Arsenal's Santi Cazorla, center, celebrates scoring his side's first goal with his teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at the Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
January 18, 2014 - 10:14 AM
MANCHESTER, England - Arsenal and Manchester City showed no sign of slowing up in the race for the Premier League title by grabbing home wins on Saturday to stay 1-2 in the standings.
Spain playmaker Santi Cazorla scored second-half goals in a five-minute span for Arsenal in a 2-0 victory over Fulham that keeps the Gunners in the lead by a point.
"It was just a question of time and Santi Cazorla delivered two special goals," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "He was like the team, good in the first half and excellent in the second."
City breezed past Cardiff 4-2 to pass the 100-goal mark this season in all competitions after just 34 matches, with Edin Dzeko, Jesus Navas, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero all scoring in another brilliant attacking display.
"It's not easy to score 103 goals by the middle of the season," City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. "It reflects how we think this team must play. We are always an attractive team."
The Chelsea team of last season had been the previous fastest to reach a century of goals in the Premier League era, after 42 games, but Pellegrini's entertainers have set a high bar.
The defeat dumped Cardiff into last place and ensure a miserable return to Manchester for its coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who spent 11 successful years across the city at United.
Third-place Chelsea will look to stay a point behind City by beating Manchester United at home on Sunday in the standout game of the weekend.
The scrap for survival is even tighter than the battle for first place, with three teams now locked on 18 points in the relegation zone.
Crystal Palace started the day in last place but away from danger after Jason Puncheon made up for his awful penalty miss against Tottenham last week by converting from the spot against Stoke, sealing a 1-0 win.
Sunderland remained second from bottom after coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 and West Ham makes up the bottom three following a 3-1 loss to Newcastle, for whom France midfielder Yohan Cabaye scored twice.
Norwich climbed five points clear of the drop zone thanks to a 1-0 win over Hull, secured by Ryan Bennett's 87th-minute goal.
Liverpool hosts Aston Villa in the late game.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014