Liverpool gains an advantage in three-way title race as Man City and Arsenal draw

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Liverpool leads the way in the race for the Premier League title after Manchester City and Arsenal canceled each other out on Sunday.

A 2-1 comeback win against Brighton left Jurgen Klopp's team looking down on its rivals — two points ahead of second-place Arsenal and three clear of City in third with nine games to go.

“It is a great situation where the boys brought us,” said the Liverpool manager, who is aiming to sign off with a second league title before stepping down at the end of the season.

There is still some way to go in the three-way fight, but Mohamed Salah's second-half winner at Anfield could be crucial.

Even City manager Pep Guardiola admitted it's in Liverpool's hands now.

“Always who is first is favorites," Guardiola said. "Second is Arsenal and we are third."

Victory had moved Liverpool to the top of the standings before City and Arsenal played out a frustrating 0-0 draw at Etihad Stadium later in the day.

The clash between last season's top two had been highly anticipated but failed to live up to the pre-match hype, with few goal-scoring chances.

While the result suited Liverpool most of all, it was the latest evidence of Arsenal's growing title credentials after falling away at the end of last season.

The Londoners had lost on their previous eight visits to City — including a 4-1 defeat last year that proved costly in the title race.

This season, Mikel Arteta's team has taken four points off the defending champions, as well as winning the Community Shield against City in August. But the Arsenal manager said he was still looking for more from his players to prove they are ready to end Guardiola's dominance with City.

"(It shows) that we are improving and that we are competing better and we are understanding how you have to play these games, but there are other steps to be made to win the championship. You have to come here and you have to win," Arteta said. “Today we were able to draw and we have to still improve a lot to be able to do that.”

Arsenal has now had the better of both of its title rivals, having also won and drawn against Liverpool.

By contrast, City has no league wins against any of the teams above it, having drawn against Liverpool home and away.

Sunday was a chance to improve that record — but City instead slipped further adrift of the top.

“Now we don’t depend on ourselves, we depend on Liverpool and Arsenal now because we don’t play against them again,” City midfielder Bernardo Silva said. "So we need them to drop points as well as do our job and win our own games.”

Guardiola is backing his team to do just that as it targets back-to-back trebles after winning the Premier League title, Champions League and FA Cup last season.

“My point of view is we are still there," Guardiola said. “I’m satisfied. I said to the team, ‘Don’t be sad.'"

With just three points separating the top three, it looks to set to be the most open title race in recent years.

And Brighton's performance at Anfield suggested there could still be some surprises along the way, with Liverpool having to come back from a goal down after Danny Welbeck's strike in the second minute.

Luis Diaz evened the score before the break and Salah struck his 22nd goal of the season in the second half to secure all three points.

“So, we are there with two other teams fighting for the biggest prize in English football and we will see how it will end up," Klopp said. "But I decided I will really try hard to enjoy it.”

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Manchester City's Erling Haaland reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta gives instructions to his players during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Arsenal celebrate at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola gestures at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, left, and Liverpool's Jarell Quansah celebrate their victory at the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brighton and Hove at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, England, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp, left, reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brighton and Hove at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, England, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

NEW YORK (AP) — The Pulitzer Prizes are set to be announced on Monday, traditionally the most anticipated day of the year for those hoping to earn print journalism's most prestigious honor.

Along with honoring winners and finalists in 15 journalism categories, the Pulitzer Board also recognizes distinguished work in areas including books, music and theater. The awards, which will honor work from 2023, are scheduled to be announced via livestream at 3 p.m. Eastern time.

While forecasting potential winners is a guessing game, the Pulitzers often go to coverage of the year's biggest stories. In this case, the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza is a possibility and may engender controversy.

With the Committee to Protect Journalists estimating at least 97 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, many observers will be interested to see if the Pulitzers recognize work by Palestinian reporters. Last month a group of journalism professors called on The New York Times to address questions about an investigation into gender-based violence during the Hamas attack on Israel.

The prizes are administered by Columbia University in New York, which itself has been in the news for student demonstrations against the war in Gaza. The Pulitzer board met away from Columbia this past weekend to deliberate on its winners.

The board issued a statement Thursday saluting student journalists at Columbia and other universities across the country for their work covering the campus demonstrations.

For the first time, the Pulitzers opened eligibility to broadcast and audio companies that also operate digital news sites, such as CNN, NPR and the broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC. The work must be primarily in digital journalism, however.

The Columbia Journalism School also administers the duPont-Columbia Awards, which recognize audio and visual journalism and are presented in the winter.

The Pulitzers give out cash awards and a medal for its prestigious public service prize, won last year by The Associated Press for its coverage of the Russian siege of Mariupol in Ukraine.

The Pulitzers also announced that five of the 45 finalists this year used artificial intelligence in research and reporting of their submissions. It was the first time the board required applicants for the award to disclose use of AI.

The prizes were established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and first awarded in 1917.

David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

FILE - Signage for The Pulitzer Prizes appear at Columbia University, May 28, 2019, in New York. Pulitzer Prizes are due to be announced on Monday, May 6, 2024, traditionally the most-anticipated day of the year for those hoping to earn print journalism's most prestigious honor. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)