Chelsea into 3rd place in EPL, Arsenal held by Leicester

On a night of spectacular goals in the Premier League, it was a pair of tackles that had the most significant impact on the hard-fought race for Champions League qualification.

Chelsea's 3-2 win at Crystal Palace was only secured thanks to a remarkable last-ditch challenge by center back Kurt Zouma, who somehow made up ground to divert the ball away as Christian Benteke was about to shoot late in stoppage time.

Then, hours later at a rain-soaked Emirates Stadium, Arsenal was leading 1-0 against Leicester and on course for a win that would have thrown open the fight for a finish in the top four when substitute striker Eddie Nketiah was handed a straight red card in the 75th minute for a studs-first lunge on James Justin.

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic, right, scores his side's second goal past Crystal Palace's Joel Ward during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park, in London, England, Tuesday, July 7, 2020. (Justin SetterfieldPool via AP)

Jamie Vardy equalized nine minutes later — with a goal that took a while to be confirmed by the video assistant referee — to seal a 1-1 draw, dealing a huge setback to Arsenal's improbable hopes of climbing into the top five.

The two results left Chelsea in third place and a point clear of Leicester, which finally dropped to fourth after a poor run of results in the league since late January. Manchester United is four points back in fifth place, which will secure qualification for the Champions League if second-place Manchester City fails to overturn its two-year European ban.

Arsenal stayed seventh, five points behind United with only four games remaining. United's game in hand is against Aston Villa on Thursday.

In the other match on Tuesday, last-place Norwich inched closer to relegation after squandering an early lead to lose 2-1 at Watford and slip 10 points adrift of safety with only four matches remaining.

The winner came from a stunning overhead kick by Danny Welbeck, his first goal for Watford.

It was the best goal of an evening that also featured a long-range thunderbolt by Palace winger Wilfried Zaha and well-taken individual striker by in-form Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic.

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Steve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80

Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus scored more goals in 53 minutes on Saturday than he had in the previous eight months in the English Premier League.

Becoming the first player in the league to score four goals in one game this season, Jesus led City to a 5-1 thrashing of Watford to open a four-point lead over second-placed Liverpool in the title race.

Liverpool can trim that back to one point with five matches left by beating Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday.

Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus celebrates after scoring his fourth goal, his side's fifth, during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Watford at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, April 23, 2022. (AP PhotoJon Super)

Jesus scored three goals in the league before the arrival of next-to-last Watford for a match that ended up resembling a training exercise.

The Brazil international netted twice in the first half and twice more in the opening eight minutes of the second half — one of which was a penalty to complete his hat trick.

Rodri scored the other goal for City, which used the match to give key players a rest ahead of Real Madrid's visit in the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday.

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes reacts after failing to score from a penalty kick during an English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates stadium in London, Saturday April 23, 2022. (AP PhotoAlastair J. Grant)

While City stayed on course for the title, fierce rival Manchester United likely dropped out of the race for Champions League qualification.

By losing at Arsenal 3-1, United fell six points behind its top-four rival and manager Ralf Rangnick all but called time on his team's season.

“I don’t think it’s very realistic to dream and think of the top four," Rangnick said at the end of a week when United also lost at Liverpool 4-0 and hired a new manager, Ajax's Erik ten Hag, for the start of next season.

Arsenal moved into fourth, three points above north London rival Tottenham, which visited Brentford late.

In other games, last-placed Norwich plunged closer to relegation with a 3-0 loss at home to Newcastle, while mid-table teams Leicester and Aston Villa drew 0-0.

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