, to mirror events in Manchester, remains on a tantalising knife-edge.
Arsenal were undoubtedly out to prove critics wrong. Their last three domestic outings - against Man City in the EFL Cup final, Southampton in the FA Cup, and Bournemouth in the Premier League - had all ended disastrously.
Arteta got it wrong at Wembley last month. His selection at the Etihad, though, felt much more balanced, the strongest blend Arsenal had available without Bukayo Saka. And they pressed high like they knew it was the case, risking being played over in favour of the spoils if the ball turned over.
Rayan Cherki's opener came despite Arsenal's aggression, as the Frenchman danced past Gabriel like he was not there, the ball sticking to his foot like velcro, and poked into the far corner of David Raya's goal. A magician at work.
But 108 seconds later the visitors were level. Kai Havertz had hounded Gianluigi Donnarumma from the first whistle and then made good on his threat when charging at the Man City goalkeeper and forcing an almighty error. It was a first half that bated a grandstand finish. The second 45 did it poetic justice.
It started with Haaland hitting the post, before Havertz was denied in a 1v1 with Donnarumma and Eberechi Eze also cracked the woodwork. The visitors were on top.
But 'stay humble' Haaland had other ideas. He struck the winner midway through the second period, finishing off a devastating move that started with Donnarumma and ended with the No 9 sweeping beyond Raya after a driving run from the excellent Nico O'Reilly.
Gabriel, and Arsenal, were outwitted again. The Gunners defender could have seen red before the afternoon was out after confronting Haaland with an unwise head gesture - the emotions of an unravelling title tilt seemingly spilling over.
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