Man City charge stalls at Sunderland, Liverpool held by Leeds
Manchester City sit four points behind Arsenal in the Premier League standings following a frustrating 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Thursday, where they could not break the hosts' strong home form, and Liverpool also shared the spoils with Leeds.
The opening matches of 2026 proved low-scoring, with three out of four games on New Year's Day finishing goalless, including Tottenham's 0-0 stalemate as Thomas Frank returned to face Brentford.
City entered the game on a run of eight straight victories to close 2025, reducing the deficit to Arsenal to merely two points.
However, they failed to match Arsenal's commanding 4-1 victory over third-placed Aston Villa from Tuesday, even though they generated numerous opportunities against a weakened Sunderland team.
The Black Cats missed six players due to the Africa Cup of Nations and key defender Dan Ballard through injury.
Bernardo Silva saw his early City goal disallowed for offside after only six minutes.
Sunderland's goalkeeper Robin Roefs shone brightly, thwarting efforts from Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol, and Savinho sent a clear-cut chance high over the bar.
Despite their efforts, City could not break through, allowing Sunderland to maintain their unbeaten streak of 10 matches at the Stadium of Light since promotion back to the elite division.
"It's puzzling," remarked City manager Pep Guardiola about his team's scoring woes. "We generated plenty, particularly after the break.
"We'll accept the point; there's still a long road ahead."
Liverpool manager Arne Slot lamented the absence of "key individual brilliance" as the defending champions laboured to penetrate a stubborn Leeds defence in a 0-0 encounter at Anfield.
The Reds lacked punch upfront without Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak, and only avoided a loss in the dying moments thanks to a narrow offside decision.
Though he had netted in his previous six outings, Dominic Calvert-Lewin began on the substitutes' bench, with Daniel Farke mindful of the upcoming Manchester United clash at Elland Road this Saturday.
Calvert-Lewin believed he had continued his hot streak by poking home 10 minutes from the end, but he was marginally offside beyond the final defender.
This result stretches Leeds' unbeaten sequence to six and pulls them seven points away from the drop zone.
Liverpool in fourth now hold a three-point advantage over Chelsea, who dismissed manager Enzo Maresca on Thursday, and Manchester United in the race for Champions League qualification next season.
'Boring' Tottenham
Frank received a warm welcome upon his return to the club he guided back to the Premier League after 74 years and built into a solid top-flight outfit.
The Danish coach struggled to impose himself at Tottenham, where his side once again offered little in the way of offensive threat.
Tottenham supporters away from home chanted "boring, boring Tottenham" towards the end, and Frank faced jeers at the final whistle.
"Absolutely, we are not producing enough chances," conceded Frank. "We must keep focusing on improving that."
The draw keeps the teams just one point apart, with Brentford in ninth and Tottenham in 12th.
Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner described his short-handed team as operating in "survival mode" following a 1-1 tie with Fulham that marked their sixth consecutive game without a win.
Jean-Philippe Mateta's strike, his first in eight matches, gave Palace the lead, but Fulham skipper Tom Cairney's excellent finish secured a share of the spoils for the away side.